Missing Willow Farm

Lambs have a natural camouflage in the winter.  The snow doesn’t seem to bother them at all.

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With the ground covered in snow, our grass is covered which means the critters need a new bale to munch on.  This is a complex project.  The goats are closed in the barn, the sheep in their pen.  The tractor bay needs to be closed as soon as it’s opened to keep the cow out of the square bales which are stored in there.  The dogs need to be bribed with treats to keep them away from the pasture gate (the round bales are kept outside the pasture).  Then when the process is reversed, it’s a party!

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We finally had our first snow.  It’s just beautiful.

Bottlefeeding a goat is fun!  She comes tearing at me full speed when I enter the pasture.  Thankfully, she spends the rest of her day playing with her sisters.   The only difference between them is where they take their meals.

Jenna had surgery on her remaining rear leg on Valentine’s day.  She had a benign skin tumor removed, so she has stitches again.  Poor baby.  It’s certainly not kept her from going for a ride, or from asking to chase her wubba or from her sheep.  As far as Jenna’s concerned, it’s business as usual around here.

Watching over the little ones is a job our karakachan Milos takes very seriously.  With the sighting of a coyote in our yard a few weeks back, we’re lucky to have him and his sister.  He also keeps our cow Jessica in line when she tries to be a bully now that she realizes she’s bigger than everyone.  Good boy.

Dinner last night was lamb ragu puttanesca from a friend’s recipe.  It starred shanks, garlic and goat cheese from our farm.  If you’re a fan of lamb, I highly recommend it.  The recipe can be found here – http://www.virginialiving.com/articles/lamb-ragu-puttanesca

Nellie heard the breakfast call this morning and came running with one of her twins trotting along on little legs.  The other one was left behind in a low part of our pasture with no view of the barn.  She had a fit and cried and cried until Nellie showed up again.  I don’t think she’ll let mom out of her sight again any time soon.

Alexis had a lamb a few days ago, a little ewe.  I’ve been chasing them around the pasture trying to get a photo and was finally able to catch her at feeding time.   I think she’s the prettiest one so far which is amazing because her mom is kind of homely (for a sheep).  Alexis had her first ever lamb last year but it died from a birth related trauma so this is kind of new for her.  She’s very attentive, a good mom.

Normally, we wait until Easter to finally get rid of our Christmas tree.  Between New Years and Easter it lives on our deck next to the hot tub. With our crazy weather this year, the daffodils are blooming already so it just seemed time to put it out.  The goats go crazy for it and the sheep get right in there.  Jessica even had a nibble.  We used to have a few pines in our pasture, they were the first to go when the goats arrived.