New Life at Sunrise

No matter how many times I see it, I’ll never tire of watching the process of birth in sheep. These two were born yesterday morning to Oswin. She had started the process just before I walked into the barn to do chores before attending a cousin’s volleyball match.

The ewe chomped her corn even as she was in labor, and halfway through her breakfast, she strained even more, and the lamb slid out, hitting the ground with a sploosh.

Immediately, Oswin turned to lick her newborn, and as she did so, a second pair of front hooves appeared. After a few minutes, she began straining again, and the second lamb splooshed.

The newborns, a ram and a ewe, began talking right away, and their mum gave a low bleat back as she licked them. The lambs experimented with their long, floppy ears, slicked back against their necks.

And when I checked on them after volleyball, they were dry and fed, ears sticking straight out.

Thanks for Reading!

And I hope you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead with this moment preserved in picture and prose. Consider:

• What is your favorite sight to see?

Share your answer and this newsletter with a friend who enjoys a similar sight.

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This Week on the Farm

Contest time!

How many lambs do you think we'll have in total this spring? How many will be ewes, and how many rams?

Send your guess for total number of lambs, as well as how many will be ewes and rams, via a reply to this email, and you'll have a chance to name a lamb that will be registered with the breed association. At the end of the season, the person with the closest guess without going over will win! (Ties will be broken with your guesses of how many ewes and how many rams were born.)

The new lambs from yesterday were eighth and ninth, and we could have up to 33.

What's your guess? Send an email by Tuesday night, 3/7, to enter.