Latest Posts
Cell Phones, Barns, and Lambs…
April 2014There are always lessons to learn. New Ram Lamb Standing in the barn, the cell phone set to speaker phone, we talk to the vet. I hold the ewe and my husband works to try to figure out how to put her back together. We tell the vet what has unfolded, the first time ewe lambed that morning, two … Read More
Cookie Crumbs
The Bottom of the Cookie Jar There’s only one cookie left in the bottom of the cookie jar. Two days ago, cookies completely filled the jar-soft, chewy, and chocolaty. Everyone in the house enjoyed those cookies, hands reaching in at the end of the school day, running out the door to baseball, and before bedtime. Now only one cookie and … Read More
A Mother’s Love
Spend some time in my barn during lambing season, and you will discover the wonders of a mother’s love. From the moment of birth, mama tends to her little lambs. She cleans them, nickers to them, encouraging them to nurse. During those first days after birth, mama never leaves her lamb’s side. She draws them close their first days in … Read More
The Shepherds Watch by Night
Wednesday, April 9 I walk out into the cold of the night, coveralls pulled over my plaid flannel pajama pants, flashlight in hand. My alarm clock has called me to the barn for a 3:30am check on the ewes. Moses and Aaron, our barn cats follow me to the barn. I stop at the door to listen before entering to … Read More
Ode To a Vermont Shepherd and Her Sugar Maker
Twas the day before sugaring, all the buckets were hung…. When all through the woods, Not a maple was left standing without a spout or a hood. The buckets were hung round the maples with care, In hopes that springtime soon would be there. All over town, sugar makers nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of evaporators whistled … Read More