Saying Hello

The turkeys arrived yesterday. A box of peeping little fuzz balls. Very lively fuzz balls. They are so vigorous! We hope to successfully raise Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for ourselves and a few other people.

We will brood these guys for a few weeks then put them out on pasture. Our most recent batch of broiler chicks are ready to go on pasture. We will move them out of their cozy room in the barn and move the turkeys in to that room. In the meantime, they are in the bathroom. You never know what creature you will find in our bathroom. Ailing lamb, orphan goat, dog scared of thunder, all types of baby poultry. For some reason our friends come to visit anyway. Maybe they like to add a little suspense to their otherwise normal life where barn animals and bathrooms never come into contact.

But for now, turkey poults.

We also got to say hello to another new arrival.

I called Philip as I drove home from a friends' house. They needed some homemade bread and garden soup. I chatted with Philip, checking to make sure kids were in bed. Thankfully Thomas made spaghetti for the other kids for supper with some garden veggie spaghetti sauce. He fed them while Philip finished working in the garden. (I am so blessed to have a family that works together so I can go pray with a friend when I need to). Thomas loves onions and garlic and when I departed I saw him chopping lots of onions and garlic and carrots from the garden. Really good smells were coming from the pot. I bet they did just fine.

Anyway, I was so surprised when Philip told me he found a newborn baby lamb in the barn last evening! Esther, our registered Jacob ewe, gave birth to a perfectly spotted little ram lamb!

On Monday several girls in the flock were talking to me when I went out to the barn that morning. They rarely gather around to speak with me. I told them I appreciated the heads up and that we would be looking out for babies. Sure enough, the fall lambing season has begun.

I went straight to the barn when I got home. The air was dark, cool and deliciously moist. Eyes blinked when I turned on the lights in the barn. Coco looked at me questioningly. The goats stirred. Chickens gently clucked and hopped down from the roost. I went into the upper level of the barn to investigate. In a stall was Esther and her sweet, teeny little baby. Nice and clean. She was nuzzling baby, talking to him, using the sweet language mothers speak only to sweet little newborn babies. Murmur, purr-purr, whisper as she nuzzles him toward the source of his nourishment.

I left them alone and said hello to the other girls and guys in the flock. A couple of the Cotswold-Jacob crosses stuck their noses out at me, asking for a scratch. How unusual! The sheep are a rather skittish group. Not exactly warm and friendly. I scratched noses for a good long time. "When are you girls going to have your babies? Must be tired carrying around those kicking things. Here, you deserve a nice scratch. Maybe tomorrow will be your lucky day!"

We were quiet. The flock settled back down. I took another look at Esther. She had passed her afterbirth. Good. All well.

Saying goodnight to the goats and cows, I asked Priscilla is she was going to calve pretty soon herself. She just grunted, stretched and chewed her cud. Moon was hidden behind clouds. But moon is full. We will enjoy a bright evening tonight if the clouds don't keep her covered up. Nice and bright for more arrivals. I hope they are healthy ones.

By the way, it is still raining today. Thankful for rising water tables. Thankful that damp soil is easier weed-pulling soil. We hope to get some turnips and onions planted today. Good day according to the farmer's almanac to plant below-ground bearing vegetables.

PS Please pray for my friend Becky and her daughter Brooke. Brooke's body is fighting a rare and vicious cancer. Thank you so much.