I wish for just one day I could bring you all to Sunnyside & let you experience my life. OK, truthfully I would put you all to work ( because I surely need all the help I can get this week), but there is something about farm life...something that has changed me....something that seems so right ~ like I was made for it. And although there are times when I can't handle the thought of another lamb feeding session, or the buckets of grain seem to heavy to carry, they are so quickly forgotten when I walk into the 'nursery' and am greeted so exuberantly by our 9 poddy lambs ( at the moment), when the pigs lumber over to say 'hello' (enticed of course by the arm numbing bucket of soaked grain you've pulled across the farmyard), and the soft clucking of contented chickens greets you from all around the hen house as they free range happily amongst the green winter grasses. Of course seeing sweet Bessy continue to round out always brings a smile too :)
So much I love about winter, about lambing, about this farm life the Lord has place me in....
If there's one thing I really associate with winter it's the smell of milk powders. Every winter since we've moved to Sunnyside we've had a 'baby' or 'babies' of some kind ~ whether calves or lambs. Feeding these little ones warm milk on cold mornings seems right. Getting baby cuddles in the bargain is so much fun & don't you dare tell me I spoil my 'babies' ~ all babies need to be loved upon!!!
Making up bottles & bottles ~ you know I'm making 27 a day at the moment :) & yes, these are 'red bull' bottles. Some days I'll ring Dave up & ask him to have another one on the way home ( he's the only one that drinks the stuff). He always knows it means we have another occupant in the 'nursery'. I especially like using glass bottles ~ they are so much easier to clean than plastic!
I'm feeding in the nursery in groups until I can borrow another lamb bar. I separate the big & little (there is about a fortnight between the lot of them really) & this reduces the tensions at the end of feeding when the faster ones try & steal the slower ones milk. Every time I have a slower one it makes me think of a certain sister who is always the last one to finish the meal....
Zai's pigs ( I carry the buckets for him because quite frankly ~ it's really heavy). He takes good care of them though. We were so excited to see that Delores is rounding out nicely in the stomach & her teats are getting larger ~ we've been hoping for some pork for Christmas this year!
If only you could help me decide...
I love sitting down with the garden catalogue at this time of year & dreaming & hoping & dreaming some more!! It's all so inviting, but I know this year I really have almost all the seeds I need. What a shame because the pictures are just so pretty ~ makes you almost taste the produce ~ one day I'm going to have that big garden I dream about ~ in the meantime I need to spend a whole lot of time out in it to maintain the one I've got ( want to come & help??)
Talking about gardening....
Today I picked my first peas from our very small winter garden. Oh my ~ they were delicious. But don't tell, because I didn't share :)
Winter ~ it used to be my least favourite season & I still struggle with the cold ~ with pulling on all the winter coats & such to go outside even in the middle of a sunny day. Every other year I've felt the winter blues decend at times, but not this year ~ truthfully~ I haven't had time to think about it.
Today I picked my first peas from our very small winter garden. Oh my ~ they were delicious. But don't tell, because I didn't share :)
Winter ~ it used to be my least favourite season & I still struggle with the cold ~ with pulling on all the winter coats & such to go outside even in the middle of a sunny day. Every other year I've felt the winter blues decend at times, but not this year ~ truthfully~ I haven't had time to think about it.
Enough of my ramblings...
I'm off to bed....
Joining up with:
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