Beginning another season.

For everything there is a season. . . or so the Bible says.

We have four seasons in "normal" life to help us explain the change in weather events: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (and Mud season if you live in the north). Each of these seasons brings with it its own joys and tasks, and there are certain activities that you abstain from in each of these seasons (no one shovels snow in summer - what a dream!).

There is much too much happening on the farm for us to be limited to just four (or five) seasons. Due to the year round activity we have had to create what we will dub "sub-seasons". They are shorter than the traditional seasons, but like those seasons they bring certain joys, certain chores, and certain rests. Unlike the traditional seasons, if you don't get your chores done in season, you're sunk!

I say all of that so that we can herald in the current season here at Pearson's Town. . . Lambing season! Yes, lambing season! A season that we should be able to predict using our handy dandy calendar, but as of yet haven't mastered.

We very intentionally bred our sheep in November, to give us late lambs. Having a roughly five month gestation period, by our calendar lambs should have started arriving the last week of March and the first two weeks of April. Naturally, however, in our ongoing battle of the wits, Buster, our ram, decided that he would throw a monkey wrench into our plans. Thursday of this week, I walked into the barn as though it were any other day. The feel in the building, however, was much different. Amall our trusting guard llama had all of the sheep corralled outside one of the stalls and was standing a very rigid guard detail. Outside were five sheep. Inside there were not one (which would make six - the number of sheep we have), but two - Gracie, and a small ball of white gooey wool.

It turns out that dear ol' Buster bred Gracie before we had separated him from the flock (insert technical breeding blah, blah information here). Dear Buster was not wearing his breeding harness before we separated them, hence we had no idea this had happened. Fast forward five months, and in walks the farm manager as Gracie has just finished delivering and is beginning the cleaning process. Ugh!

(Farmer's note - The best way to lose about six to eight hours of productivity is to have a baby anything. All work comes to a screeching halt and the throng of visitors spikes.)

So here we are Baby X (not yet named campus community. . . get on it!!!) has arrived. A bouncing baby boy. Mother and son are doing well, and papa is proud - stubborn sheep!

If all goes well, there won't be anymore birth announcements here for another month. . . but. . . on goes the battle of the wits. . . Feel free to swing by for a visit!!