Lamb

Lamb

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Early Summer Evening At The Farm


Hello dear friends, this evening some of the sheep were fretting so I went for a walk to see what was amiss.  I thought that perhaps our newest lamb had been separated from her mother so while I was walking around the fields I took some photos.




We have had some challenges with the weather of late.  Very warm temperatures, drying winds and very little rainfall have stressed the farm.  The water level in Lake Ophelia is down at least 2 feet and the bullrushes are becoming invasive.  In my walk I did however spot this very handsome frog!


And it took a bit of careful observation but I did spot a number of pink water lilies.  I did not see any sign of the yellow lilies that we had in the past.



The bullrushes have been growing aggressively.  They naturally help to trap sediment and clear the water and also provide natural cover for the goldfish and frogs that live in the pond.  You can see how low the water level is.



 There was still no sign of the missing lamb but this one agreed to be photographed.

This is our newest hay field which was seeded last fall.  It looks good, we should be able to cut and bale next week.


This is crab apple grove.  The pasture is this area is struggling and really needs some rain to help it recover.  Fortunately our sheep have access to other pasture across the road which they can graze for a few hours per day.  As those fields back onto a river and are surrounded by hills they provide a great habitat for coyotes.  Sheep have many predators and coyotes are a problem in our area.


We read an article which suggested that it is good practice to build piles of shrubbery and twigs to provide habitat for wildlife.  As we have a large property we made a pile from fallen tree branches and some old junipers that we cut down.  As I approached the pile I could hear lots of rustling...


And this little fellow popped out!  


The sheep like to spend time between grazing resting under these apple trees.  We have many old and gnarled apple trees on the property.

And in case you were wondering I later saw the ewe with her little lamb so all is well.

~Thank you for visiting!~

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