Our grass is SO LUSH now. Today, it rained off and on, and it was still cool enough I wanted a coat for going outside. Nevertheless, I insist that summer is here. Why? Because the barn swallows returned today. Just as their leaving marks the beginning of winter for me, their return marks the beginning of summer. They return, the same as my mother who winters in Mexico does, sometime between May Day and Mothers Day. The sound of the barn swallows flitting in and out of the open barn windows is the background hum of our summers here and their return brings great joy and happiness to my heart.
After keeping our two newest lambs inside and separated for over a week, they joined the rest of the flock today. I worry about the wee little things -the bigger lambs are a bit rough and pushy, the pastures are so big, they don't know about electric fences yet......I'd prefer to keep all young things (incidentally, tonight is senior prom night for my youngest) totally safe and protected forever, but you can't keep little lambs (or teenage girls) locked up forever. Before putting them out with the rest of the flock, I brought my other two ewes in and they all had the sheep equivalent of a mini spa treatment: they got their hooves trimmed and...well, with all the good spring grass and the nice wool on my ewes, they needed what shepherd's call crutching or crotching...I sheared their butts. Happy Mother's Day to Ewes!!!
