BARNYARD
AND FIELD – SPRING BABIES
Nothing
says spring like new life
March,
2010
FRIESIAN
CROSS MILK SHEEP AT LAUGHING STOCK FARM
A couple of miles
down the road, good friend Lisa is raising dairy sheep. This breed
is easily identified by their distinctive “rat tail.” Her dairy
cow makes too much milk so she decided to try sheep rather than goats because
their milk is separates on its own like cows milk but is concentrated and
because she really likes sheep. As Lisa puts it, sheep make evaporated
milk. Lisa isn’t milking them on a regular basis yet, but when she does,
her sheep will supply her with milk, butter, yogurt and maybe cheese.
BUSY DOGS
Lisa’s English
Shepherds are a
new addition. Izzie and Zeke are brother and sister from two different
litters. Their job is to protect the livestock at night but occasionally
they pester them a little during the day. Camille laughed to see one
little lamb decide he was ‘outta here’ and scramble through the fence. All that
running around takes its toll and sometimes the pups put their heads together
and take a little nap in the shade.
INCUBATORS
– PIGGIES AND POULTS
Lisa’s American
Guinea sow is
pregnant and her turkey hens are sitting on eggs. Pretty soon there will
be pigglets and poults.
THREE
WEEKS LATER
The piglets are
born and cuddle for warmth in the arms of Lisa’s daughter and her
friend.
Sadly, these tiny
black piglets were the last two of a litter of seven to survive a cold
snap. Despite the heat lamp in their mother’s stall, the freezing
temperatures drove them to burrow beneath their mama where they smothered.
These little piggies followed suit, leaving none.
SMALL
ENOUGH TO FIT IN YOUR HAND
Camille’s hand is
not much larger than this tiny piglet with its big head and cute little
feet. Raz held this tiny rabbit in his hand and took a photo with his cell
phone. During a work party at The Plant, we uncovered a nest of tiny
bunnies. One of the volunteers had brought her young son and when they saw
the bunnies she was astounded. Earlier that morning, when she told him
where they were going, he had asked, “Will there be bunnies?” Of
course, she laughed and said she didn’t think so but then, come to find out –
there were bunnies!
ALPACA
LIPS
Check out the
photos we took of Nancy’s menagerie on our visit to her farm with Jason and
Haruka when we went in search of Manure to use in their
fields.
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