Still waiting

Every year this happens...Everyone else is having lambs, and I have been up for many nights staring at fat sheep.  After a while I start wondering in a sleep-deprived haze whether they are really PG or just fat.  What do you think- PG or fat?

This spring has been cold too.  We sheared in the middle of March which should have been fine, but it has been much cooler than usual, and the sheep and goats are spending a lot of time in the barn.  We still have tarps over the doors to try and keep some warmth in and the breeze out.  Hannah, our Pygora goat, initially started shivering so I put an accidentally felted wool sweater on her which she wore for 3 days.  I had moved the wethers and some goats into a field that had a good shelter and grass to eat, but one evening they were hollering and trying to bust through the fence.  I took pity on them and moved them back to the barn.  That night there was a torrential and cold downpour- I am glad they let me know beforehand!  Then yesterday Gwennyth, our thin retired ewe, was shivering.  I tried to put the sweater on her too- she would have none of it- she kicked it off three times before I gave up and this morning she's shivering again. What to do?

This year's lamb/kid watch is a little different than some- Tom's on a trip so I am on my own. I have not been alone during lambing since I met him in 2001.  I did manage to take off of work but am getting less sleep now than when I do work.  Plus I aggravated my back- not sure if it was hauling 50# bags of feed or carting bales of hay through the muck.  Some mornings (like this one) I wonder if I am tough enough to be a shepherd.

On a brighter note, it is a beautiful morning after sleeting most of last night.  The sun is up, the sky is blue, the air is crisp and the birds are signing.  And it's my birthday!