the big melt

It took a week of warmer weather, but the snow and ice is gone... almost. A few hold out patches here and there, but we could finally get the sheep into the catch chute without risking our necks or theirs.

We were a little overdue for some sheep maintenance but it has been a solid sheet of ice back there, making work conditions completely impossible until the ice melted.

Unfortunately, the mud that replaced the ice didn't exactly make it easy. Wrestling with a 200 pound ewe that does not want her hooves trimmed becomes an exercise in balance and perserverance when your feet and hers are skating all over the place. The fact that I couldn't distinguish between where the mud stopped and the hoof began added an extra element of challenge.

Hermione, Henrietta and Holly:

fresh pedicures, clean coats, new digs

We managed to get hooves trimmed, vaccinations done, coats replaced, and udders checked for signs of pregnancy. Looks like we have five expectant mamas, which is quite exciting. They have another month to go, but we moved them up into their own maternity ward so we can give them extra rations and keep a closer eye on them.