to maine and back

Our Vermont ram, Leonidas, has been waiting for a friend for a long time. He had no complaints, being in with his little flock of (now pregnant, that's how it works) ewes, but they will be lambing VERY soon and he needs to come out of there. The problem is, the only other group of sheep we have right now is our little ewes, Lambykins and Lucy, and they are too young for such things!

We have had a ram waiting in reserve for us aaalllll the way up in Maine since September, and I have been hoping that he would be able to hitch a ride down here, or at least a little closer. No such luck. With lambing dates breathing down our neck, I finally hit the road. Thank goodness for my friend Robin, who was once again up for a crazy adventure. She didn't mind that the adventure involved sixteen plus hours in a truck cab, though I think her opinion may have changed around hour ten.

Pam to the left, Robin to the right

We left on Monday morning. The ram's home was with Pam and Jim Child at Hatchtown Farm at Pemaquid Peninsula, so we hooked a right at some point and made the "Down East" manuever necessary to get to most shore points in Maine.

The weather was grey and overcast for our stay so the pictures don't do the rugged beauty justice.

The Inn at Round Pond, our lovely B&B

The harbor across the street

We enjoyed a delicious dinner with Pam and Jim that night, feasting on one of their home-grown broilers. Their farm features wonderful historic buildings with updates. Robin and I were drooling over Pam's fiber studio, which she opens to customers in the summer months.

Pam's fiber studio, attached to the house

The side of the barn, with original stone steps

The next morning it was no rest for the weary. We were up early, enjoyed a delicious breakfast, then it was back out to the farm to meet the flock and load the ram. A terrible storm was heading up the coast and we were trying to beat the rain as much as possible.

Olivia, the ram's mother

The boy loaded up and ready to go

We hit the worst of the weather driving through Connecticut, although the ram was pretty cozy in his spot in the pickup bed. The carrying crate, which we purchased from Sydell when we first got sheep, comes with a fitted canvas cover, which you can see as the "white" in the picture. Once I finished taking pictures we lowered the back flap so he was protected from the elements. He stayed tucked up near the cab and arrived at our place perfectly dry.

He is a "talker"—I don't think we have had another sheep quite this noisy. Every time we stopped I would peek in and check on him, and he always had a few words for me. Not the sheepy complaining "BAAAAA" either, just quiet tones about his opinions on the matter. Secondo noticed the same thing when he went out to check on him this afternoon. Any names that start with "L" and mean "likes to chat"? Maybe he'll be "Lecturer."