Spring Lambs!

I'd meant to go visit my neighbors' new crop of lambs for a few weeks but had been delayed. One day, though, I finally stopped by and took a tour:

The sheep were divided into numerous pens, some with many sheep and some with only a few. Old ewes, new mothers and handicapped mothers were usually put into small pens. Mothers with twins were often sectioned off so they could easily tend to and bond with their tiny babies:

The biggest, healthiest lambs in the large pens were having the most fun:

A blind ewe and an elderly ewe were given special consideration:

And all the animals were given exacting and merciful care:

The lambs, of course, were adorable. Some seemed afraid of me and some seemed to regard me with great curiosity:

There were two rams in the two biggest pens. One was dangerous and I was not allowed in that pen, but the elderly ram in the other big pen was used to people and oblivious to visitors:

The farmer went in to check on the sheep in one pen:

The ewes didn't mind her, but the lambs bounced around playfully:

There was much activity:

She told me that she had 48 lambs, only two of which needed to be bottle fed this year. One of the bottle babies had been rejected by its mother and put in with a ewe so old that she didn't do much of anything anymore. She had no milk to feed the baby, but served as a warm mommy substitute for the little one. The two of them had their own pen but the photo I took of them was not usable:

We chatted and watched the lambs. I said hello to Doug, her friendly horse, and then I took my leave: