June 02, 2012 Saturday
The new lamb is definitely nursing. She looks and acts as though she were several days old. I have named her Bertha. The Cotswold predominates. She has a wide white face.
I ran in and out all day checking on the sheep. Agnes still does not want to take her baby outside. I left her with hay. I left their door ajar and the others came and went.
It rained all day.
I made oatmeal bread.
Dot Mason called to see if I wanted to go with her to a public supper in aid of the son of one of my neighbors. Actually neither of us knew who it was in aid of until we got there. There was a large crowd. The menu was mostly beans. I don’t know whose beans I ate but they did not go to much trouble. There was also mac’n cheese and spaghetti, cole slaw and rolls. No real butter. Many, many pies, some home made. I saw a lot of folks that I had not seen in years and could not remember all their names.
June 03, 2012 Sunday
There was heavy rain all day. Many parts of the state report flooding. “Lake Coburn”, the poorly drained part of my front yard is above my boots.
At about 9am, Linda, the white ewe sired by Bildad, the Finn Dorset, had a nice little ram lamb that is half Cotswold. It is not quite as big as Bertha but is bigger than I expected from her since she is small and never looked very pregnant. It was nursing within a very short time and I saw it feed several more times. I sure hope Susie does as well.
Nancy returned the truck about 9am. She said her children’s archery class at the Farmington Fair was enthusiastically received. She was thrilled.
Granddaughter Shireen stopped by following her job orientation session at Kawanhee Camp for Boys at Weld. She and several others will be working in the kitchen. She thinks it will be a wonderful job.
I just learned that DS Bret and kids will visit in August. This is wonderful.
June 04, 2012 Monday
Martin had planned to come up last night but ran a stick into his eye while cycling and stayed home to see the doctor. It is red and ugly but not a dangerous injury, thank goodness. He came up this morning.
For the last couple of days I have had a lot of trouble getting Fern in for milking. I got her in today about 9am and Ella had gotten the weaning ring out of her nose and left Fern with only 3 quarts of milk. She is going on Craigslist. Martin got her into the calf pen for me.
Both lambs seem to be doing alright. Linda’s wee ram jumped through the tiny viewing window which landed him in the calf pen. I carried him back to his worried mama when I found him. I got worried about the sheep’s’ water bucket and had Martin suspend it up higher where I don’t think a lamb can jump into it. Last year one did and nearly died of chilling.

Martin tried to do some tilling but it is way too wet. It is no longer raining but a Scotch mist persists and nothing is drying. There is a lot of flooding around the state.
Martin put in a new doorstep at the entrance to the carriage house. The old one was rotting away dangerously.
For dinner Martin and I ate chili, biscuits, asparagus and yogurt.
June 05, 2012 Tuesday
It hardly rained at all today and the sun even came out about 4 o’clock.
Nancy dug out the drainage trench in the paddock garden so Lake Coburn can begin to drain.
Ella was separated last night so I got some milk this morning. Now she is in the sheep paddock. It did not hold Milton – he jumped out so we’ll see what morning brings.
Martin experimented with the lime spreader in late afternoon and was thrilled with how well it goes. He says he will come back Saturday and do the field.
DS Bret sent me a NASA link for watching the transit of Venus. So fascinating.
June 07, 2012 Thursday
Not much rain today, even some sun. I mailed a box of comfrey to DD Abby, also went to Rumford on errands. I fell for a few types of fruit at Hannaford. Disappointing. They all taste fake.
I let the sheep outdoors today. The lambs had fun skipping around but then they lay down for naps and Agnes lost her lamb, “Bertha”. I helped her look for it for about 10 minutes and found it back inside the barn behind some tools. By then Agnes was in such a state that she couldn’t seem to see it when I carried it out to show her and she could not remember how to get back up the ramp. You have to go to the low end, not jump up at the top, you silly sheep. I have renamed Bertha. Nobody liked that name. Now she is Beulah.
June 08, 2012 Friday
I invited the sheep to go outside again today and this time only Linda’s ram lamb went out. Linda was quite upset about this .Eventually he came back in by himself. It was warm and sunny until about 2pm when the world erupted into a brief but intense electrical storm. It swept through the French doors from the deck into the buttery, rolling up the heavy braided rug as it came and sluiced 10 feet of floor. Pushing those doors shut against the wind made ne think of what sailors have to do in a storm. In the barn a lot of things were hurled around but there was no real damage that I found. I had heard that a storm was on the way and had the sheep shut in. The cows seemed indifferent to the whole thing.
Nancy’s troop of little farmer girls came in time for evening chores. They put out hay for the sheep , did the water for the sheep and chickens and collected eggs.