Finally, after months of waiting, the first lamb is born on our farm! :) This is Big Red, a California Red lamb. The ewe is Lanolin, a first time mom.
The kids got off the school bus and saw the puppy "playing" with a squirrel... then they realized it was a lamb! This was Dagny's first lamb and I was worried she would have roughhoused it to death, but it seems she just helped licked it clean... a little too close on the head where she took off a little skin. We read that young sheepdogs often accidentally kill their first lambs, so we were fortunate! The rest of the flock headed up to the barn for feeding, but these two stood around a little bewildered.
Dagny & the boys, and the mud-pit.
The weather was mild and we got mom & baby near the barn. He couldn't figure out how to nurse and mom was unsure of what he was doing. We held her and let him to the teat where he got his first colostorum.
Since it was nearly evening, we carried little Big Red to the barn and mom followed. We got them settled under a couple heat lamps and stayed with them to ensure he was going to nurse. Lanolin is affectionate with her lamb, and her 'run away' instinct dissapeared. She stood calmly while we helped make sure he found the teat and nursed again.
Sooo precious!
Most adorable thing I've ever seen. Look at those red curls!
Exhausting first day!
Having our first lamb is a great ray of sunshine and hope for spring after one of the coldest winters on record! Here we are the week before, with 14 inches of snow!
At least with this round of weather, the sub zero temps were gone so coatless snow forts were the order of the day! :) This was something like the 8 or 9th snow day off school this winter!
The boy, the dog and the chicken... that would make a great children's book of some kind! B-)
Scrubby Icelandics, out foraging in every sticker patch possible. This will make carding their wool an absolute JOY come spring. Not!
These runner ducks are a new addition to the farm. Raised by a good friend, they are friendly and will peck your hand off if you show up without food... They are a great laying breed and run around in a tight pack, and upright like penguins. They are hilarious to watch!
In the middle of this deep freeze we decided that $4.00 a gallon for propane was totally outrageous, so we opened up our fireplaces and installed woodstoves. It has been quite an exhausting experience, trying to keep this big house with high ceilings heated only with wood. In addition to carrying in 3-4 wheelbarrels full of wood a day, (and trying to find and cut and split wood in the middle of winter!) we've had to adjust by closing off rooms, and wearing 2-4 layers of clothes. I've never worn thermals on a regular basis, so I often have clothing claustrophobia. I can hardly wait for spring! This wood stove is a Jotul, a brand I highly recommend for anyone looking. So easy to start a fire in it, and it cranks out the heat with a long burn.
This is a replica of an old Franklin Stove. It's not terribly efficient, but it heats up fast and it doesn't distract too much from the period of the old colonial -type fireplace.
This one is a 1975 old Vermont woodstove. SUPER heavy and it takes a long time to get a good fire burning, but once you have it, it will burn all night. This heats the upper story of the house. Sitting on the stove are our pile of 'bed bricks.' My husband surprised me one night, by sticking one in our cold bed...they stay heated for hours, no cold feet or hands cuddling with a brick! LOL! It's great to feel like we're picking up a little 'old school' ingenuity.
A little project in the midst of stoking fires...3 different, badly done floors painted checkerboard for continuity. I like it! Covers the hideous ugly tile that was totally wrecked by the repairmen who replaced our well. Did I mention we were without regular running water for over a month in the middle of this long winter??
My husband and I started a low carb diet... Here I have toasted coconut ground up in our wondermill grinder. Needs to be refined a little more, but it's almost easier to whip it up in the blender at this point. This makes AMAZING pancakes with:
2 oz cream cheese, 1/4 c coconut, 2 eggs, 1 packet of sweetner, 1/8 tsp bkg soda, splash of vanilla & 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Whip all together in the blender & cook like regular pancakes. Served with sugar free syrup ! Abt 4 net carbs per serving.
2 oz cream cheese, 1/4 c coconut, 2 eggs, 1 packet of sweetner, 1/8 tsp bkg soda, splash of vanilla & 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Whip all together in the blender & cook like regular pancakes. Served with sugar free syrup ! Abt 4 net carbs per serving.
Sugar free - low carb chocolate cheesecake! Another super easy recipe! Recipes like this make low carb dieting a pleasure!! :)
Blend 1/2 c coconut with 1/4 c melted butter and 3 packets splenda & spread in bottom of round cake pan and baked for 10 minutes @ 350. In a food processor, mix 2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, 2 eggs, 3/4 c xylitol or equivalent of splenda...basically sweeten to taste, and approx. 1/4 cup cocoa. Pour on top of baked crust and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Rest in fridge overnight, and drizzle melted sugar free chocolate chips over the top. Approx 5 net carbs per serving (8 per pan) I think this is sooo delicious, much better than a box -cake. Some variation of this may be every birthday cake in our house from here on out!
Blend 1/2 c coconut with 1/4 c melted butter and 3 packets splenda & spread in bottom of round cake pan and baked for 10 minutes @ 350. In a food processor, mix 2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, 2 eggs, 3/4 c xylitol or equivalent of splenda...basically sweeten to taste, and approx. 1/4 cup cocoa. Pour on top of baked crust and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Rest in fridge overnight, and drizzle melted sugar free chocolate chips over the top. Approx 5 net carbs per serving (8 per pan) I think this is sooo delicious, much better than a box -cake. Some variation of this may be every birthday cake in our house from here on out!
This is the low carb diet saving "bread" recipe. So easy, and you can adapt to sweet or savory.
1 TBSP melted coconut oil, 1/4 c flax flour, 1/2 tsp bkg soda, 1 ex large egg, 2 TBSP water. Whisk with a fork and pour onto a heated skillet. 2 net carbs for the whole recipe!! I add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, parmesan cheese, etc. when making a sandwich. If I want something sweet, I mix all into a mug with 1 packet of sweetner, cinnamon, ginger etc. and microwave for 1.5 minutes. It turns into a mug-shaped "muffin" that you can top with cream cheese or coconut-oil frosting, etc. :)
And one last project...hoping for spring, starting my cold weather vegetables!
The best and last highlight of this long winter, are the weekly letters home from our daughter serving an LDS mission in Tempe Arizona, where she's been enjoying fresh picked citrus fruit and 70 degree temps while teaching the gospel! Soooo jealous! :) <3
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