Signs of Spring

It's still a bit tough to see that spring is coming but there a few signs... 

This morning I saw two robins outside the kitchen window.  The were inspecting the lawn that has appeared above the septic tank.  Robins were then a topic of conversation in the grocery store this morning.  I so enjoy the small town feeling that is here!  Perfect strangers say good morning or begin a conversation.  It is welcome; like spring.

Much of our snow has melted but there is still a lot of the ground covered in it.  It was cold enough yesterday that I walked out to explore an as yet unexplored part of the property.  The forecast was for rain so I had to get out while I could still walk on top of the snow.  It was gloriously sunny and all three dogs had a blast.  Ruby remains intrigued with walking on frozen water and the ponds we came across were solid.

The temperature is warmer today.  Rain began late morning and now in the mid-afternoon it has turned to wet snow.  The sheep are in the barn.  And so are the Maremmas.  I inhaled lunch and suited up in my barn gear to check on the whereabouts of the dogs as they were not seen when I returned from my shopping.  Millie was sound asleep in her spot in front of the freezer in the Big Barn.  Rather than snooze in her pen, Ruby was flaked out with the sheep.  Well, the dogs were flaked out while the sheep were lying down and chewing their cud.

In the last week Millie has made it clear that she belongs in the Big Barn.  This has taken a long time if you consider she arrived at the end of the first week in June last year.  A few times I have found Millie in Ruby's pen in the Big Barn.  Granted there is a pile of comfy straw there, however I sometimes think Millie is trying to usurp Ruby as only the top dog could do.  I created a comfy spot for Millie inside the doggie door and in front of the freezer to encourage her to come inside to sleep at night.  For most of the winter she has chosen to sleep:  outside in the pile of hay; under the overhang outside her doggie door in the Big Barn; in the lean-to at the Small Barn; or, inside the box stall in the Small Barn - when this was made available to her.  Now the rams are in that box stall.

Ruby barks a lot.  That's part of how she does her job.  Both dogs walk over the fence where the snow is very high.  And they focus out back - where the coyotes are.  They still get on the road sometimes but not much.  They get themselves out of the Front Field and back in.  They know to return to the sheep.  When they come to the house I put them back with their sheep.  Dog treats are always in my pocket. 

Sometimes it seems like Ruby is taking off again, barking at some invisible intruder, and Millie is scrambling after her to make sure she is okay.  A few times I have observed Millie laying in the hay pile while the sheep eat around her, listening as Ruby barks at the gremlins she imagines in the back acreage.  Millie is tired and lame and a bit overweight after the winter.  She has just completed her second round of treatment for Lyme Disease.  The spay surgery does result in weight gain, so the Vet has informed me.  Very food focused, Millie eats everything.

It must be spring because I am out of hay.  I have purchased two pick-up truck loads of forty bales each, so far.  We can't get up to the Big Barn and only have limited storage space in the Small Barn.  Likely I will order more before the pasture is a reliable feed source.

Another sign of spring is the bulging sheep bellies.  Well, some of the them.  Since lambing will be stretched out across a few months this year, some ewes are looking quite pregnant while others are not so much.  In anticipation of swelling bellies, the sheep have been receiving grain for a few weeks now, and I increase it a bit each week.  I bought a new bag of oats and called the feed store after I opened it.  It's very dirty.  The fellow at the feed store said it's all like that.  We're lucky we have any since last year's grain crop was so poor.  The spring was so wet farmers could not get grain planted.  In addition to dirty grain there is little to no straw to be had this year.  My hay supplier will have straw this year as he planted winter wheat in the fall.

Yesterday I was shocked to see the sheep venture away from the barn.  They don't go through the snow unless they must.  However, they all went out and almost to the driveway.  It didn't last long.  They determined there was nothing to eat and returned to the barn.

As I prepare to head out to do afternoon chores, another huge sign of spring are the longer daylight hours.  This is so very welcome.  The sheep get to stay up later as I don't put them into the barn until sundown.  Usually they are already inside when I go out.  The longer days have also led to increase in egg production.  I just need to sell the excess eggs.  I have a sign now but took it down when we went away.  I'll have to get it back up.

It's coming, spring....just like Christmas.