Mud Season

March already?! The year is already going by too fast. Baby season fast approaches, and I have a very long to-do list to complete before lambs are on the ground!

We've gotten a very early thaw this year and mud season is already in full swing. It feels more like May outside, even though it was 20 below zero a mere week ago. The herd is enjoying themselves in the sun, and they're even finding tiny green shoots of grass to nibble on!

Meanwhile, I'm happy to report that Amber seems on track to make a full recovery from her M-worm infection. She still walks with a bit of a limp, but she's standing strong on her back legs. I haven't seen her stumble or knuckle under in over a week now. And the silver lining from the whole situation is that she now seems less wary of me than she was before. She routinely approaches me on her own to sniff around my hands and pockets for traces of grain. And she even sometimes lets me kiss her nose. Such a sweet girl.

I've also started halter training Mal. Nothing serious yet--just making a game out of him sticking his nose through the halter all on his own. He gets rewarded with a "YES!" and a nibble of grain every time he does it. Emmy Lou is predictably very good at this game too, and Bear is starting to pick up on it as well. None of the others will play yet, but they watch and I can tell it will only be a matter of time. I'm also hoping to train them all to lift their feet on command so toenail trims will be easier. This is going very well with Emmy, and Mal is starting to learn. My goal is to greatly reduce the stress on both the herd and myself for routine health tasks. I'd love to be able to attend to everyone without a helper. It may be a lofty goal, but we'll see what happens!

The vet will come next week to ultrasound all the girls and give me better due dates. Such fun! I'm nervous and excited for babies all at once.