Princess and Prince moved back out with the other sheep yesterday afternoon. I haltered her, thinking she would be agreeable to going back to the flock and that Prince would follow her. She’s usually in a big hurry to catch up with the others when she’s been separated.
Ahem. Yes. I didn’t allow for the full strength of her determination to never do anything she’s told. She did want to go back to the Clubhouse, but felt she couldn’t do so without a fight because it was my idea. It’s the Principle Of The Thing. You could see the conflict on her face: “I want to go… but she’s trying to lead me, so I must resist… but I actually want to go…”
Eventually I gave up, scooped up Prince, and let mom follow baby instead of the reverse. A bit harder on my knees and shins (Princess has a very hard head and she wanted her baby back that minute), but much easier on my back than trying to drag a ewe all the way across the icy yard.
All the other girls came flying around to the gate, yelling in excitement when they heard Princess coming. (Princess has a very loud baa bellow and she wanted her baby back that minute.) Even Lady seemed happy to see her, and she’s never been Princess’s biggest fan.
The baby caused much excitement too, once he was spotted. Everybody had to sniff at him, and Princess thew a fit trying to keep everyone away. He didn’t march straight up and declare himself Ruler of the Earth like Nova did when she met the flock, but he didn’t run in terror either, like Neo. Maybe Liam’s influence made him a little less intense than Nova? I can hope, anyway. I’m not sure I can handle a huge, male version of Princess at full strength.
Nova was Not Impressed by the arrival of a younger sibling. She and Watcher should form a club: Displaced and Displeased Older Siblings. As of this morning she and Prince were both tagging along after Princess, so she must have reconciled herself to the situation.
“First things first, little bro: I’m the boss after Mama, OK? The second spot’s already taken. You can be Junior Third Assistant Apprentice Boss or something.”
That will be an interesting relationship to watch as he grows up.
Mira hasn’t been out to the Clubhouse yet. It’s been so warm and sunny lately that fully half of the snow has melted, but every night it freezes so hard that I can walk on the snow without leaving footprints. Mira still gets chilled easily, so it’ll have to be warmer before I take her out there.
Shepherd Life 
What a hoot!! I really enjoyed your blow-by-blow and could just visualize it all. Are you selling fleece yet/now?
When dealing with Princess, events often unfold literally blow-by-blow. 🙂
I’m not going to roo/shear anybody until at least March, after the lambing season is over and it warms up some. I’ll have to wait until then before I know if any of it is worth selling.
Battle of the Egos! Good luck. Should be interesting to see how Nova interacts with Little Bro in the coming days…
Princess seems happy to have both of her lambs near her, though Prince is getting the bulk of the attention for now.
I’m hoping when Nova has a lamb of her own to fuss over it will distract her from being jealous.
What excitement! Thank you so much for your entertaining posts and updates about the babies! It’s a good thing the births are spread out; can you imagine the chaos if all the lambs were born at once? Whew! Hope you get a chance to get some rest for yourself as well . . . .
Warm Regards, Lisa in Oregon
I’m worn out, I can’t imagine how some farms manage lambing dozens of ewes a night!
I just found your blog, via Tyche’s Minder – what beautiful sheep! That lamb in the sweater is to die for!
Thank you! She is a darling.
That must be the animal version of a frenemy — animals that normally beat up on each other, but positively swoon if separated. I have a couple of those too. 🙂 Prince is awfully cute.
I suppose they are “frenemies”, haha. I think Barney and Neo are the same way.
Prince is a fluffy teddy bear. 🙂
Dear Sarah,
Let’s hope a little of laid-back Liam’s characteristics are snug within the little guy. We’re big Liam fans, thinking him the cutest, ram *ever*, though Square Peg’s Larry might be close — but I’m not sure he’s a ram any longer.
Mmm, somehow we think that you might be getting up to feed Mira o’ nights. How loud is her baaa? What does Watcher do when she makes noise?
Very best,
Natalie and the peanut gallery
Liam is a very cute ram! As far as I know, he’s the only one of Square Peg Farm’s 2014 boys to retain his… ramly character. 😉
Feeding Mira has been putting a significant dent in my sleep. She’s an increasing volume alarm, starting with a quiet buzzing noise and working her way up to ear-splitting screaming the longer she’s put off. 🙂
Watcher got upset by it the first night or two, but he mostly ignores it now.
Dear Sarah,
Snortle-chortle. So Mira’s in training to be one of those increasing-volume bedside alarms, then? Bio-fuel powered, too. That’s very green of her.
Well, very best to you, these long winter nights. Hope it’s not too long before she can sleep through the night. I won’t say how long my human twins took to do that because the remembrance will only add more gray hairs, and can only thank goodness lambs grow faster than they do.
Very best,
Natalie