Your daily bounce – let’s get that out of the way.  Harry Lamblin remains beyond cute.  He now comes when he is called and clambers all over me! Be still my beating heart.  🐑 ❤️ 🐑

Meanwhile in Dreki-training-land, he is now moved on to being ridden by Daisy with a bridle and a saddle.  She does small bits of light steering while I lead.  Dreki is very good and seems totally unphased with anything we throw at him…. so far.

Today, we went out in the Big Outside.  I took Efstur and Daisy led Dreki.  She says he is a like a dog. He likes to sniff everything.  We met a couple of cars and he didn’t blink.

Down our track and onto the single track road, where the hill sheep live.

A family photo.

The star of the show.

We didn’t go as far as we wanted as the hill sheep have their new little lambs.  Lambs are terrible for spotting us, leaving their Mums and following us home so we turned for home while we were still unattached.

We met Mr Scary Plastic-Wrap…. boring.

Sniffed a pile of gravel (for filling in the pot-holes on our track)

And a quick sniff at the parked cars.  We allow Dreki, and Efstur to do this – it gets it out of their system.

Better that than an explosion about the unknown. I told you Dreki is like a dog. Sniff.

This morning, Maggie was having her mid-morning snack and little Himself was busy trying to be brave!

Harry is desperate for a chat.

Maggie just wants biccies.  It’s a fair exchange, I think.  Food for the love of her son!

And then there was this afternoon.  It had got a bit warmer (that North wind is biting) and someone was very bouncy bouncy!

Apparently I have other animals to look after!  Who knew?  I must tear myself away and take an interest in them one day.

So much has happened in these last 24 hours…..

Yesterday evening, I had an inkling that something was up.  Maggie had taken herself away.

So I watched and waited.

Nothing.

Maggie was wandering – her gait was very lateral and her overall shape had suddenly changed.

I read somewhere that sheep won’t eat 24 hours before they give birth – this is not true.

Maggie ate some tea plus a couple of pieces of Kitkat (the dark chocolate version) that I had about my person.

She walked, she dug, she walked.  Sometimes she lay down.

I was surprised to find ‘Bert in Maggie’s field for a while (what a guy) and then he went off to rejoin his friends (probably realised he should go “tout suite”).

After supper, I went back out and waited.  I even texted Daisy to come out and then told her not to bother. Luckily Daisy ignored my last request and arrived.

And we watched (at a good distance) while everything happened.  It was fascinating.  Nature at her finest.

Maggie would have dig, lie down, have a contraction, then stand up and smell the area and lie down again.

As we were keeping a good distance, we could only see what was going on via the long camera lens.  We were looking for movement of the lamb when it was born so we knew it was alive.

The arrival.  Clever Maggie.

Once on the ground, Maggie immediately stood up and started licking her new arrival clean and dry.  She was very thorough and the little lamb had no choice.

Within minutes, Lamb was trying to get up, with varying degrees of success.

Et voilà! 10 minutes later.

Maggie is a wonderful Mum.  She knows what to do.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines we were being watched.  Maggie was safe in her field and no one dared try to go in. She needs peace and quiet.  Taktur also knew something was going on.

The next day – I went out with Maggie’s breakfast.  She loves her food and I want her to get into a good post-baby routine.  She is still very thin. It’s all gone into the lamb in utero these past few weeks.

First contact.

And we are 99% sure Lamb is a he.

He has the cutest little white cap on the top of his head.

Interestingly, Maggie ate his poo. There was nothing left. She wanted no evidence of his existence anywhere.

A friend saw him and said “wow, that’s one good lamb”. I agree.

And he is bold.

I have been in the field three times (I wanted to go more but stopped myself).

Lamb is very brave and confident.  He is learning to bounce too – be still my beating heart.

Maggie is always watching but is good about me being there.  Animal Crackers help.

And his name?  Harry Lamblin.

So welcome to Harry. I am already in love.

Today I took a brush with me as well as some mane/tail detangler and went to work on the Minions.

I only brushed those that volunteered (ie, I couldn’t be bothered to catch or tie anyone up). Manes and tails with a bit of sweep around the body.

First up was Albie.  He loves being brushed. It’s his Thing.  He would stand there all day just being brushed. Utter bliss.

Ditto Waffle who seemed always to be there, waiting and he put up his face to the sun while I brushed tirelessly (and kissed the nosey).

Fivla was given a good going over too.  Her mane fell out in huge trails; lots of dead winter stuff to coming and she was much lighter afterwards.

Half of Silver – only half because he walked off and I refused to go trailing after him.

So I turned my attentions on Newt, who had been waiting fairly patiently (he was trying to eat the conditioning spray bottle that I thought I had hung in a safe place).

And then lastly Storm because he was standing by himself and couldn’t decide if he wanted to be brushed or not, so I convinced him he did and I think he was quite grateful afterwards.

The rest had wandered off.

After the brushing marathon (why, oh why, are they all so small? my poor back), I awarded myself a sit-down with anyone who wanted to come and talk to me.

Newt, Storm and Albie arrived and I dutifully hugged and then, more by accident, started pulling out Newt’s belly fur.  He was in heaven with this.  I had hit the spot.

There was very soon a significant pile (hoping Newt’s belly isn’t now bald – I couldn’t see – it just came out very easily in my hands, honest guv!)

I left all the fur for the birds.  There was piles of it.

Floss and I went to see the Old Men this afternoon.  We took BeAnne, obviously on a lead as a) it’s lambing and b) she is blind as a bat.  Floss took carrots. I carried my big camera.

We (as in Daisy – I kept saying I would do it and then forgetting!) moved the three horses over to Clothie, my five acre croft, a few days ago.

Once safely in the field, we released BeAnne. These days she is too fat to escape through the fence and she knows this croft very well.  Keeping a slight eye on her, we left her to enjoy herself.

Meanwhile, the horses quickly sussed that Floss had carrots.

She was not leaving their sight.

I had asked her to walk right into the centre of the field to keep them away from BeAnne.

While I trust these horses 100% with Her Maj, she can’t see them very well and accidents can happen.

Anywho, there was enthusiasm and Iacs even trotted with happiness, throwing in a small buck which I totally failed to capture.

Klængur preferred the more sedate approach of “you may bring the carrots to me”, so of course Flossie did and everyone got their fair share.

BeAnne had a lovely potter around.

If I say it once, I will say it again – that coat is a ruddy godsend!

Klængur looked wonderful against the grey sky.  I have missed riding him much more than I thought I would.  He will get his shoes back on the middle of this month when the farrier comes.  We took them off because of the nasty injury he gave himself.

I am really looking forward to going out for our rides.  I miss the fun and I think he does too.