February 20, 2012
Lindsay:
Just a few hours old
Yesterday morning Lily gave birth to two boy lambs. By the time I found them in the morning, the lambs had been cleaned of all fluids and were walking around, and Lily was ready for breakfast!
Bringing the lambs into the jug proved uneventful (except for Luna and her boys escaping from the sheep pen to graze on greener grass). It was evident that by then Lily's lambs had already nursed some from mama, as Lily's tits had already been cleared. So the lambs were off to a good start. And Lily seemed to appreciate being in the jug as she then was able to eat and be near her lambs, both of utmost importance in her sheeply mind.
The lambs have survived the night and the newly fallen snow and are looking healthy. They have speckled faces and legs like Lily does.
The simple beauty of something so complex as birthing never ceases to amaze me. It is a miracle, and awe-inspiring, and makes me realize how little I know and how small I am in this big, big world.
A quick Internet search provides the following definition of beauty: the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind.
Lily and her lamb: its hard to capture the wagging tail!
Perhaps the most relevant to my own mental and emotional state over the past several weeks is the security of knowing that life goes on, that the great circle we are all engaged in keeps on turning. This can be tiring at times as the new opportunities that come with a new season also bring with them their own challenges and the knowledge that the gears constantly working to keep the cycle alive don't stop turning--not for any of us. But the beauty of birthing a lamb, creating life from life, for those of us who live close with the land, is also the beauty of warmth on our backs, fertility in our gardens, food on our table, and light on dark night.