Now Nine

Two more newborn lambs greeted me in the barn this morning at chore time. We'll be watching them closely, as the mother ewe is Bianca. Long-time readers remember that we dubbed her BianKKKa, because for two years in a row she nursed her white male twin and rejected her black female twin.

Mrs. Yeoman Farmer wanted Bianca culled last year, but I didn't have the heart to take her to Forrest Meats. Why? She was one of the first lambs born on our farm, she has excellent bloodlines, and (perhaps most importantly) I personally saved her life during her first summer. She'd gone down with an injury, and the vet doubted that she'd ever get back up again. I spent considerable time with her out in the pasture, dressing her wounds and making sure she had plenty to eat and drink. Against all odds, she made a full recovery. Even today, the scars of that injury are still visible on her left front foot; every time I look at her, I remember how I saved her.

So I had to give her one last chance to prove herself. She was tending to both lambs this morning, and allowing both of them to nurse. But since one is again an all-white male, and the one with more black wool is again a female, we'll be monitoring the situation closely. Better not catch her trying to burn any crosses out in the pasture, or I'll butcher her myself.