Circle M Farm

“A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish…” I love these words from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. While I’m mindful that, in context, these words have to do with world-changing themes of justice, redemption and the nature of Jesus Christ, I can’t help but feel them directed toward myself today. Yesterday afternoon I found two just-born lambs in the corner of the little stone barn – healthy, beautiful and happily tagging along behind their attentive mama. What a relief after the sheep defeats we’ve had these past few weeks! Baby that I am, I don’t think I could have mentally taken another bad experience.

I can hardly describe how healing it is to watch healthy lambs play right now. The two tiny girls – one black, one gray (and both with round white berets on the top of their heads!) – were frisking with the cats and headbutting each other within hours of being delivered. Kneeling in the hay of their cozy pen, I offer a hand to the shy ewes and they take turns sniffing me and then leaping away on spindly legs. I am delighted to pick them up and look into their clear, bright eyes, untouched by the encroaching blindness that afflicted Bounce his entire short life. I’ve given them the ridiculously lighthearted names Bambi and Barbie.

June says, “Hey, keep it quiet, we’re trying to learn to nurse over here!”

The mom, June, is one of my favorite ewes. She’s entirely black, small, very skittish and has always been a good mother for me, consistently bearing and successfully raising twins with nice fleeces. My very favorite fleece to spin from last year was from her twin, Frankie, a cream and gray mix with lovely curl and sheen. I can’t wait to get my hands in that again – and we’ll be shearing on March 14, so it won’t be long!

Not only am I relieved that these babies are healthy, but I’m relieved that I won’t have any more lambs until the weather is warmer. June is the last of the three moms I gave a ram to in August – intending their 5-month gestation to culminate in December. But two of the girls must have given the ram a bit of a struggle! Karla had Shiver in December, while Lena had twins in January, and now June delivered in February. It is far too difficult to keep a good eye out for lambs being born so far apart. The rest of the lambs are due to start coming in April, and I’ll be happy for a few weeks off of worry duty!