As we start the new  year and the days are just beginning to lengthen, thoughts on the farm turn to new beginnings and in our case lambing time. The pregnant ewes are starting to look heavy with lambs although they are quite happy out in the fields all winter. In fact they don’t like being inside if they can help it and their amazing thick fleeces keep them nice and warm.

We do have to keep an eye on the weather though, because if it snows they can get buried in deeps drifts when they lie in the shelter of the field walls. If the forecast is bad we bring them close to home and give them extra hay to eat whilst the grass is covered over. There was a beautiful red sky this morning, which our shepherd wasn’t very happy about, but hopefully it’s just going to be wet and windy this time.

Lambing is due to start on Valentine’s day.  It really isn’t my idea of a romantic night out:  soft lighting in the lambing shed, helping to lamb a sheep, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.