Righto, bring it on!

Preparations for lambing are nearly complete. As complete as we can make them whilst the sheep yards are retaining water better than our duckpond. The pregnant ewes don't seem to be retaining water although their demands for icecream and dill gherkins have only been met by their normal rations of hay and sheep nuts. They've cleared out the orchard completely now so we let them into the home paddock for foraging around the dry parts. We're not game to let them over the whole lot permanently just yet due to the swampy bit and the seasonal creek still running through it. Liver fluke and footrot would be rather inconvenient just now. To throw the ewes over for treatment would be next to impossible without a lot of stress to them and the lambs and for some of them I'm sure the lambs would just fall out.

Annaliese, Dawn and Priscilla won the prizes for biggest udders so they have been given the exclusive lamb shed accommodation with private drinking water, luxury straw bedding and fox-proof security netting. The biggest udder is not necessarily a sign of who will lamb first, but in lieu of knowing otherwise it's the only one we have. They've taken to the new living quarters by sitting around, putting their feet up, gossiping and joking.

Tomorrow is the official "watch for lambs" date. We're nearly ready. As ready as we'll ever be, which on our rather amateur smallholding is always "not very".

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