The Apple vis a vis the Apple Tree.

Linden.



Freyda at the same age as Linden, her ram lamb.

They say that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree - it sure is true in the case of Freyda and her ram lamb.  I was watching the sheep this morning -- in between sheets of rain and gale force winds -- and noticed that, just like his mother, Linden curls up next to Hoosier whenever possible.  It is too cute for words, but I haven't been able to catch them with my camera yet.  As soon as I appear, the dinner bell goes off in all those sheepie brains, and everyone rushes the fence.  Freyda was also the first to try hay.  Ditto Linden.  Freyda was the 'leader' of the lamb pack.  Ditto Linden.  It's fun to watch.  They both shared the platinum white curls.  I am very interested to see what Cocoa(nut) comes up with, lamb-wise.  And Juno.  I hope that Juno's sweet, sweet nature is passed along to her lamb(s).

And, speaking of sheets of rain and gale force winds, all that was mentioned last night AND this morning - while it was occuring - was that we would be getting brief periods of moderate rain, with a light breeze.  Am I on the same planet as these guys?  Not only was it more than a 'light breeze', it ripped the lids off all of my poultry feed cans (which was followed by the aforementioned sheets of rain), knocked a dirt-filled window box to the ground, toppled my giant wheelbarrow/cart, and threw Hoosier's feed trough through the air and accross the paddock.  Holy-moly.  After the initial fear that ALL the poultry feed (plus the very expensive kelp meal) was ruined, I found that only the top three inches of the cans had gotten wet, so everyone got an extra large helping of breakfast.  No on complained.  And - hurray - I had decided to keep the kelp meal in it's original bag, instead of dumping it loose into the can.  I quickly emptied it out of the soggy bag and saved it.  That stuff costs at least $50/bag.  I then went and bungeed the cans to within an inch of their lives.

I got the news from Melanie that three of the six Barnevelder eggs hatched!  That's a pretty good ratio, given we weren't sure that Kees was up to the task yet.  So Kees stays and, alas, Junior must go.  I need to put the flocks together and the two roosters spend most of their time trying to kill each other through the fencing.  I am having to do some culling of the flock anyway.  That is not something I relish, but a lot of the hens are getting up there (cover your ears, Lucy) and with the cost of feed, I cannot afford non-egg producers.  I've started a list - Junior (check); ill-tempered Home Girl (check); egg-eating Ameracauna (check); slightly-crossbilled, loudmouth Prissy (maybe).