We have had five baby lambs by three of our ewes this spring – two sets of twins and one singlet. One set of twins is all white, while the other set of twins and the singlet are black-faced lambs. They are as cute as can be and are growing as fast as Aunt Myrtle’s mustache!
Here is some video footage of both sets of twins, which were born on Saturday, Feb. 28. They are only a couple days old here.
Four of the lambs are whethers (males) and one, a white lamb, is a ewe (female). Sports Girl and Horse Lover are now feeding, worming, docking, neutering, vaccinating and taming the lambs – with the help of their dad, of course – all in preparation to show them at our county fair in August.
This is the scene outside my east door. I don’t think we’ll be using that picnic table for a few weeks anyway.
We have officially weathered our fourth blizzard of this winter season (and the third in less than two weeks)! At least this one hit on the weekend and no school or work was missed.
These last three blizzards brought us more than four feet of snow in two weeks – but thankfully some of it melted in between.
Take a look at these big piles of snow down the middle of the streets in town after the last blizzard. Views are pretty obstructed at the intersections!
I think the folks in town are having a harder time with all of this snow than those of us out in the country – at least as far as cleanup is concerned. Even after hauling some of the previously fallen snow away, they are still running out places to put it all. With piles of snow taller than most vehicles running down the entire center of some city side streets, driving in town can leave a person feeling a bit like a mouse moving through a maze!
I haven’t been to town since Thursday morning, and Busy Toddler hasn’t been there since last weekend. She spent Wednesday and Thursday at Grandma’s House – which is just a few miles away – and that’s been her only trip out of the house this week!
Now Busy Toddler is getting a serious case of cabin fever. She actually went out with Dad on the sled yesterday afternoon to help feed critters – she just needed to get out of the house!
I realize that living in the country doesn’t mean I have to like country music, but I do.
I don’t even own cowboy boots or a cowboy hat, and I don’t wear Wrangler jeans, but I do listen to country music. It’s not that I’m opposed to cowboy boots and hats – my husband and two older daughters wear them – I just don’t prefer them for myself.
The same is true of my opinion of country music. I do listen to other forms of music from time to time, especially when my oldest daughter has control of the radio dial, but I keep coming back to country. I think I prefer this genre over others because the songs generally tell a story – the words actually make sense and often apply to everyday life. Here are some examples:
• Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink” uses a centenarian (a 100-year-old man) to tell folks how quickly life passes.
• Tim McGraw sings about living life to the fullest in his song, “Live Like You Were Dying.”
• Rodney Atkins details the influence parents have on their children with his song, “Watching You.”
• John Rich gets political with his song about the recession, “Shuttin’ Detroit Down.”
• And in the current most-downloaded country song on iTunes, Taylor Swift tells of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet in “Love Story.”
Not that these are my most favorite songs – they just illustrate my point that country songs often make a point. And as a trained journalist, I can appreciate that – especially if the “point” is positive.
I traveled thousands of miles in my youth listening to Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap and Emmylou Harris, among others, crooning from the 8-track stereo system in the back seat of our family station wagon featuring the classy faux wood side panels.
When I finally discovered my peers listening to Top 40 music in my teens in the 1980s, I quickly conformed. And I swore I would one day be the cool mom who still listened to the “in” music after I had kids. Unfortunately for my kids, that only lasted for me until my oldest started school, and she doesn’t even remember those days.
How is it possible that the Top 40 music of each generation just keeps getting crazier? I’m not saying these artists aren’t talented – and they are definitely creative – but the line between creative and weird is incredibly thin. I speak specifically now of Lady GaGa’s performance of her number-one hit “Poker Face” on last Wednesday’s American Idol results show. For those that missed it, you can view it by clicking here. (I’m sorry, but the originator of this video won’t allow it to be embedded.)
Sports Girl informed me during the Idol performance that she has this song on her iPod, and that Lady GaGa must have just cut her hair – it used to be really long. I try to keep from smiling, or even from laughing, as I ask her at the end of the song if the “eye zipper” is a regular part of her costume? (She says it’s not.)
Compare Lady GaGa’s performance to that of Carrie Underwood and Travis Tritt from two weeks ago. Now, I will admit that the black bow in Carrie’s hair is a little weird, but it’s no worse than the black star rising off Lady GaGa’s left shoulder, and it’s certainly much milder than the eye zipper.
I have long prided myself on my ability to enjoy many genres of music, but frankly, these days I prefer country music to most others.
At 13, Sports Girl has started turning the radio dial to the local Top 40 station when we are in the vehicle, and I handle it pretty well, I think. Better than Horse Lover, who at almost 10 still prefers my country station.
I guess that’s the good news – I’ll only really be considered “uncool” for the last five or so of the 18 years my daughters will live at home. Things could be worse – at least I can’t WATCH Lady GaGa while I’m driving my car – not yet, anyway!
This second storm of the winter left behind 18 to 24 inches and drifts that were much larger.
Even though the calendar says it’s now officially spring, one look outside says otherwise. The last time I wrote back in November, we had just finished our first blizzard of the 2008-09 winter season.
While we’ve had lots of cold winter weather with some glimmers of nice weather in between, we experienced our second blizzard last week leaving 18 to 24 inches of snow behind and three snow days home from school and work. Then our third blizzard struck earlier this week when 12 or so more inches fell, resulting in two more snow days stuck at home waiting for the weather to quiet and the plow to come.
After both recent storms the plow left only a single-lane swath cleared down our nearly three-mile stretch of gravel for the first 24 hours or so. That made for a harrowing couple of trips to town. I hoped and prayed I didn’t meet any oncoming vehicles as there aren’t very many driveways or side roads on which to pull over. The school bus didn’t want to have such an adventure on our road; we had to meet the bus at the highway or take the girls to school both days immediately following all three blizzards this winter.
Now we’re facing another winter storm warning for tonight and tomorrow. I stocked up on milk and diapers yesterday, so I guess we’re ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at us. At least this time of year we know it won’t be around for too long … if it would just stop coming!
A Country Mom's Blog 