Dear Family and Friends,

A mud-season story. It is pouring rain, late Friday afternoon. After a week of careful maneuvering the sheep are finally corralled in the A-frame barn. This is supposed to be shearing weekend. Can't shear wet fleece. But we can "band" the lambs. We separate the 29 of them from the ewes. They bleat frantically. The ewes bleat in response. Sounds like there must be hundreds of them. The lambs scramble every way they can to find openings in the fencing to get back to the ewes.

The first couple of bandings seem to take a long time. Paul and Jenny are getting used to the banding tool and the very tight rubber bands they must use to encircle the lower end of females' tails. (After a few weeks that little piece will drop off). This procedure keeps them cleaner. More complex is the task of securing the testicles of the males. Some are not descended so have to be massaged down from the belly into the scrotum. There are tiny nipples close by, so they have to be very careful not to pinch them under the band.

We develop a little routine: Sasha goes into the pen and grabs a lamb. Paul or I help him carry it over to Laura who is seated with her back to a stall. Laura, Jenny, and Paul arrange legs, etc, so they can work. When they finish, Paul lifts the lamb back into the ewes' pen where Robin is trying to keep the peace. I am recording males/females; black spotted.

Just as we are getting into a solid working rhythm our third apprentice, Lisa, arrives in a van with her friend, Hans. Jenny goes outside to greet them. They come inside and try to fit into the work but with all the noise it is almost impossible to hear what anyone says.

Madeline begins to weep. She has sat for quite a long time watching this whole process. She has already shed a few tears before we got to the lamb of her favorite ewe, Helen. Fortunately it was a female. She was afraid it might have been a male. (All males go for processing in the Fall). Paul stands up and declares a tea break. We all leave the barn. What a relief to get away from the noise. I realize I still have not fed the cows in the back pasture so I tell Paul I will do that. On the way I pass Earl on his tether. So I go back to ask Paul if I should take him back to his barn for the night. He says okay. I unhook Earl and start leading him. The rain starts coming down even harder. Earl decides he doesn't want to come.

I have read the training books. I know that patience is key in working with donkeys. So usually I prepare myself mentally before I work with him. But all I wanted right then was to get him into the barn so I could feed the cows and get back for a cup of tea before it was time to finish the banding. Earl must sense this. Apparantly the rain isn't bothering him. We go 5 steps forward and he stops. I try to pull him forward (knowing full well it is useless). He just stands his ground. It takes a long time to get to the barn. When I walk into the barnyard my boots sink up to the ankles in manure-y mud. When I try to lift my leg, my foot almost comes out of the boot. I have to hold on to the gate and ease first one boot, then the other out of the mud. Meanwhile Earl has stopped again. I try to pull him through the gate but nearly lose my balance in the mud. Finally, when he is ready, he steps ever so carefully through the mud, taking a few steps into the barnyard. By the time I clomp over to feed the cows and clomp back to the A-frame teatime is over. Back to the bleating barn. Final score: 11 males, 18 females; 19 black, 10 spotted; Earl back in his barn, Louise ready for medicinal glass of red wine.

We had a couple of sunny days earlier in the week, enough so the Pyles Concrete truck could deliver 91/4 yards for a 30"x30"x10' loading dock and two 6'x30' doorways for our high tunnel. Our friend Dennis, an experienced mason, came to help. With Jenny and Laura he helped Paul to push the concrete into corners and to level it to the top of the forms. Next day Paul helped him with a concrete project at his place.

The greenhouse is full of plants ready for setting: 6 varieties of lettuce, 2 of kale, salad beets, lots of flowers. All we need is some sunshine so the fields can be cultivated for planting.

Next week I am hoping our neighbor John will have asparagus and rhubarb available for our Easter feast. Love, Louise