Spring has sprung

-- or more likely not given this is the first of February; but it does feel like spring outside as things begin to leaf out, the grass shoots up (trying to anyway), and the baby animals are born.

Sunday when the first set of lambs were born, last year's lambs couldn't believe such a thing was possible. What is that? And does my mommy love whatever that is more than me?

One thing the first photo proves is lambs are born with survival instinct. Still wet from birth, when this twin was examined too closely by one of the bigger animals, she ran. This led to a frustrated mother as she tried to protect both her newborns and keep them together. Can't have another ewe lamb-napping one, and they will if they are also close to birthing. Finally she got her babies sorted out, and the rest of the flock settled down.

In the second picture, the twins are a day old .

With winter storms, big limbs come down and knock the wires loose that are intended to fence the stock away from the creek. The level of the creek is low enough that it is now an easy walk to the other side-- the forbidden side. When our cattle get out, I get phone calls from the neighbors which leads me to go for a walk up the highway. Often to find the errant ones have already returned with an innocent-- Who us?

On Tuesday, the phone call came from a different direction-- the gravel road side. Our sweet, older neighbors wanted me to know that two of our cows were in their orchard-- their carefully mown and beautifully tended orchard.

So back out I went, cutting the young bull off from heading farther into trouble, managing to trip through a myriad of blackberry vines, falling flat once, but fortunately damaging nothing (luckily I don't swear, even in such irritating situations, as those neighbors are a retired pastor and his wife). Finally with a sigh of relief I watched him (the young bull, not the pastor) jump back over the fence at the same place he had probably gotten out.

This was a good week for births but a bad week for fences!

(All images can be enlarged)

Update: Robin Andrea of Dharma Bums posted a word for this season in her comment, and this is a link that explains more about it. I enjoy learning about new things and this was new to me-- Imbolc. How cool is that!