This is my beautiful mother, I won't tell you how "young" she is but most would not believe me, she looks phenomenal for her age! She is holding our youngest grandson Chase and her youngest great-grandchild (she has six).Tuesday, April 13th "The Man" has to leave the ranch during the peak of lambing season, he's headed over to Kirkland Air Force base to survey a new facility. I'm just a tad bit nervous as I have one ewe in particular that usually has multiples and I don't want to be by myself on this lambing. "The Man" suggests I call my mama and ask her to come stay with me until his return in a couple of days. I call, and "Cattle Dot" comes without question, I love her for her selfless acts of kindness.
We get up first thing in the morning and check on the ewe, she appears to be fine but she is sleeping a lot and standing guard in one particular "lambing jug." This jug has always been the jug she lambs in and NO one else gets to step foot in it when she's ready to lamb! Throughout the day we check on her, usually hourly checks as I can see she's progressing in labor.........I call this the "silent stage of labor." The ewe is restless, tired, pawing the ground, isolating herself from the rest of the flock, and generally, just kinda miserable.
After an entire day of keeping vigil, it's now feeding time for the sheep. I call each pregnant or nursing ewe to me after the hay has been bucked into the feed bunker, they must come for their grain. Each one comes as called to snarf up their grain...........except one..........."Freckles." Often but NOT always, a ewe will refuse her grain feeding just prior to lambing...........a rumen full of grain fermenting isn't an "iddy" way to go into full blown labor. I know she will lamb soon.
After the nightly feeding, "Cattle Dot" suggests we sit in the barn at the table and have a glass of wine, that way we can "kinda watch the ewe." I oblige and we enjoy the last of the late afternoon with another glass of wine. I'm beginning to see the ewe getting more and more agitated so I suggest we mosey into the ol' ranch house and have dinner.
I've already made up two wonderful arugula/spinach salads with the works, one steamed artichoke (we can split with my wonderful lime aioli), and a batch of roasted asparagus..........that will be our dinner this evening............before sitting down, I make one last check on the ewe and realize that this dinner will be put on hold!
I walk out to the barn leaving "Cattle Dot" to set up the table, only to find a lil' white head standing in the lambing jug...............Miss "Freckles" has decided to start the rodeo without us! I run back indoors and tell "Cattle Dot" to, "suit up and head out to the barn, she's birthin' babies." Now "Cattle Dot" has never seen lambs born, she's tried on numerous occasions but to no avail, it's taken four years and she finally gets to assist with a lambing. She cleans their lil' noses as they arrive, she dips the umbilical, she dries them off, she fills a drench syringe three times for me so I can give them a energy booster............the temperature outdoors is plummeting, we're wet from sheep fluids, we don't have on our proper coats...........and when we think we'll head into the house to get them, another lamb is making it's entrance into the world. By midnight, we have helped the ewe with her lambing, she's tired, we're tired, but the lambs are doing well, nursing and sleeping, nice and warm under the jug lights. The temperature outdoors is now 33 F. We pick up our lambing kit, the dirty, wet towels, and head into the house. We strip down...........do a quick wash over, put PJ's on and eat our meal in silence.
We both stagger off to bed lightly saying our inaudible "goodnights" and drop off into a deep slumber. "Cattle Dot" has finally seen the lil' lambs born, she's happy, tired, and say's she "wouldn't have missed it for the world." I'm more than thankful that "Cattle Dot" has helped "Shepherdess Kat" this cold, Spring night in April.
Thank you mama, I'm ever thankful............AND, I'm glad your daddy raised cattle and you are a nurse! Both bits of your knowledge helped tremendously!! "Hey............what do ya say we do it again next year?"
