He was clean, but wet, when I got out to the barn. He was having trouble getting up on his feet, and shivering terribly. I rubbed him down to dry him off and get the circulation going, but he was still shivering and stumbling.
The weather was beautiful. We hit +4!! So we left them in the pasture for the day.
Late in the afternoon we got ready to make the move to the milk room. The nights are still too cold to leave him outside.
Moving him was a breeze. He followed Nelly out of the pasture, and then followed #2 along the path we use to get to the milk room. #2 has dubbed him Patrick.
Not so easy for Nelly. Our path was too narrow for her and she sunk in the snow to her belly.
#2 started shovelling a new path (easier than shovelling the hard pack we've been walking on). #1 shovelled Nelly out of the snow and got her onto the new path. Husband went down to the other end to shovel, and they met in the middle. Then Nelly walked across to reunite with her baby.
After checking to make sure he was ok- already napping in the manger, she went about eating her dinner.
And all was well in the world. Until the wee noise maker came out to see what was going on.
What was that?
Oh! Where did that come from? Nelly met her new nephew. (Nelly was raised in part by Mama goat). Life was good.
Until Sheila came charging in, climbing over top of Patrick (I don't think she even saw him), through the manger to her boy. There was a mild scuffle between Nelly and Sheila, but then they took to opposite sides of the room and both settled down. I suppose if my sister had climbed over top of my baby, I'd have tried to t-bone her too.
The wee billy looks just like his daddy, with just a touch of colour to him- almost like he's just a little dirty. He's a week old and has no name! Suggestions for the letter "P"?
You call +4 beautiful weather? You would like it here since it is going to be 75 today. There seems to be lots of excitement at your place. Cute!
ReplyDeletelol- yes, +4 in absolutely gorgeous! After surviving a winter of mostly -40, it's incredible. But it's also misleading.
DeleteYou know how you clean your freezer out in the summer time, and you're standing there in the heat of the sun, but reach into the cold ice covered freezer? You leave the lid open, but the freezer still feels cold?
Life up here in the spring is kind of like living in a freezer. The sun is incredible- the angle it hits us at, and our proximity. We did the roof of the add-a-room one spring, and it was about 30°C up there- with three feet of snow on the ground. The snow, of course, keeps everything cool. There's a whole lot of 'freezer' to defrost. The weather is measured somewhere in the middle.
So now when you see those 'spring in Canada' pictures on facebook, you'll know the truth. We're not all crazy running around in shorts at 10°C, the air and sun feel much warmer than that. Just keep your boots on, don't fall down, and beware of cloudy days. :)
Wendy,
DeleteI was telling exbf about your post and the insane numbers that you called warm. I will have to share this comment with him. I will remember. I am sure I can keep my boots on, not so sure I won't fall down, and cloudy days would have me so depressed I would not go out to fall down or wear boots!
Just once, I would like to experience your "spring in Canada" for a couple of days. Thanks for the explanation.