Leaving Molokai for Rancho Laurena

David the Husband says I write differently when I am sick. He’s right; I know this, particularly as I have already fessed up to you gentle readers about the effect illness has on my IQ. I apologize for not being my try-to-be witty self and for any entertainment factor that has been lacking in the blog lately. You have to admit, though, Cookie filled in pretty well with that whole unexpectantly-giving-birth blessed event.

Knock on wood, I am getting better. The Molokai contingent is no longer banging on my door, asking me to join their leper colony. (I kept telling them that I did not have leprosy, that it just appeared that I did but they were a persistent and stubborn bunch.) After spending the past few weeks in a state of simultaneously itching and hurting and on the verge of panic attacks, I thankfully can stand to be in my own skin. Also, I am even beginning to have enough energy to get back on the proverbial catching-up-with-the-laundry and picking-up-around-the-house-a-bit treadmill (what fun!) and have managed to do a little vegetable gardening.

The zucchini, yellow crookneck, and delicata squash seeds have all germinated and, fingers crossed, will not be eaten by any creatures unlike my sunflower seed sprouts which completely disappeared. One day I was admiring them and the next day, they were wiped from the surface of the earth. Damn those animals trying to survive in a harsh climate, I wanted some pretty flowers. Incidentally, if those sprout eating bastards had the patience to wait a bit, the grown sunflowers would have given them far more food than a simple sprout. That was one of my reasons for that choice of flower, making it a double loss. Regardless, this morning, I sowed muskmelon (better known as cantaloupe), cucumbers, pattypan squash, and Zulu daisy seeds. I am happy we did not give up on the garden as we were tempted to do after the combined whammy of the worst frost in 26 years and the vegetable sprout predators. The broccoli looks lovely, as does the cauliflower, and the potatoes we planted have begun sending out vines with the promise of starchy home-grown goodness to come. In addition to encouraging us to eat healthier, the garden gives me a sense of contentment and reinforces my crunchy earth mother status. I love it.

Speaking of things I love, Wee Madeline is even cuter on day three of life than she was as a newborn. I continue to check on her a million and one times a day and give her love and kisses and bum washings (and, so she won't feel neglected, Cookie gets lots of affection as well, just no rear end involvement). The Shetland group to which I belong has assured me the poo thing is normal and suggested coating the area once clean with petroleum jelly, which I did and things seem to be, pardon the pun, moving properly.

All these visits to the ruminant pen and the mysterious goings-on in the ewe-ewe lamb bonding enclosure have made Charlotte, who is heavy with lamb(s), suspicious and uncomfortable. Even though I had tabulated her due date as April 6th, Cookie’s unexpected delivery has us all on edge and spending an inordinate amount of time staring at and examining Charlotte. During one such examination, I felt a wee kick, which gave me the warm and fuzzies. I know I have said it before, but I truly love my sheep…

…and the farm and family and garden and just about everything we can fit into these two semi-rural acres.

Please excuse the mush brigade but feeling physically better leads to improved mental health and causes me to appreciate all the wee and not-so-wee things in life. Hey, as I could be whingeing instead, consider yourself lucky! I do.

Comments

[Carrie]

Have you tried sprouting the sunflowers inside, in little peat pots? Either that, or maybe you could spread some seeds around in other locations so they'd go eat those instead of the sunflowers? I dunno, I'm a city girl.
Sorry about being sick, sounds awful. I'm glad you're feeling better, though.

[Michelle]

After shearing at Boulderneigh I see that three of my girls are heavy, but not with lamb! (The one that is supposed to be "with lamb" is not heavy at all; I will be SO sad if there is no blessed-birth-event here this year....)