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This morning we reunited Fabio with the ewes and within minutes he fulfilled his duty as the Bear Valley Ram of Bristol, Wisconsin. We can now say with confidence that we will have new lambs by February 1st. The ewes were delighted with Fabio's return, although Babysheep didn't seem to understand what the fuss was all about. She probably hasn't quite reached breeding age as of yet, so her lambs will probably arrive a little later, say in March or April 2016. 
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We are two weeks from breeding our flock, so it is time now to start "flushing" the ewes, meaning that we increase their feed intake to get them to optimal condition for breeding. Flushing is very important for the health of the new lambs as they conceived. Right now the ewes are occupying the two paddocks west of the driveway. There, the sheep used to have two "garbage can" hay feeders, one of which Fabio destroyed with his enthusiasm. Normally, we don't feed the ewes hay during the daytime in summer. They have enough on pasture. But for flushing, they need extra hay, especially since the pastures are starting to get a little thin from much grazing. The "garbage can" feeders were made of plastic and didn't last. So I chose to build a more sturdy feeder, one that can take the weather and the abuse Fabio is sure to inflict upon it. During construction, the ewes kept their distance from me, except for Babysheep. As I was busy building, I felt something nudge the back of my leg-- and it was Babysheep ("What'ya doing? what'ya doing?") It was very cute. She was so curious and stuck with me pretty much the whole day. Sheep don't normally do such a thing, except of course that Babysheep still thinks of me as Mama, even though I haven't fed a bottle to her in months. Every once in a while I would have to stop and pet her, my little shadow. She continues to be friendly with me and still comes when I call her. I love Babysheep. And now she's almost old enough to be a mama herself. Life is good. 
Since we will not breed our ewes until September, Fabio has been separated from the flock, and he doesn't like it. However, it's not like he's totally alone. He spends his days with our four goats and Daryl the Donkey. But it's not the same. On occasion, I find him calling out to the females in the paddocks across the driveway with pathetic howls. And lately, we've had to treat his right front foot which has developed a deep cavity in his hoof pad. He's slowly improving and can walk around now without a limp. Don't fret, Fabio. In just a couple of weeks you'll be back with the herd and happy as a clam. 
An amazing storm blew in last evening. We brought the animals in early and battened down the hatches; then watched the skies with awe:     |