I’m about four months into my life on the farm, routines are falling into place, but my infatuation is still in full swing.  Walking with the dogs now means just walking, not getting in to the car to go somewhere to walk.  And I keep getting surprised by little bits of beautiful that catch me off guard.  I suppose I’ll get to the point some day when I know every tree and every view, but then the light will keep changing… Today I saw a birch tree getting overrun by a bittersweet vine, and yes, the bittersweet is invasive, and the embrace will likely be fatal to the birch tree, but I couldn’t stop looking in the foggy morning light.

Back in the barn after my flight of fancy, Bill helped me figure out how use an ear-tagger and the elastic-band device for tail docking.  He warned me that the lamb would likely cry and carry on for a bit, but when she remained stoic throughout, he declared her tougher than a boiled owl.  After the nasty work was done, ewe and lamb got to join the rest of the sheep in the barn for the first time, though the mother was still very protective.