New Life/ New Job/Growth

This morning before I left for my job orientation, I was able to watch and help an all black ewe lamb be born. I quietly watched as she worked to get the lamb's entire head into the new world. Although the lamb's whole head was present, there were no signs of her front feet. Ideally, they should be born with their head between their front feet. I'm not quick to "get my hands dirty" with births of the dogs or sheep, but I'm often glad I'm there when a bit of assistance can make a big difference. It was clear this lamb's legs were all out of place, and the fact that the ewe's vulva was clamping closed on the lamb's neck during the "rest" periods, I was prompted to get involved during the next contraction. It was very easy to slip my hand in, feel the bent back leg, gently pull it forward and let the ewe do the rest. Both mama and lamb are doing great in their little "bonding stall". I'll keep them in the stall in the barn for about 3 days. This ensures that they are bonded well enough that the lamb won't get left somewhere. My girls are only yearling ewes, so they're young and these are their first lambs.
We've had a fair amount of very nice rain (including today), so things are looking very green & 'refreshed'. Once the last 315' of fence is up, the sheep will be able to graze the whole 3 acres at night when the dogs are put up for the night. This will benefit them and my sheep-care budget.

I go back in tomorrow for the last of the pre-job stuff. I've had to do a good deal of 'shuffling' to be there for all the interviews and training- since of course it's 8-5 type hours. A bit hard for someone who's working nights for a reason!!! Luckily, and unfortunately I don't have the little girl I babysit during the day, tomorrow. It's lucky, because her mother doesn't have to find someone else to watch her (like she had to today), but unfortunate because since it was my day off, I was planning on going to NC to train, let the puppies play with dog broke hair sheep, give Cruz and Gwen another turn on cattle, and visit with friends... Big sigh!! :-( I piped up today that these daytime hours were getting hard for me (4 of them now), and that I had to absolutely be out the door at 3PM to be home for the kids (5 of them). Ben was able to take the entire day off today so he was here for the kids after school... He cannot do that again tomorrow, and certainly not at the last minute... So I will be flying the back roads home tomorrow to be here before the bus. I'm going in at 10 instead of 11, so I'm done at 3:00. I start my job on Thursday. My shift is 6PM-3AM, 4 days a week. Right now I have 2 weekdays in a row off, and one weekend day. I guess they're hiring one more person so we can rotate weekend days. Working 6pm-3am one weekend day is going to make trialing a bit trying. This means whichever day I work, my "day off" won't start until 3 AM.... They do the schedules almost a month in advance, so I'll have to do the same with trial weekends. As soon as I know there is a trial I'll have to put in for either a Fri and Sat off or a Sat and Sun off- just to go one day. I don't trial often enough that I anticipate this being a problem. I'm only worried it will keep me from the USBCHA Breezy Hill Cattle Trial because it's the 19-20th, and the schedule is already done thru the 18th. I had already invited Ben to come along, as I thought he'd enjoy watching Cruz work cows. So if he were to go, he may have to drive so I can sleep... we'll see. Although I'd be immensely disappointed if I couldn't go, in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big a deal. My dogs are young and we're honestly just getting to where the miles and the fees are worth it! The other trial I hope to make one day to is the Dixie Meadow's trial in NC the wkd. after the cattle trial. The good thing about this trial is that it's only 1.5 hours away. The cattle trial is 3-4 hours away. I am, as weird as it may seem, excited to start this job. It seems like a great place to work, with plenty of possibilities to move up and/or to different positions that best suit your life.

The Rhode Island Reds made their move out to the garage today. They're in one of the custom made whelping boxes, with a custom made wire top that makes it cat-proof. Ben made a frame that includes hinges at about the half way point- this way it's hooked down while still being able to lift the front half to care for the chickens. (or even puppies in the future) He even made a special place to hook the light. They were ready for the move out of the rubber maid tub. They were starting to perch on the edge of the tub, and beginning to... well- kinda smell, and Cruz was beginning to be a bit obsessed about 'babysitting' them. After watching me put a few escapees back into the tub, he quickly figured out I didn't want them out of the tub. So once they started perching on the sides and on top of the waterer, he felt the need to 'keep' them. It was hard to tell him he needed to let them be, as he had simply figured out where they were supposed to be, and was going to make sure they stayed there, but of course that type of behavior is not great! I'll take a photo of their delightful new home real soon.

My Jim pup is tugging at my heart strings more and more everyday, and I reckon he will end up being in the house like Cruz and Edge. I can already completely envision him being my next go everywhere, be everywhere dog like his sire. I love all my dogs with an intense passion, and they all think the world of me, but there is something incredibly special happening between this pup and myself. I had refrained from bringing Jim on like another Cruz, because I felt it would somehow hurt Cruz's feelings- that he has earned his position as my 'only' in several different aspects and that bringing on a pup on his turf would be some sort of 'betrayal'. Today I brought this up to Ben, and he said "I think Cruz will get over it".....