Camille's Lambs

According to my observations, Camille was due on March 29th while I was in training at Kansas City.  My son Alex took a week off of work to stay here and care for Ozzie and all my animals.

I had a great time in Kansas City. It's funny that the second fellow student I met there was from Minnesota also and she happened to be the daughter of a longtime member of the KCAA (the local art group I've been in since 1981).  What a small world!  We had a good time shopping and eating and swimming in the hotel pool in the evenings after class.

I called Alex on my breaks to see if Camille had lambed.  No, nope, nothing. Well, that was okay, I figured she must not have taken on the initial breeding. When I got home from my classroom training, there was a lot post classroom self-study and then 2 days of on the job training and then work all week.  It was a BUSY two weeks.  Exhausting, but interesting and fun.

On Sunday I got a chance to look back over my records from last fall's breeding season.  Sure enough, two weeks after the initial breeding notation, there was a note saying that Hansel thought Camille was cycling.  So I marked her due date for today, April 12th and started to keep a closer eye on her.

Yesterday morning about 11:30, I got off the phone and didn't see Camille out in the paddock.  When I got to the barn, there she was licking off a little musket ewe lamb.  It looked kind of small and thin and so I was pretty sure she'd have another.

I sat with her for quite a while, clipping and dipping the baby's cord, stripping her teats to make sure the milk was flowing.  It was a long time before the second one came.  I took some video of her in labor...this is the smallest one...

The twin was another ewe lamb, very small and petite.  A moorit, mioget, fawn or maybe even musket  gulmoget.  I will have to wait on identifying her color. Both lambs are brown toned, with light under the wool tips, so they both may be Ag (from their mom) and will be musket. 

 I have been wanting muskets in my flock again.  And the fleeces on these two are so tightly curled, like terrycloth. I think they will be really nice!  The gulmoget is actually much smaller than her musket twin.

With all the demands of my new job, I decided to opt out of teaching the lotion making class at Shepherd's Harvest.  And with my rented space in the Anoka Fiber Arts CoOp, I decided to opt out of having a booth at Shepherd's Harvest this year. I will still be there to judge the felting competition and enjoy all the other vendors.  Maybe I'll even take a class.  I'm really looking forward to just going and enjoying the festival this year!

 I'll be working at the Fiber Co-Op this Saturday, if you get a chance, stop in!  The Co-Op is located on the upper floor of the Shepherd's Choice shop, 210 2nd Ave. N., Anoka, MN 55303.

Next week I'm excited to be taking a three day Felted Vessel class from Pam MacGregor at the Textile Center.  Pam is a master of felted vessels.  Her previous experience as a potter really comes through in her covered felt vessels.  Last year when I failed miserably to make a felted vessel for Stan's ashes, I vowed I would take a class.  What a great opportunity this is to have Pam coming right here to Minnesota to teach us!  Thanks to Kris Post for organizing this class.

I will have to be a little late for one day of the vessel class because the shearer is coming early on April 21. YAY!  He's from Wisconsin and doesn't get over this way everyday, so I decided my desire to get the sheep sheared outweighed my desire to attend every minute of the class.  Hopefully I will only be an hour late.  I know the girls will appreciate getting rid of their wool!  And I can't wait to get my hands on it. :-)