April 1st, 2024
It is currently 6:02am, and I've already been to the barn twice this morning.
My sheep have a unique way of playing me during lambing time… they act all innocent like when I do my first walk-through at stupid-o'clock in the morning, leaving me to believe I have a glorious ‘slow’ morning to observe lambs, feed bottles then sneak out for that first cup of coffee.
And before my brain has had it's resuscitating hit of caffeine, I check my cameras only to see a ewe in the middle of labour.
Ahhh… tis the season.
And that my friends, is why my March newsletter is being written in April.
March went out like a lion, but in lamb form.
Yesterday, I've never been so tired at the end of a day of lambing. Actually, that's likely a lie as us mothers have this survival skill of forgetting just how tired we are in the throws of newborn babies (humans OR animals).
This weekend was Easter, and I wanted to make sure Carissa had it off so she could rest and attend her family. functions.
What I didn't plan for was lambing to start early, and lambing to start horribly.
Have I mentioned my sheep laugh at my ‘plans’.
March was actually a wonderful month for Mark and I. After a year we'd love to forget, we finally booked a trip to the UK.
We visited Scotland for the majority of the trip, getting toured around by the one and only Cammy Wilson (aka. The Sheep Game).
Followed by a quick trip south to the Lakes District in Cumbria, England to meet and visit with a dear ‘virtual’ friend, Hannah Jackson (aka The Red Shepherdess).
We rounded off the trip in Edinburgh, crossing off my to-do list of the ‘must-see’ places I binged on Youtube for weeks prior to leaving.
A week after returning home, we then played host for Tara (aka Tara Farms) and her partner Liam as they visited Canada from Australia.
After visiting these friends I had only met through social media… there is really no better feeling than when they truly are as incredible in real life, as they are on our little phone screens.
And that is the one thing that keeps me grounded as a content creator… that if someone met me IRL, they would feel like they have just met up with an old friend. That I am the same in person as what you see online.
Because honestly, I'm just too lazy to try and be preformative.
Of course, as good as it is to go away… it's equally as daunting trying to organize the farm before you leave so there's no issues, then playing catch up when you return.
In my case, the planning had to start early fall last year. Which meant scribbling on my notes app in between emptying loads of soybean wagons different breeding and lambing dates that would carve out the time needed for a trip overseas.
March also had a significant date that we as a family sort of dreaded, but no one more than Jess.
March 10th marked the one year anniversary of her cancer diagnosis.
She made a heartfelt post on her Instagram page, as she shared what she did to sort of make the day a little less sad.
She got a tattoo with the words ‘I love you’ but she did it by combining Jack's, Mark's and my handwriting.
I still cry everytime I read it.
As we turn the corner into April, spring is knocking at the door.
Lambs are popping, Mark is busy moving equipment around and beginning his spring prep, Jess is dreading final exams and Jack is finally back after a month in the US on service calls for work.
We finally all got together as a family this Easter Weekend, the house once again filled with stories and laughter.
Spring this year is a far cry from last years, and reminds us that this season in particular continues to be one which holds the promise of new beginnings.
New life.
And it's up to us to make it thrive.
1 comment
I watched and worried with your family through Jess’s surgeries and cancer treatment….and to my astonishment, I was diagnosed with breast cancer mid February 2024. My double mastectomy was in April, and somehow I won the cancer lottery by ending up NOT needing radiation, NOT needing chemo, and also NOT needing the 5 years of aromatase inhibitor drugs, because my bones are already thinning. I learned so much from you and Jess, to the point I decided even before surgery, that a)if I was going to need a wig, I wanted Merida’s bouncy, crazy red Scottish curls from “Brave,” and b) I was going to shave my tailbone length grey hair into a pink mohawk, if I was going to lose my hair to chemo. Turns out, I am actually somewhat disappointed that I wasn’t going to get my own version of Jess’ lovely “chemo curls”, so I colored several big chunks of my tresses quite obviously, breast cancer pink – just because I COULD! Believe it or not, because your whole family and Jess in particular were so incredibly brave and had the courage to share, it helped ME face my own cancer diagnosis and treatment and surgery with a positive attitude and a sense of humor that made the experience a lot less grim than I first imagined with my diagnosis. Please give Jess a hug from another mom, in Atlanta, Georgia who has been following your channel for years, and give her my thanks for her virtual example that helped me in facing the worst news on the planet. Thanks you for sharing your farm with me. One of these days, I’ll be quick enough when there’s a product launch, to snag some goodies before they are all gone!