Day: May 8, 2014

Maria is the miracle in my life, the gift of the universe to me. I had given up on life, on hope, on love, on me when I met her and she held my hand and led me out of the darkness. I am so happy to be picking her up tonight at the Albany airport, I am so happy she took this trip and is coming home to me tonight.

She and I have a powerful creative connection, but beyond that is a powerful soul connection. She is a generous spirit, giving and honest and loving and creative. I will never understand how we found one another. Everything is right about the world when she is with me.  She is strong and brave, she grows some every day, like one of our Dahlias. Maria  was away all week, but she was never away, not for one second, I believe our souls will travel the universe together for all eternity. Off to pick up my girl and bring her h ome.

There is no progress to report for Ma. We gave her a shot to induce labor this morning and she has moved little since. There is still a good chance she will go into labor tonight, but I am not optimistic about it. I’m going to Albany to pick Maria up around midnight, I’m sure she will be tired and happy to get home. The last time I ran a farm by myself I was a bit younger, it was different.

I got everything done – with some help from Deb Foster – but the issues with lambing were pretty intense. We’ve got a day or two to rest before New York City, if there is much rest. Zelda is ready to go next, and Ma’s situation will be resolved in the morning, one way or the other.

My instincts told me very strongly to euthanize Ma this morning, the talk with the vet and the ultra-sound softened that resolve. Making decisions about animals is a tricky thing, the lines are never really all that clear.

I call this photo “The Mother” because it is the embodiment of mother and nurture in my mind. Sheep are docile creatures, smarter than their reputation but usually not all that interesting to me. It is a miraculous thing to see their mother instincts emerge, they will take on donkeys, dogs and humans for their offspring. Whenever Liam nurses, she gently touches his back, as if in reassurance. I waited awhile for this photograph, grateful I got it.

Liam has gotten quite attached to Ted, his father. He often goes and lies down next to him to nap, sometimes Ted leans over and their noses touch.

Liam takes frequent naps during the day, I caught him stretching. When Suzy wants to graze she moves out and calls out to him. He follows – more or less.