Lambs & more
1, 2 & 3 lambs… were born between February and March, 3 Xy’s and 3 girls: Soft white muzzles, little tails slapping the air while they’re drinking, round bellies full of milk, and growing so fast. Lambs are a pleasure to watch, no wonder they used to symbolise spring and the annual renewal of life… I can’t get enough of cuddling them. Jean-Claude, our Lacaune ram, has grown big and powerful too and we’ve gotten used to tying him up as soon as we enter his pasture. He is still ‘friendly’ but will try to ram everyone who comes near. I’ve read it’s just normal social interaction (also based on the fact that he is not scared of humans), but seeing that he is now a bundle of muscles (about 80kg) it can get quite dangerous.
In March and April Hannes, Nick and Alex (our brave helpers) built a clay and wood cabin next to the brook. One of its purposes will be offering ‘rustic’ accommodation for helpers and friends and a dry-toilet in the garden. The outdoor sun-shower is being planned too and should be operational this summer. We’re expecting more helpers throughout the season for picking and conserving fruit, tending the vegetable patch, harvesting apples in the orchard, making cider (!), milking and moving pastures around. This first experience proved to be a really interesting exchange; Nick showed us how to brew beer and Alex is a great musician, leading to our own mandolin-guitar duo by the fireside in the garden!
A couple of weeks ago, we had a visit from the head of department of our local veterinary and hygiene administration. After a tedious mail exchange and discussions about the legal and actual necessity of installing an extra sink for washing our hands only in our tiny cheese kitchen, she decided to take over our case: “It seems like Herr Pieper was right after all, and we cannot impose an extra sink” was her conclusion after taking note of the small scale of our production capacity. So that happily settles one more obstacle on our way to marketing our dairy products! Currently, with only 3 sheep producing milk (both remaining goats had an early miscarriage), I’m not in a hurry to push this forward faster than it is going. In June we’ll get our own male goat, hopefully this will avoid the stress that potentially lead to the miscarriage, and if all goes well next year we’ll have plenty of milk and cheese for sale.
But let’s wait and see, is what I’ve learned by now