Triplets closeup

Triplets closeup
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Dolly was the last of the Finns to have her lambs. She was so big and uncomfortable the last few days. Now we know why, she had triplets, 2 ewes and a ram. From L to R they are Loretta Lynn, Alex, and Patsy. They were born on 4/14/08 in the evening just after dinner. I had stayed in the barn before dinner and realized how uncomfortable Dolly was and thought she was going to start going into labor at any time. I sat with her and rubbed her belly and tried to make her feel more comfortable. Dinner was ready, so I came inside and ate and went back out to the barn as soon as I could. Within minutes of returning, she started into labor. Loretta Lynn was first out, no problem. Then came Alex, and I moved Alex in front of Dolly to start cleaning him up. I could see Patsy's hooves starting to appear when I heard a newborn lamb crying. I turned around to find Loretta Lynn was already across the pen by the feeder. I picked her up and moved her back closer to momma. Then Patsy decided to appear hind legs and butt first. All of the lambs are doing fine, so far, with Dolly nursing all of them. I'm keeping an eye on them to make sure all of them are getting enough milk from mom. I hope that Dolly will be able to raise all three on her own. If not, I may be bottle feeding at least one.

Rosie and kittens

Rosie and kittens
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

My cat had kittens, AGAIN! She had 4 kittens this time, 3 boys and 1 girl. The two orange ones are boys, the lighter tiger is also a boy and the dark tiger is a little girl. They don't have names yet...so many babies born around the farm this past week. They were born 4/14/08 in the corner of the stack of hay in the barn. We moved the hay bales and provided her with a box and an old saddle pad for comfort. We put the box in the same corner where we'd found the babies, obviously Rosie liked that spot for her babies.

Tara and Aaron

Tara and Aaron
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Daisy, our white Finn ewe finally had her lambs. A set of twins, one ewe and one Ram. They were born on my daughter's birthday, 4/12/08, so I named the ewe after her and the ram after her boyfriend. Tara is on the left and Aaron is on the right.

elvis

elvis
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Here's a picture of Elvis, the ram twin. He's Clara Bella's brother. He looks kind of shy, but he's not! They were both up and nursing within minutes of birth. When they were just a couple hours old they were already sproing around like little lambs do.

clarabella

clarabella
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Bella Vita Farm & Fiber welcomed twins yesterday, 4/9/08. The twins are Finn lambs and this is a picture of Clara Bella. She looks like a little panda bear doesn't she? Clara Bella will be staying here at Bella Vita Farm.

Donna side

Donna side
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Our first lamb born on Bella Vita Farm & Fiber, April 7, 2008. She is a little Shetland x Finn ewe, we named Donna. She was born around 9 AM while I was doing morning chores. We were late for an appointment with our CPA, Don. So we named her Donna, seemed very fitting.

Mystic Light swatch

Mystic Light swatch
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

I got my swatch done for the Mystic Light Shawl Mystery KAL which starts on March 26, 2008. I used US #6 circular needles, gotta order some Addi lace. The blunt tips on regular needles won't cut it. I'm using Fearless Fiber's Inner Sanctum colorway for this project. The yarn suggested in the pattern is sockweight due to the cabling that the pattern calls for in addition to the lace. You can see the cables on the edges in the swatch. This is my first big lace project and I'm kind of excited and at the same time scared I'll screw up.