the old and the new

the last part of 2010 flew by in a blur of traveling, bittersweet endings and the promise of new beginnings. i was fortunate to travel a bit - to nyc, and to south africa for work - a 30-hour trip to a place that seemed oddly familiar. the late-spring weather in cape town was nearly identical to mild, sunny, mid-autumn los angeles. the city reminded me a bit of rio de janiero, while the countryside was like a combo of mediterranean greece and central california. we were lucky to venture to the eastern cape, and to visit the agricultural areas outside of the cities. lots of grapevines and wheatfields, cattle and flocks of sheep, wildebeests and ostriches. and wild monkeys! i guess they're like bears to the locals - a nuisance, destructive while in search of food. for us, they were a thrill. imagine seeing a field full of wild baboons while driving along!

before i left town, dr. rousch came to neuter the twins, ezra and levi. we had a taker for 2 wethers - a women in moorpark who wanted to buy a couple of babydolls for her husband's birthday. the wethering went fine, with one exception - levi had an undescended testicle! it never occurred to me that this was a possibility (apparently it's very uncommon). poor levi technically remains a ram, though likely an unfertile one, unless we want to undertake a sterile surgery (which we don't, for his sake). so, ezra went alone to his new home, though he'll have mini horses and pygmy goats for company. his new owners seems very fastidious, so he'll have the best of care. they even sent me a photo montage of him in his new digs. hoping they'll want to take another wether this year, since we're sure to have some rams.

levi stayed with us, and is making his place among the older rams. maggie's with us, too. though we had a few inquiries for ewes, we decided to keep her. she's tiny like her mom, so it seemed smart to watch and see how she does during her first season. she definitely has her mom's temperament (skittish), as well as her fluffy fleece and cute face. abraham found a new home in sun valley, on a small property with other sheep and chickens. it was sad to see him go - he was my favorite lamb - but i'm happy that his new owner took him intact. he'll make a great sire.

today, dr. martin came to vaccinate all the ewes. all but maggie appear to be pregnant. she was born in mid-march, she was probably too young to breed last fall. they received lepto, chlostridia and tetanus boosters. we vaccinate about a month before lambing, so the ewes will pass immunity to their lambs. it's somewhat of a crapshoot to know when the first lamb will arrive, but i'm betting on superbowl sunday again. sarah is moving slower than usual, and seems more tentative than she has in past years. not sure if she's uncomfortable in her pregnancy, has a touch of arthritis, or if there's something else going on. we checked her out and everything seems normal. next week, we'll put a new gate on the lambing shed. hopefully it'll stay dry for awhile. we had large amounts of rain over the past couple of months, so we're due for some clear weather.