In April, we planted seeds according to the Ringing Cedars method. At the Spring Equinox, all the children received seeds and equipment to start growing indoors. With the concept that food is medicine, they held the seeds in their mouths for nine minutes (though this may have turned out to be much shorter) then let their breath dry the seed before planting. https://www.ringingcedars.com/seed_planting/

The seeds have been growing rapidly by the window. Our dinning room table contains the first of many plant orders I’m expecting. The currents, hazelnut bushes, and butternut trees are sprouting while waiting in a bowl of water while they wait to be planted.

There are days when summer seems to close then we wake up to a fresh dusting of snow.

Our twin lambs born March 29 were doing well. Then the one called Blackie met with unforeseen tragedy. An unhinged gate that was leaning against the coral fence somehow fell on him. It’s a miracle his brother, Curious, wasn’t killed as well since the two were usually inseparable. It was a sorrowful day. The mother, Josephine, kept calling for her little lamb. Raine’s horse, who had been particularly fond of him, was distraught as well. Of course we removed the gate to avoid any further tragedies.

The morning, before Blackie’s demise in the afternoon, the barn floor broke. Previously there had been a small hole that we patched. The new hole was much bigger and revealed the 30 foot deep cistern underneath. Thankfully no animals or children had fallen in during the morning chores.

I contacted a local friend asking who I could call to repair it. Her husband came over that day to have a look. Seeing the gravity, he cleared his schedule and put in an entire new floor covering the cistern a few days later. It was such a relief. There are some things I can do, but that certainly wasn’t one of them.

April 12, I bought a 5^th wheel trailer. It’ something I’ve been thinking about to have for guests over the summer. This one seemed like a good deal. The kids and I have set about sprucing it up – removing window treatments and painting.

April 13, I turned 47. We all went to a gun show and sale in Swift Current. The kids’ grandma, Lynne, recently got her gun license and she wanted to have a look. There were other items for sale as well. The younger children got some toys. I bought story books and homemade pies. We found a pair of sheep shearers.

We went to Smitty’s for lunch then did some shopping. Lynne invited a lady from church over for supper. We had tacos, Mexican soup, and a lovely cake.

I made myself a daybed. It’s simplistic but functional. Downsizing from a queen sized bed will give me space to set up the knitting machine and a loom in my room. That hasn’t happened yet. I still need to reorganize all the boxes that were under my previous bed. But I am happy with the day bed and increased floor space which is currently occupied by clean laundry that I haven’t gotten away yet.

April 17 the wind was especially fierce. During lunch, the chicken coop I made blew over. It didn’t topple or anything. The legs seem to have just given out and it sailed onto the ground. Thankfully none of the chicks inside were injured and the coop is still useable.

April 18 there was snow. It turned quite cold in the night. When we went out to do the morning chores on April 19, our alpaca, Roseation, wasn’t doing well. She hadn’t gone into the barn during the night with the rest of the animals. She was lethargic and covered in snow. Raine and Branch managed to pretty much drag her into the barn. Getting her warm seemed like the first priority. We kept an eye on her but clearly being cold was not the root of the problem.

That afternoon, Lynne went to town with Raine, Athena, Dylan, and Cora. They stopped by to talk to the couple who previously owned our alpaca. He offered to come out and have a look.

Max couldn’t be entirely sure since alpacas are incredibly difficult to diagnose. First off, he gave Roseation a bottle of pop hoping to release any gas in her stomach. That didn’t do anything. Then he gave her a shot of antibiotics and a dewormer.

“Now we wait,” he said. “If the antibiotic makes a difference, I’ll come back to give her another shot.”

The next morning, Roseation was moving around instead of lying still as she had been. The medication worked. Max returned with another dose. He taught Raine how to do the injection and left a third and fourth dose.

April 22, when I went out to do the morning chores, there was a newly born lamb beside our sheep, Naomi. She and the white baby ram, Ramsey, are doing great.

Later that day, Eunice had twins – a white girl we’re calling Mary, and a brown boy called Lucas.

With all that going well, we decided to try bottle fed lambs since a nearby farm had some for sale. We came home with three lambs. They cried most of drive making Cora regret the decision to get bottle babies.

Two days later, April 25, we headed back for five more lambs. One from the first batch didn’t make it. She passed away on April 29. Raine says it’s because we named her Blackie, the same name as the lamb who perished due to an accident with the gate. There was also a rooster and hen who bore that name who both died as well. Perhaps it’s not a good name. From now on, we are avoiding it.

The seven remaining bottle lambs are doing well. However, caring for them is more than I anticipated. It’s not just the feedings, there’s also the making of the formula, the washing and sterilizing of bottles, etc. All of that has been rather exhausting.

It’s given me a greater appreciation for our Icelandic sheep. They lamb without assistance and are incredibly capable mothers. There isn’t much to worry about with them. The bottle babies are a whole other story.

All the children have been helping with feedings but the housework and everything else is taking a back seat. However, there’s something beautifully simplistic in the task of keeping a baby alive and well. It’s an experience we will never forget.