May – what a month it was. Our last sheep lambed on May 6, my sister’s birthday. It was extra special because we all got to witness the birth of the twins. All the other lambs arrived without incident and without our presence. This boy and girl, somehow still unnamed, came with a bit more notice and we got to see it all happen.

All the lambs are growing rapidly. Thanks to youtube videos we discovered there are buckets that can be used for feeding the bottle baby lambs. That was meant to make life easier but our Scottish Blackfaced ram did not like drinking from the nipples on the side of the bucket. He would headbutt the carrier of the bucket until they lowered the bucket enough for him to stick his entire face in to gulp down some milk. This usually resulted in all the other lambs getting splashed with milk and made feeding time more challenging instead of easier. Upon the advice of an experienced shepherdess at the feed store, we weaned the bottle lambs at the end of May. They’re now fully on pasture with the other sheep.

It’s been warm then cold and often rainy this month. That’s been marvellous for the grass which is now feeding the pigs, sheep, horse, and alpacas. The chickens have been loving the rain as well. Our younger hens and one rooster, now two months old, have integrated with the older flock. Previously they were in an enclosed run beside the coop but some sort of creature managed to dig a hole under and was killing them off for a while before we noticed. Now they’re safely locked up in the coop most nights, except for the times we forget to close the door.

I’ve been busy building garden boxes and planting. Unfortunately, the lambs were busy pulling everything up as I planted. They’ve only just recently started staying with the other sheep. For most of the month, any time we tried putting them in they would just knock the fence down to come looking for us. Then the sheep and female alpacas would get out. Very sadly, none of the strawberry plants I ordered survived. Some of the 100 raspberry canes didn’t make it but most did. The Saskatoon berry bushes seem to be alright but the pansies, onions, beets, cabbage, and everything else we started in doors are not. Cora’s filled her garden box with annual flowers. Adley has a bunch of tomato plants from the garden store. The other children have pretty much given up after the lambs and chickens took their plantings. Looks like we won’t be growing many vegetables this year. Next year should be better since I don’t plan on EVER having bottle baby lambs again.

Early in the month, our faithful 2012 Dodge Caravan failed the provincial inspection. Even spending several thousands of dollars to repair the alignment would not, according to the mechanic, guarantee a pass the second time. What to do was not at first apparent. Another minivan would present the same challenges we already had – not enough seats for travelling with the kids’ grandma and cousin and not enough trunk space for all the supplies we regularly need including feed and hay. I considered a mini school bus. Cora, Adley, Branch, and I drove two hours to Lucky Lake where there’s a dealership that specializes in school buses. The gentleman there was very helpful. We took two small buses for a test drive. The next day, I’d pretty much made up my mind to get one. Then took one last look on Facebook marketplace in case there was something else. Up popped a 2000 Dodge Ram passenger van. The price was alright and the kilometers were shockingly low. The next day, Adley, Cora, and I drove to Moose Jaw to check it out. I drove it around the block a few times in the downtown. Having driven the school bus a few days before gave me a bit more confidence with such a huge vehicle. The owner was rather confused about my situation – single with five kids trying to start a farm, extended family living with us, homeschooling, and all that. He understood enough that he took my offer of nearly $2,000 lower than his asking price. Now we have a massive van that seats up to fourteen passengers. The younger kids think it’s the coolest thing. The older kids are happy they aren’t being driven to youth group in a school bus. There are some unexpected quirks. The driver’s window doesn’t come down or go back up very easily. I’m afraid eventually it won’t go back up so I don’t really use it. The outside handle for the side sliding door is broken off. The owner said the door could be opened from the inside. That’s turned out to be false. The entire mechanism that opens the door has been removed. It came with the van but I have no idea how to reattach it. Turns out the side door was not closed properly before the mechanism was removed. Some water comes in when it’s raining which, at times, has helpful since I’ve been putting all the flowers I’ve been buying from garden centers in that spot. They’ve gotten watered on our drives home through the rain then are ready for planting once the sun comes out. I have an appointment next week to get the door and air conditioning fixed.

In this season of significant expenses (trailer for guests, another vehicle), the dryer died. As far as I know, there aren’t many options for appliance delivery out here. The Brick brought us the stove shortly after we moved in and a freezer for the grandparents a little while ago. If possible, I’d like to save on the delivery fees. So I’ve been trying to get the back seat out of the van which was always the plan to give room for groceries and supplies. Turns out it’s harder than imagined. Finally, I bought a wrench set. The socket one I have wasn’t long enough. I’d thought a dose of WD 40 would loosen the rusted bolts enough for me to use the tools on hand. That was not the case. It took several doses of WD 40, a well fitted wrench, and an incredible amount of force to finally pry it lose. The back seat is now being used as a couch in the living room. Later this week, I’ll see if I can fit a new dryer into the back of the van which can now seat eleven instead of fourteen.

In the meantime, I turned the gazebo on the front deck into a temporary clothes line. The electric fence wires strung between the posts work quite well. The Saskatchewan wind is great at drying clothes. However, all the rain we’ve been having is making it hard to get much dry. The laundry was already backed up when the dryer quit. Now it’s an ever increasing mound that doesn’t seem to go down despite my best efforts. That tends to be the case even when there is a working dryer. It’s more pronounced without. Line drying is something I was wanting to do but there are things like jeans and towels that don’t do very well out there. Cora, however, is very proud that we’re doing things “the old fashioned way”. I suppose that’s good.

Just as May came to an end, the lilacs bloomed. We have a massive hedge of them on one side of the house and a smattering on the other side. I adore many flowers. Lilacs were my first love, the one that brought me into the world of gardening. I used to pick them with my sister and friends. As an adult, everywhere I’ve lived has had a lilac bush. I would adorn every room with bouquets, marvelling at how many different places and phases of my life have contained the glorious smell of lilacs. This year, I’m doing it again.