Change of Plans

A. was planning on building me a gate for the garden this morning. I was planning on making some more yogurt. We were both planning on spreading a heavy layer of sheep-shit straw on the garden for the winter. Then Bill the Butcher informed us this morning that he was ready for our lambs. At two o'clock this afternoon.

So much for our plans.

A. is off to the feed store to get salt for the hides. When he returns, he'll build a gate for the back of Big Red to block off where the tailgate would be if it hadn't rusted and fallen off several months ago. I've been pulling out our processing instructions from last year and figuring out what to do with the additional lambs we're selling this year. Later, both of us plus the MiL will be out there for the rodeo that is separating the lambs from the rest of the sheep.

It's going to be a good time. There will certainly be chaos, most likely cussing, probably some sheep dung will end up on all of us at some point. But the end result will be a hundred (or so) pounds of free-range, grass-fed lamb in the freezer. Our reward for a year's worth of tending and rounding up and shearing and birthing and heartbreak and rescuing sheep from the road.

Is it worth it? We think so.