As Inevitable as Taxes

And just as much of a relief to get done.

New year, same shearer.

And one chilly sheep.

Yes, the shearer arrived this morning to divest our small flock of their wool. The usual rodeo of sheep-catching ensued, made easier this time by blocking off part of the dog pen with a livestock gate. But still difficult thanks to the not-quite-yearling ewes that are small and agile and much faster than A.

One of these days I should really record a video of sheep-catching. It's pretty amusing. If you're not the one having to do it, that is.

They were all caught in the end, though, and led to their destiny with the shears. Too bad it was 34 degrees today with a nasty wind. I bet they were cursing us for taking away their toasty wool. 

Oh well. That's done for the year. And hey! So is lambing! It occurs to me that I never mentioned that.

Our final lamb count is five: Four males and one lone female. The last lamb born is the miracle lamb. It was born without an anus.

Yup, that's what I said. This is unusual, though not unheard of. It's almost always fatal, since the lamb obviously can't, uh, relieve itself. But if the deformity isn't too severe internally, the lamb can sometimes be saved by surgery. That is, literally cutting a hole. In the back end. For, uh, pooping.

Yes, it's all very unpleasant to talk about. I imagine it was even more unpleasant to do, but since the lamb would have certainly died without intervention, A. figured he had nothing to lose and so performed his first sheep surgery.

Much to everyone's surprise, including A.'s, the lamb not only survived (this was a few weeks ago now), but is thriving.

A miracle indeed. 

And that's your sheep update. Over and out.