Peace

Well, we have some sad news.  We lost one of our lambs this weekend.  We had been worried about this little lamb for a few days and were so disappointed that we couldn't do anything for her.  She was the girl twin we called Maggie and she wasn't growing like her twin brother.  We tried to bottle feed her a few times without luck, she just wouldn't take a bottle so we assumed she was getting enough milk from her mom.  We saw both lambs feeding from Margaret, so we thought she just wasn't getting as much as her brother.  We brought her over to our neighbor's for advice a couple days ago but he said that sometimes twins didn't grow at the same rate, sometimes one gets more than the other but they do OK.  We brought her in the house a few times to try to get her to eat, but she just wouldn't take.  We don't know exactly what happened but we are glad she is at peace.  She never seemed sick, or cried loudly, just looked tiny compared to her growing brother.  She always had energy, wasn't ever lethargic.  We are thankful that we don't have to worry about her now and we learned a little bit as shepherds.  Next time we have twins we will be extra concerned that both are eating and that the ewe has enough milk.  And we know that life on the farm revolves around new life as well as the end of life.  We are thankful that all 5 of the other lambs are growing and thriving.  They are all doing really well.  Yesterday they were all playing together, running and leaping.  And sometimes they jump straight up in the air like they have springs on their feet.  This morning before leaving for work I looked in on the sheep.  It is cold and windy so the moms brought the babies up into the barn.  Phyllis was lying down and all the babies were snuggled up around her while some of the other moms ate.  They really do know what they are doing and are very good mothers.  Sometimes, one just can't be saved.  When I looked in again, Molly's baby Grace was climbing all over Phyllis' back like it was a woolly jungle gym.  We feel bad that we lost little Maggie but it is hard to be so sad when you watch all the other lambs as they frolic and grow without abandon.