Pepper has popped: Meet Marcie!

Our sheep ambassador Peppermint Patty ("Pepper"), who always seems to be the first to come and greet us, lambed yesterday afternoon! We got home from our day jobs and saw her standing, doting over the newborn lamb like a good mama. Given Pepper's full name we only thought it appropriate that her first ewe lamb be called Marcie. When Pepper calls, Marcie gives a little response and we like to think she's saying, "Yes, sir." She seems to have inherited Pepper's notable grumble of a bleat, which always makes me laugh.

This is important for us because it's the first ruminant (that is, sheep or goat) where the newborn was both conceived and birthed on the farm. Our lambs from last year came from the pregnant stock we purchased, and Josie came already pregnant with Gwen.

So, congrats, Pepper! We'll be keeping a close eye on these two. We've witnessed some suckling (as obvious from above!) and this morning Marcie felt like she had a full belly.  We have learned in the past, though, that lambs are very fragile. We're expecting a few more of our ewes to lamb soon, but since we've been letting both Elvis and McLovin' stay with the ewes it'll be hard to tell.

Also worth mentioning: Pepper's udder looks pretty big, so Kaela is going to take a shot at milking her in a couple of weeks. Sheep's milk has about twice the fat content of goats which makes it perfect for cheese making. (In fact, traditional feta in the EU can only be made from sheep's milk!) I'm sure we'll keep you updated on how that adventure goes ... and knowing the sheep, it'll certainly be an adventure!