Icelandic Ewes

I always think it is funny how little lambs and little chicks need to try and sit on top of their moms.  Our Icelandic girls are some wonderful mothers.  The last time that we lambed two years ago I was at a show on the occasion that Iris lambed and Stephania was close by her with another baby so my guy thought that it went one mother and one baby as pairs and he was in a hurry to go somewhere so he took them and put the two moms and two babies in a separate pen and off he went.  When he got back there was the two moms and four babies.  My guy decided that Iris had delivered one and Stephania had delivered triplets.  That worked for us but Iris always wanted one of the other babies and was not happy feeding the one that she had so that little girl who has grown to be one of the other horned Icelandics in the picture above, had to wait for us to get in the pen and make Iris behave so she could nurse otherwise she suckled from the backside and took her chances with pee showers.  The little ewe lamb soon developed a yellow ring around her neck and upper shoulders!  Well this time Iris was separated and she was the one with the three babies and I am thinking that she probably had twins last time and Stephania only had twins also.  We don't know the answer to that one but it all worked and all the lambs grew fine.  Iris is a wonderful mother to her three triplets and Pansy came into the barn yesterday morning after grain was eaten and told me "we need hay!" in no uncertain terms so I reached down and loved her up.  We keep the babies in a pen close to the barn when so small that they can go through cattle panel fencing simply because of coyotes and dogs.  When they get a little bigger they will be heading out for grass with their moms.

This is a basket of flowers I have hanging by the back door and I was taking a picture of the hawk moth who was flying around sucking nectar out of the petunia-like florwers.  It is just a brown blur about half-way up in the middle of the picture.  They are very cool to watch, so much like hummingbirds. 
Have a good day...................