So I decided to blog...

You never know, I might even make a habit of it again!

It's lambing time again. Gosh how the years tick by. This year we are lambing alongside our friends Tracy and Tony on their land. The have 16 North Country Cheviots and Black Welsh Mountains to lamb, half of which went to our Shetland tup Smali Bramble who sadly died mysteriously this winter.

We have 16 Shetland ewes to lamb, including our friend Danielle's ewe Ecclesmachan Gloria who produced twins yesterday to Smali Bramble; his legacy lives on :-)

Gloria's lambs are chalk and cheese! Sorry I don't have a better photo of them yet. She has a very bold inquisitive grey blettet ewe lamb with a furry lamb coat, and a quiet fine fleeced fawn katmoget tup lamb. We even suspect that Arran may have jumped in and fathered the male lamb! Unless twins are identical then it is perfectly possible for them to be fathered by different tups. We shall study the pedigrees.

So far, of my own ewes, there are five lambs to four ewes.

First Smali Kate lambed very early but produced a cracking tup lamb who we named Derwent after the lake, Derwent Water, here in the Lake District. Derwent is very bold, fit and active. He has the "look at me" quality of his father Arran.

Two weeks later, Ruthwell Nisbet, who I bought at the sales in September, produced this stunning tup lamb Smali Dominic. He is our "dressage lamb" because he struts about the field with his four white socks and looks stunning. His fleece is a different type to that I've had before in the flock. I get plenty of "tight skinned" fine fleeced lambs, but his has more luster, like his dam; like little twists of silk. I'm hoping that he will combine Nisbet's luster and length with Arran's density and crimp... well I'm allowed to dream!

Next came Bartistown Rosie's grey katmoget twins Dot and Dalton. Dot has a spot on the back of her neck while Dalton has a very slight krunet marking (which will disappear as he grows up) and a dorsal stripe. They are naughty and always up to mischief already.

Smali Bryony presented me with little Daffodil in the early hours of yesterday morning. She is a striking little lady and beautifully put together.

Now we could do with a few more girls and a few more twins!