Dutch Sheep in Ottoland: Part 1

Remember when I did my post on the shepherd who came to Gorinchem with his flock of sheep to mow one of our nearby dikes?  That was in September of 2011!  Ever since, we've talked about going to his sheepfold in spring to see the newborn lambs.

Which we finally did!  In fact, we went two Saturdays in a row and had such a different experience each time, I'm going to make this a two-part series!

The first time was a zoo because everyone and their aunt and uncle were there!  Part 1....

 Even Silverleaf (our new car) got in on the action, out in farmer's country, 7 miles from home.

We were there to see the sheep, of course...and 230 of the 250 lambs being born this season.

The shepherd is building up his flock...to do more mowing out-n-about, like in Gorinchem.

It's good for the sheep and the public and the environment.  And it's educational.

If you can't go to the sheep, he'll bring them to you!

There were more sheep than you could shake a stick at.

Coming and going.

Don't you love the pink bonnets!

There were two colors designating the ram inseminations:  green and pink .

Green was for the first batch of lambs and pink for the second.

(Don't you love the chicken acting like she owns the place.)

There were even two billy goats owning the place.  This one we saw the first Saturday.

He LOVED the attention of anyone touching his horns!
(But watch your jacket and camera strap!  Nibble-nibble.)

However, it was the little lambsy-diveys everyone was there to see!

And what is cuter than a child holding a lamb.

This is where the zoo part comes in...we could hardly squeeze in to take pictures.

"Mommy, can we pleeeeease take her home?!?!?!?!"

Just act cool, Bro.

I AM cool, Bro!

Don't you love how the lambs can handle all the attention.

Even the older kids thought it was cool.

See what I mean?  I think Astrid put Blackie to sleep.

Lullaby and Good Night.

Speaking of Astrid, she got the total lay of the land, talking to the volunteers.

If you are a sheepie person, can you imagine volunteering there!

To be continued....

Between You, Me and the Lamppost

For those of you who don't follow me anywhere else (like Facebook or my Shutterchance photoblog), this is to let you know it's my turn today at Vision and Verb.

 Yup, that's Granny Towanda from 4 years ago.

By now you know we just traded her in for Silverleaf Sand Dollar (Silverleaf for short).

Remember C.S. Lews' phrase Surprised by Joy?

My Vision and Verb post is about that.....and REVOLUTION as a 2014 mantra.