So lucky that my work is what I love to do the most!

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius

This is why when I am suiting up to go outside into the bitter cold on yet another day of considerable cloudiness, I don’t mind. Milking Daisy is like visiting a very large cantankerous and beloved friend. Taking the pigs for a walk is a gift because pigs say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you all the time as they love the attention so. Lambs frolic, children laugh. Mama sniffs and nibbles at my hands making sure I am clean enough.  In the middle of the night, last night, Mama and I turned as one at her gate and stared intently into the corner of the barn because we both saw something move in the shadows. A cats head peeped around and we both relaxed as one and turned back to our lambs.  I have a peacock who will sit on a fence inches from my face and watch what I am doing with studied disinterest.  Soon we will begin planting. This is my work.

I know things go wrong sometimes. They have and they will. I know that this summer you and I  will make some hard decisions. These come every summer.  I know I am on a steep learning curve because this girl from the beach is so new to farming. But aching, cracked hands and all, I love my job.

So yesterday they said there was a storm coming and there is one thing I know,  if you lock the kids up in the house, without a good walk first, they will scrap and fight and misbehave.

So I opened the gates up and sent the Girl Band and the Shush Sisters out for a run.

Mia and Minty walked solemnly about (taking the air) but Meadow and Sheila leapt and sped about with great determination.

See how lucky I am! Surrounded by dancing animals!

Well, not all dancing but I know for sure that Daisy is deeply envious of the cavorting and gallivanting that she is quietly observing. 

Sheila is my treasure. On all our walks she goes everywhere twice doubling back endlessly to check that I am keeping up. Charlotte wanders off in the opposite direction as usual.

Good morning. Our school visit was a frenzied delight.  The two lambs and I had mob after mob of children coming in to the classroom to see the babies once word got around the building that there were lambs to be seen. There  was absolutely no time to take photos. Even if I had wanted to there were always at least one or two kids hanging  at my knees and another couple attached to my arms, tucking themselves in beside me as they all crowded in to tell me stories and pat lambs and shriek with horrified delight when they peed on the floor ( yes Eha!) and ooed and smiled when they drank with such gusto from their bottles, and lay their little children’s hands on little lamby hooves and scratched their heads and nibbled at their woolly backs with their fingertips.

Children adore baby animals. And the lambs sniffed and tasted  the children, the teachers,  the tables and chairs. We kept the visit short so as not to exhaust the two week old lambs, and left with promises to bring in the chickens when this years crop comes in.

The storm that was causing such a stir amongst the locals has not eventuated. How we all long for a decent drop of snow. Maybe there will be something later in the day. But so far we only have a little ice on the ground.

Milking time.

Have a lovely day.

celi