I might be a little premature. But I think he will live, he must live after that terrible day, so I am calling him Marcel. His mother died yesterday morning. His sister died the day before. Marcel must live.
I really am of a mind that he will survive (though my mind is already sleep deprived with two hour feeds through the nights.) Yesterday he began to bleat like a real new born lamb, only once or twice, but the insistence was there, the volume. He stood. By himself. Not for long but it is a huge improvement. The bleeding from his navel and nose has stopped. And he is alive.
Though Boo would rather he stays safely in Kupa’s box. Wooden floors are hopeless for Lambies who are still learning to walk. Boo hated seeing the lamb do a splat with all his legs going every which way. So he was gently put back in his box.
Marcel has the face of a mime, the legs of a goat and the body of a Biafrin. But he is drinking, peeing and pooing and when he is not asleep he is rocking back and forth pushing himself up to standing. Collapsing then trying again.
Yesterday it snowed pretty much all day (probably 6 or 7 inches) with a little frozen rain mixed in just for a change. We lost power most of the afternoon, but the generator was primed and ready to go and the power came back on before anyone was much bothered. Though I did put some snow on the wood stove to melt for the dogs, alongside the chili that had been cooking there most of the day (my secret ingredient is sherry! Don’t tell anyone – they will think I am a wino).
Look at the delightfully Loyal and Common Birds taking a Bird Bath in a thunder snow storm, though they do have a look out. No girlie bird wants to be caught in her bath. The thunder was very deep and loud, such a surprise when it is snowing. 
What are they thinking?!
Lots of snow, we had to cut all new paths to the barn and the rat house again. They will be gone by morning though. I am getting good at this snow thing.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
106 responses to “I am calling him Marcel”
It is lovely to see Marcel on his feet. My favorite photo today was that big pot of snow, though — what a sight! I hope you are taking care of yourself in the midst of all this…
(p.s. my dad was reporting on the Biafran war when he married my mom)
wow, he must have seem some shocking stuff..thank you siobhan.. c
Oh dear, you’re dating yourself with the Biafrin reference 😉 It’s good to see one survive and I’m equally glad you a writing about the ones that don’t. The reality of farming and all life really that isn’t addressed any long but should be. Death is a subject we should all be much more familiar with and I’m a bit more so at the moment since I’m nursing a favourite cat towards his final day. I rescued him as a kitten and it’s now 14 years on. I’m not troubled overly; a bit sad but provided I can keep him comfortable I’ll be satisfied.
One of the promises I have made to the blog fellowship is the truth. There is a great division between food and its origins and I do think that if we are all aware of the joy and heartbreak that is involved in getting food to our tables, be it a lettuce leaf or a steak or a woolen scarf it will help us be less wasteful and more aware of how lucky we are to have so much. I do understand abut your cat, we have the same thing with Johns old dog. He is a bloody determined old thing though, same as your cat probably.. c
He’s rallying a bit this evening and I’m feeding him baby food to build up his strength a bit. I have been reminded by our geriatric cats of how simple life’s indicators can be and remarked to my wife about the essential signs. Have I had a pee today? then I must be alive 😉
Shredder is definitely an old cat, he may recover somewhat or the baby food could give him just enough strength to drop dead. Goodnight 🙂
For those too young to have witnessed the reports of murder and starvation from Biafra, especially the starvation of young children, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra
One of the few good things to come out of that dreadful period of suffering and atrocity was Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).
Fingers crossed for Marcel and a ‘hat tip’ to you and Boo.
Thank you Carrie. I have a Doctors without Borders Map on my wall.. c
Marcel is a cool name. He looks like a Marcel. We would have lots of fun naming animals as we both seem to like creative names. I was always told I was too creative in picking names for all the animals we had. On the other hand my kids have very traditional old names. Every time I see a picture of Marcel I think he has goat ears that look like they have been dipped in slush. Does he have any other grey spots?
I hope you get some rest and Marcel continues to strengthen. The sun is shining this morning and things seem more managable by the sunbeams streaming. The thunder snow was quite the interesting weather event.
He has tiny black marks around his mouth and of course his eyes and his legs really do look like they have goats hair on them. His ears really are sweet aren’t they. He will be all white I think. I will take his coat off in a day or two and you can see.. c
Marcel darling you are a fighter and you are a survivor and with Boo at your side, you will go from strength to strength every day.
Celi, I am so sorry to hear mama didn’t make it. Sending you a warm love filled hug from sunny SA.
🙂 Mandy xo
I am already an admirer of Marcel, and I’m delighted that he not only has you to care for him but also the Notorious B.O.O at his side.
Boo the Notorious! perfect. c
Celi ~ you are having some rough days ~ but growing up with animals ~ I remember some of these days ~ especially with the sheep. I’m so sorry about Mama Sheep ~ she must’ve been really sick.
And her little ones ~ but looks like it’s a hooray for Marcel! As long as he has BooBoo lickin’ him, lovin’ and sleepin’ by him ~ and of course Mama Celi nursin’ him ~ he’ll do okay. He already knows he’s got it made!! The pictures of Marcel and Boo are just priceless! Take care of yourself too, Celi.
I think you need a glass of wine or two tonite!!
This is so sad.. poor Marcel, at least he isn’t alone in the world with Boo as a surrogate mother. I get so attached to all animals.. hugs and love to all of you! xxx
I am so sorry for your loss! I do hope Marcel hangs in. He has such a smile on his face.
So sorry to hear about the momma sheep, Marcel is a good name, and the fact that he was up and did a walk about is excellent news, I have a boo nanny, her nanny name is the black goddess, bring a wee babe in the house be it chick, lamb or anything inbetween and she must babysit..
Blessed are the farm dogs that like nanny duty, they are so helpful in so many ways, if you make homemade yogurt, and for what its worth, I tend to put a tiny tsp of fresh active culture live yogurt in each bottle I make, this helps a great deal with starting the right bacteria in their tummies, they don’t have their cud chewing momma’s to lick their mouths to help in this, this is the best I can do to help in that regards.
Can hubby take over one two hour feeding so you can get one four hours sleep? That snow just keeps coming down here too.
Now that the lamb is a little stronger I am going to get him to do the four o’clock feeds from now on. He gets up at four. The yoghurt is a good tip. thank you.. he is drinking raw milk which is a bonus for his tum.. c
Yay Marcel! He looks like a fighter. And dear Boo. I’ve never seen a male dog with such a nursing streak in him. He really IS Boo Nanny. Sherry in chili? I put red wine in mine, but now I may have to try sherry…that intrigues me. 🙂 Hope today is a happier and more restful one for you…I know the restful part is the hard one.
My secret ingredient in chili is cocoa powder.
I use bittersweet chocolate…so we’re on the same page with that, Emily!
Sitting on pins and needles pulling for little Marcel! So sorry for mama…it is so very sad. Hoping you see some thawing soon. How do you keep the water in the bird bath from completely freezing in that cold?
it is a heated dog bowl! very useful.. c
We shared yesterday’s storm, Celi, with 6-8 more inches here on the Cutoff, just outside of Chicago. While we shared the storm, we did not share all of life’s drama, the sad and the hopeful, that you have been dealing with there. Sorry to read of those losses, but, oh-how-determined Marcel seems to be, with some good care from you and lots of lovin’ from Boo.
Birds bathing during thunder snow! Most excellent use of their time – and yours. Great photos.
we used to put a bit of brown suger in the lambs milk, mom always said it kept them from getting rickets,it occasionally give them diarrea.
boiling, then cooling milk to correct temp cured that.
just a bit of old wv farm info,
Thank you Ron, Your mum was full of great ideas, my milk is raw, straight from the cow, and i add honey .. I am very lucky .. c
You have great patience. M² ( after Marcel Marceau, right? ) is super cute. Even cuter is that pup looking after him.