The Beauty and Intrigue of Lambing

Just so you know.... some of these pictures are the "real thing". I am trying to share the experience of lambing. Even though I haven't been present for the actual labor of any of the lambs.

This is a story about a quiet or not so quiet village, nestled in the mountain of Nazareth. The terrain is hilly and getting green since the winter rains have come. Roughly 14 sheep and goats graze on the 5 -6 acre "village". Quite a lovely place, as you can see below.

This story is about: Seneca (on the left) and Mish-mish (on the right). All seemed well when I penned them up separately from the other sheep in anticipation of them lambing on Monday evening, Jan. 8. I had a feeling that something special might happen overnight. In fact, there were several people praying that they would lamb on Tuesday. Two special volunteers, David and Doris, were helping at the Village for 9 days. Doris is a mid-wife and has delivered many babies, so I thought that lambs and humans have some similarities. (Didn't Jesus refer to us as sheep?)

Well, on Tuesday morning I walked out to the sheep pen with David and Abu George (a co-worker). Abu George exclaimed that we have babies! I was overjoyed. Babies! I thought we must have had twins. What is the likelihood that 2 ewes would birth the same night?

Part of the mystery was that there was only one placenta.? But upon closer examination, we found that the one didn't disspell her placenta right away. I found this to be rather fascinating. It is all part of the miracle of birth.

This is the sight I saw on Tuesday morning. 2 little lambs, a boy and a girl. The boy(on his knees) was sort of lanky and skinny. The girl was much larger and seemed healthier. But I was just overjoyed to see 2 clean baby lambs. I felt good that they were clean since I know that the mothers first job is to clean their lamb(s). This develops a bond between the ewe and lamb.

I wasn't sure what to name the little ones, but David my c0-shepherd came up with quality names for the lambs. Petunia and Junior.

Petunia, the sweetest flower I have ever seen.

I was a bit nervous to take my new babies outside- seeing is that I am a first time mom! But after some encouragement from the village staff and David we decided that they would enjoy the green of the outdoors more than the straw-filled pen.
The mothers were so attentive to their babies. They were so protective and nurturing. They never left them out of their sight. I think that the mom's were more relaxed than I was.
I got more relaxed each and every day as I took the babies out. I would let them wander at least 15 feet away without panicking. All the livestock loved being outside, eating the fresh grass that had sprung up.


But my little ones would get tired after being outside for the day. They would run around and jump and scamper over the rocks and tree trunks. They brought such joy and glee to my life. I loved to see them lie in the green grass and soak up the sunshine too.

Shepherding took on a whole new dimension with the addition of the lambs. I went from liking my job to loving it. Who wouldn't be overjoyed to have a cute, warm cuddly, woolly little lamb in your arms? Granted my job became much more demanding having to keep my eye out for the mischievous little lambs, but I did it with great joy. This was just the beginning of the lambing season. Many more were to come and goats too! But I will leave that story for a later date.

Lambing Season Has Begun

What a beautiful time of year. Lambing season. I don't know if this is the typical time of year for lambs to be born in Israel, but we have 2 new babies, with 3 more on the way. At least that is what I am thinking. They are so precious! See for yourself.


Petunia, at a few days old.


Petunia looking content and peaceful.





Junior soaking up the sun. Just a few days old. He and Petunia were born on the same day.


Lazy Petunia.

I guess it is normal to take a nap on a warm spring day, especially if you are only a few days old.





Petunia and Junior with Seneca, Petunia's mom.

Bringing in the NEW YEAR

New Year's was another major event!
I had several invitations and plans on how to end 2007 and bring in 2008.
First of all- I had the opportunity to accompany Hannah, a friend, on the piano while she sang, "I wonder as I wander". She has a lovely voice and it sounded great! The good thing for me was, I only goofed once or twice. My language teacher asked me after the service was over if I had made a mistake. I said - yes. She said that she could tell- BECAUSE I smiled.


Hannah singing and me playing piano.


After the performance at the church, Anita and I trekked to Abu George's house. We work with him at the Village. He is a very kind man and his family is very sweet. We entered his home and were greeted warmly by his wife and 3 daughters. Some other relatives were there and they seemed quite shy. Everyone got warmed up after we got out some cards and began playing "slap-it". A game where you try to get all the cards by slapping the doubles. The children really enjoyed it, as did Abu George. He is a kid/jokester in a man's body.

Playing "slap-it".


After playing cards, we ate and then played more cards. The time went so quickly that we began to hear fireworks going off. So we all headed to the roof of the house for a clear view of the fireworks. It was amazing. The fireworks were going on all around us. I nearly got dizzy from turning in circles trying to see all the fireworks.
FYI: nearly all buildings have roofs that are flat. I think part of the reason is that families often build new floors on top of their parents houses. So if a family has 3 sons, you can expect that the parents will have a place and each son will build a home on top of the next until you have a 4 story home. They are very family oriented here.
FIREWORKS!


Hanging out on top of the roof. Anita surrounded by Abu George's daughters and nieces. Abu George standing with his oldest daughter.