15 April 2020

Life


Yesterday I walked along Stake Hill Road. It is a moorland track but still within Sheffield's city limits, close to the Derbyshire border. To the left of me was a two acre pasture with fifty to sixty ewes in it. 

I was thinking to myself - I wonder when these sheep are going to give birth to their lambs? After all, we are in the middle of April. And then half way up the track I spotted one mama sheep with two newly born lambs. They must have been born in the field within the past twenty four hours. They were so gangly. It is always a real joy to see new spring lambs at this time of year.

And then at the top of the field I spotted another ewe behaving oddly. And there beside the stone wall I noticed a white pile of lifeless lamb. The mother was clearly confused and somewhat distressed. She backed off and looked at me - as if saying, "Please help!"

But there was nothing that I could do. Nothing anyone could do. Without human intervention, the lamb had probably suffocated on mucus or placenta. I did not capture an image of the dead lamb - largely because of the electrified wire fence between us but here is a picture of the mother. Can you feel her grief?

27 comments:

  1. I really hope that mama can be given an orphan lamb to mother. What will she do with all that love otherwise?

    The little twins are just adorable

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    1. The one on the right seemed slightly drunk - as if its little legs could not bear its weight.

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  2. Beautiful landscape. Birth is the best of times and the worst of times.

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    1. It can be so traumatic in the animal world.

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  3. Poor girl. That makes me want to cry.

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  4. Those babies are so cute but that poor mama is sad to see.

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    1. As she looked from the dead lamb to me and then back again, it was as if she was trying to speak.

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  5. Just in the past couple of weeks, I have come across the expression a few times: If you have live stock, you will also have dead stock (said by farmers). Your post illustrates just how true that is, and how heartbreaking. But the twin lambs - and hopefully many more that will be born on that field and elsewhere - show how life mostly prevails.

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    1. And that is how it will be in our pandemic.

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  6. Oh. A sad story YP.

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  7. That was and is a sad story. But also true sadly those lambs end up as lamb chops on our plates..

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    1. If you offered the farmer £50, I am sure you could have one as a pet. They make great lawn mowers.

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  8. I've been looking at that sheep's expression for half a cup of coffee. I wondered whether, but for your explanation, I could have got anywhere near working out what she was thinking/saying. Probably not.

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  9. "Nay Mr Wilkes". Am I watching Emmerdale?

    You could be a sheep wedding photographer. Seriously they are excellent YP.

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    1. Thank you Dave. Is it true that some bachelor farmers in Ireland marry sheep?

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    2. Only if they are called baabara😁

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  10. She does look confused, if not exactly grieving. I wonder if the lamb contacted the electric fence? Is that possible?

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    1. Good point Steve but I don't think so. The dead lamb was a few yards away.

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  11. Your title neatly sums it up.

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    1. Hopefully the ewes that were lying down will bear live lambs.

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  12. That's heartbreaking. I know it happens but still heart breaking.

    The two other lambs are so sweet.

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    1. They'd be even sweeter with mint jelly.

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    2. Yuck! Not a fan of eating babies.

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