The lambing season in Orkney starts from about April - much later than in the south of the UK. So this week wee lambs have been appearing in the fields. However some are earlier than expected due to the bad weather. While the BBC Weather-people have been crowing how it's been the hottest day this year for most of England, in the North East corner of the UK it's been raining constantly with intermittent gales....sigh.... Consequently the ewes have been dropping their lambs early.
I heard (on a farming programme) that the ewes do this in poor weather as their bodies know the lambs are near to being born and so may well survive, and that the ewe's body is at it's limit, so for optimum survival of the ewe it will go into labour. The shepherds on the island have been out checking their flocks and removing the ewes with lambs to more sheltered spots, providing feed etc.
Thankfully we are forecast some respite with SUNSHINE this weekend! I love seeing the lambs in the field so hopefully they will be bouncing and leaping about once they get the sun on their backs!
(Photo above was taken just opposite my front door).
Lovely photo, Sian, the essence of spring. Lambing is earlier in the Welsh hills than with you, but still much later than in the south - Late Feb/March, rather than January. The weather is certainly much cooler and wetter here than it was when we left Wales a week ago.
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely post. I do enjoy reading your blog - thank you for writing it! (we did make our February trip to Orkney, and despite some rough weather I got lots of work done, I mentally waved to the island as I drove past on a drive round Mainland LOL!)
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