First Signs of Spring

First flowers have bloomed in the garden! These tiny white flowers I call Snow on the Mountain are always followed quickly by the purple blooms of vinca.

Then there’s the daffodils planted many years ago in the west windbreak near the Shepherds Camp, announcing warm weather coming.

And soon, very soon, the first kids will be appearing in the barn. Craig is busy with preparations, making sure the mothers (does) have had necessary vaccinations for healthy kids and monitoring access to nutritional salts in their diet. One thing surprising me as a city raised girl when we started raising livestock 25 years ago was how much attention a responsible rancher pays to the nutritional quality of hay and forage. We try to pay the same attention to our own. Food is not literally medicine, but poor food is a major contributor to poor health for both man and beast.

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
    give careful attention to your herds.
Proverbs 2:23