Another Loss

Last night my favourite little Mummy ewe, Mince, died in my arms. She wasn't very well when I went to feed them in the morning - she was just standing in one spot swaying. I quickly went to visit Francois (my farming friend) and explained the situation. He accompanied me back home and administered an antibiotic and said that we needed to get her under cover quickly. We made a pen for her in the feed barn and put down lots of lovely fresh straw and carried her in. Her feet and legs were very cold so we borrowed a heat lamp from Francois and blocked off all drafts around her pen. She seemed to be making a little recovery and ate some fresh hay but Ben came in at tea-time and said that she wasn't looking so great and was lying down on her side. And sadly she never stood up again but passed away at 11.30pm with pneumonia. I cried all night.

Today, odd though it might sound, I decided that we would shear her wool as I wanted that memory of her. Bless him, Korey one of our WWOOFers volunteered to do that for me whilst Rowan and I went to buy an apple tree to plant in memory of her. We found a lovely apple tree called Arianne as that too reminded us of another lovely WWOOFer, Ariana who was one of our first volunteers. This afternoon, Korey and Jason dug a big hole in the orchard and we buried little Mince. Au revoir my little one.