Since their field was in need of a rest, and with the men coming to clip them soon, the pets moved into the smaller field next door.
Kerry.
Wee Matt never far away.
Tess.
Primrose.
Heather.
Billy.
Irving.
Hilde.
You think your hoggets are getting quite big, and then Titch stands next to them. No one's managed to grow as big as him yet.
Imelda.
Kerry again.
Billy.
Wee Matt and Kerry followed me to the gate.
Kerry.
The first batch of pet lambs (barring Ida and Ivan) to be treated to an evening wander were Erin, Ruby and Ilsa. The daffodils were still out when these photos were taken. Here's Erin:
Ruby.
It was the first time outside for these lambs. They weren't sure what to make of things at first.
They felt brave enough to do some running around.
Ilsa, the youngest, was a bit more clingy and would hardly leave my side.
Eventually, however, she plucked up the courage to join the others for some running.
Ilsa.
Erin.
Ilsa again. She's just so cute!
We had an audience the whole time, too!
The few days leading up to Christmas were very busy for me. On the 21st, Dad had managed to fall out of a tractor cab and break five ribs. I was therefore at home and in charge while the hospital kept him in for a few days for close monitoring and pain management. I kept our animals fed, made lots of bale deliveries, and ate lunch whenever I had the time. I collected Dad on Christmas Eve, and we ended up having a lovely day, even if one of us was sore and one of us was tired. I took a bale down to the ewes with Susan, and we went the long way home, driving down a quiet main street to see the sea.
I relaxed for a bit after Christmas dinner, but while it was great to have Dad home, there were another couple of boys I wanted to spend some time with too. Out I trudged, to be greeted by one of them - Wee Matt can often be found here at the bale, and he's always on the lookout for humans bearing treats.
Frida is never far away, either - and getting rounder by the day.
Frida's twin sister, Fern.
Billy spotted me and came running.
Heather has recently discovered a love for the treats and she's friendlier than ever.
Helly.
Lois.
Billy again.
Kerry and Heather in good spirits.
Kerry is very sweet.
Wool is so soft, you'd just love to rest your chin on it.
Billy and Heather.
Heather.
The boys and I escaped the girls because I thought I'd treat them to a Christmas dinner of their own. I put equally-sized, generous portions of lamb creep into old lick buckets and set them out in the yard.
Used to eating from my hand, it took them a moment to catch on.
Billy especially found it a strange experience, I think.
But, of course, no Christmas dinner is complete without a disagreement of some kind.
Billy had enough.
Wee Matt had enough as well - he came over to tell me so.
We nipped over to the house to say hello to Dad through the window.
And then I had to put the boys back in their field, for it was getting dark and I had more animals to feed!