The circle of life can be a tough concept to grasp. I thought I had it all figured out until one Saturday night last March. In the middle of shooting a photography session, I got the text I had been waiting for. It was lambing season and we were anxiously watching a ewe that we knew was very close to going into labor. I hurried to our school barn and arrived within two minutes of the first lamb being born…it had taken well over an hour of active pushing to deliver. Clearly the mother ewe was having a hard labor but took the time to clean off the newborn and bond with her for a few moments. We realized however that there were twins and the second lamb was beginning to show. We quickly assisted the weary ewe and were relieved when the second lamb had arrived!
But this time it was different.
No licking. No typical “mothering” noises. No nudging. There she laid with steam coming off her in the crisp air with no interest whatsoever from her mother. It was as if she didn’t even exist. In the dozens and dozens of births I have assisted with in my life I had never witnessed this harsh of a reaction.
As the shepherds on duty we sprung into action. Experience had taught us that the pitiful coughing we heard meant the lamb was alive but in distress and needed help. We grabbed old towels and t-shirts to use to rub the baby dry and get circulation going. We ensured the nasal passages were clear. We went to inspect the umbilical cord and dip it in iodine and noticed it looked a little abnormal.
Still struggling to breathe we went to plan B. We began a modified “lamb CPR”. What did we have to lose?
I understand life and death. I teach my students that it in the animal world it is survival of the fittest. Sometimes mothers sense there is something wrong with a baby and make the choice to reject one to focus attention on another baby to increase chances of either surviving. I’ve seen that play out more than once but for some unknown reason this particular evening we didn’t want to see this little ewe leave us just yet.
The next few days were touch and go for this little gal. We tube fed her every couple of hours and made her bed in a box resting on a heating pad. My teaching partner decided she needed extra TLC more than once and let her snuggle with her on the couch! Spoiled rotten!
Slowly we saw improvement. Slowly.
For every step forward it seemed we were two steps back. Every professional we sought advice from seemed to think she had very little chance of survival. Yet we kept plugging along. She seemed to have a spirit of a fighter unlike anything I had ever witnessed.
Our barn has a tradition of naming all new animals each year around a theme. We’ve used presidents, flowers, and Disney characters in the past but for 2016 we chose “Famous Musicians”. Sitting outside the barn two days after her birth we watched her attempt to take her first few steps into the warm sunlight. We named her Loretta Lynn thinking that sounded like a strong name for a lamb who had lots of obstacles and challenges! If the coal miner’s daughter could make it so could this little lamb who looked like she was covered in soot!
Over that first week we begged, we pleaded with all the other momma ewes to adopt Loretta as their own but it failed miserably. It was as if the whole herd of animals knew something she and her adult caretakers did not. We continued to bottle feed her around the clock. Students took on the responsibilities of milking out extra milk from the lactating ewes and setting up a calendar of who carried Loretta home each night to keep up the feedings.
I began wondering what her purpose was. She couldn’t be a show animal, nor large enough to breed, or sell to the market. Were we going to all this trouble with no clear plan in the end? She seemed to know we were working hard to care for her and her affection for us began to grow as she did not like to be more than a few feet away. We noticed her knack for bringing huge smiles to even the biggest Grinch. Maybe that was why she was still here?
I began to compile a list of lessons learned from Loretta Lynn:
- Sometimes things will get worse before they get better. Just hang on! When Loretta began to have seizures from low blood sugar we just knew her hours were numbered. I was shocked when my teaching partner text the next morning that she had made it through the night. She then endured two umbilical cord infections that required additional special treatment. Looking back what if we had just given up? What sweet joy my daughter (and the rest of us) would have missed?
- Children really do follow the example set by their parents. Make it a good one! It was as if we were watching the real “Rudolf” story line play out in our barn! We knew Loretta needed to learn to be a sheep – and act like a sheep – and those were things we as humans could not teach her. Once she had enough strength and the weather turned warmer we began to leave her with the rest of the newborns and their mothers in group housing. Loretta was relentless in her quest to play with the others. She yearned desperately to be accepted. The mother ewes were so cruel. They didn’t want her anywhere near them, and their actions were loud and clear. We set up a creep feeder in hopes that Loretta could successfully mingle with the other young lambs, but they too had learned from watching their moms and became bullies. It was heartbreaking to watch. I learned a hard lesson. We’re not very different in some ways from the livestock in the barn. That same event plays out over and over in our own society too. I made many mental notes to be mindful of the actions my daughter witnessed in my presence, for they surely would repeat themselves.
- Don’t judge a book by it’s cover! It was a struggle, but Loretta made it to the “Super Bowl” of livestock shows in North Carolina – the State Fair! My daughter had created a special bond with Loretta and knowing she would be too small for a high schooler to exhibit, it was an ideal pair. Her lack of colostrum and eating challenges had stunted her growth. It allowed her to be more susceptible to parasites that we had to actively manage…unless you knew her story you’d have thought, “why did you even bring such a lamb to this show?” But to many who knew her story she was a star – and happy and healthy even though she would never win a blue ribbon…but guess what? She didn’t place last!
Ready for the show at the NC State Fair in October! - God can use anything and anybody – even a misfit lamb – to bring others closer to him. What amazing opportunities this little lamb has had to connect and reach out to us in her short life. She loved on hundreds of children at our Harvest Festival. She won tons of cheers from the crowd as our FFA “Princess” during the Homecoming parade. Most recently, she assisted a local pastor with a sermon during the Christmas season! Through all the ups and downs she has had more of a positive impact and taught us more than any other livestock animal I have ever owned. I want to be just like her! Shouldn’t we strive to seek out people and make them smile? Make them feel loved?
God used this discarded, unwanted, pitiful runt of an animal to remind me how he responds to each of us. And how he can use any one of us.
This year, while observing the flock (it’s super peaceful and relaxing to me to just watch them eat) I’d find myself quoting the 23 Psalm many times over.
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths
for His name’s sake.
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff — they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.
Loretta has earned a permanent home in our FFA program. She is hands-down the friendliest and most gentle door greeter and mascot I could ever dream up. She captured our hearts and won us over with her determination and goofy personality…and taught us some valuable life lessons along the journey.
Watch out world, who knows what Loretta Lynn will do in 2017!
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experience eating curds while visiting Wisconsin 15 years ago I’ve never seen them in a grocery store in my part of the US until recently. I like the spicy flavor just as much as I appreciate that they are produced by a cooperative that helps more profit to go right back to the dairy farmers whose cows produced the initial milk. Might make a fun conversation piece on the appetizers buffet for a holiday party?
which over a dozen other combinations of sweet ingredients can be packed on the outside as a crust. You can purchase them whole to be shipped or if picking up locally (Fayetteville, NC) New Deli will slice them to be ready to display at your upcoming holiday event for easy serving. Pumpkin Pie and Turtle are my picks!
summer asked me to host a home party to introduce the products in their catalog to my friends. Of all the products I got to try out, the Renewing Body Gelee was my favorite. It’s described as the “Swiss Army Knife” of the product line due to its versatility. I’m almost finished with my second jar and have seen it help with sunburn, insect bites, sore muscles, and even gave some relief when I got tangled up in insulation and my skin was miserably irritated. The products are made from all natural ingredients with no artificial fragrances or fillers.
higher than I want to pay for “work” clothes. After he purchased this vest for me as a Christmas gift last year I am now fully on board. It’s perfect for those that need a warm layer but don’t want bulk. It’s ideal for those who still want to be stylish yet value functionality. The three different sets of pockets are perfectly located and just the right size. TIP: Sign up for their email list and they regularly put items on sale along with coupon codes. Just wait for it to cycle through!
in lieu of my daughter making the dreaded plead for an electronic device. They are great to gift for the child you’re not sure what to give because they are consumable and appeal to a wide range of ages. They also provide a really creative way to connect with kiddos and discuss that God loves us no matter what we look like!
attention. It was a little slice of Heaven on Earth. I got to see the world through her eyes which is far more beautiful than my own. We stopped along the way to see some red clover flowers our Farmer had planted as a cover crop to feed deer a few years back. Laying up against a nearby tree we discovered a half buried old Pepsi-Cola bottle. This was the hidden treasure she was anticipating and we consumed several minutes removing this artifact from the soil to carry with us. Children are so inquisitive. She questioned out loud how it got there and who drank from it. Good Question! Maybe her great-grandfather as he butchered a hog to feed the family? Maybe an old helper on the farm parched from stacking bales of hay in the Summer heat? I LOVE all things “old” with a history and a little mystery so upon research have since found out its from the 
Not Enough Rain: This is the easiest to explain. There must be ideal moisture in the soil for seeds to germinate. For some crop applications rain is necessary to wash in fertilizer good into the soil to make it more readily available to the plant. If the plant is parched during the heat of the Summer it will not have enough moisture for seed progression and the final crop will be less volume.
green growth. In the meanwhile it has been cared for and nurtured by the farmer with details to the plants needed nutrition and protecting from plant diseases and life-sucking insects. The only part of this entire plant that the farmer get paid for is the seed head when it is has finished developing, dried out, and removed (harvested) from the plant. Only then will we get to sell it to a grainery that will in turn act as a broker to sell it to a variety of different companies that need wheat as an ingredient in their products. You may have ate cereal this morning that originated in our fields! Here is where the problem lies. That seed head is super sensitive and will respond similar to if you stayed outside all night without a coat on. It has nothing 
to protect it from the cold, and the freeze will kill the developing seed head and stop any further development. The leaves can be damaged to the point they shut down photosynthesis. Tomorrow morning we could wake up to limp and lifeless stalks that will take on the look in this photo of frost damage on our canola crop last year. Many of them will never bounce back and will permanently be damaged. That damage is a huge sucker punch to the farmer’s bank accounts come harvest time in May and June. Six months of hard manual labor plus hours upon hours of studying the markets and making contacts to get the best price and fixing broken equipment used to care for the crop…all with nothing to show for it but a few more calluses on the rough hands.
where fellowship among similar individuals kept me accountable. I became more aware of my need to spend time studying the Bible to grow closer to Him. There was one particular Crusade night held in the historic Reynolds Coliseum that again is one of those “moments” for me. It was right before Easter and our speaker was using the movie The Green Mile as a comparison to Jesus’ life. It was phenomenal discussion and I will never forget hearing for the first time the song 
cycle our pastor encouraged me to read Steven Furtick’s book Sun Stand Still. Though nothing can compare with the scripture straight from the Bible, in those moments God used this book to help me understand the power and might that He holds and that He is still in the business of miracles. Now, when I look at my daughter I am humbled daily that God entrusted us to be her parents, and it empowers me to work even harder to show him praise and honor for that privilege.
Farmer's Wife & A Southern Life 