Spring Lambs!

Spring is here at long last!  I don't know how we got through winter, but we did and now we have months of longer days and sunshine ahead of us, full of promise and good times to come.  Flowers are beginning to open, birds have a purpose in their song and the air is filled with the bleating of tiny lambs.  Life is indeed good.

Look at that little face!  Anyone would have to have a heart of stone not to find these little animals absolutely gorgeous.  The island is awash with lambs now and will be for some time to come.  I love watching them play in the sunshine and then collapse next to their mothers when they get tired.  As I write, I can see lambs asleep in the sun, enjoying the first rays of warmth they have experienced; their mums resting while they can.  Soon they will be awake and leaping about again.  It is funny how, just like children, they seem to develop in the same way and play the same games, year after year.  I love watching them run together in a line, then turn round and run back along the same path!

 There is, of course, only one reason that these animals were born in the first place and it isn't to give me something to go silly over.  They will be food for us.  It is a sobering thought and makes me even more determined to only ever eat meat from local butchers who supply meat from this island.  We haven't eaten meat from anywhere else for years and I wouldn't change that.  Good quality meat is expensive, so we only have it once or twice a week at the most.  I would much rather eat less good meat than more meat from an unknown source.  I find we appreciate it far more for eating it less often and absolutely nothing is wasted.  That has to be a good thing not only for our health and our budget, but also the welfare of the animals.  OK, I'm done lecturing now, but if you love animals, please think about the life of the animal that was killed so you could eat.

It must be Spring, as there is very little snow left on the mountains.  They glowed a lovely pink colour yesterday evening as the sun went down.  We stayed outside until the chill sent us indoors, then curled up with books and music, enjoying the feeling of tired limbs from long walks and running in the field and being out in the fresh air after a long winter of being indoors.  Hopefully nature will be kind to us this year and give us all in the British Isles the summer we have been waiting for.

Have a lovely day and thank you for reading. xxx