I’d guess you’d call it a vigil. Maria and I sat out in the pasture for much of the afternoon, Red was off to the side keeping an eye on things, the sheep are getting very used to us now, they lay down all around, chewing their cuds, very still, the strong winds blowing across the pasture, down the road.

It was a beautiful experience in many ways, a deeply spiritual one, we were literally in the middle of the block, we have done this often with the donkeys but never the sheep. And of course, the dogs. The lambing crisis this week has drawn me much closer to the sheep, as crises will. I have spent many hours sitting with them.

I tried to communicate with the lambs inside of Zelda, urged them to come out, welcomed them to the world. We’ve decided to leave things to Mother Nature for now, give Ma and Zelda the opportunity to have lambs when they are ready. We’ve done everything we can do for Ma right now, the only other choice would be a C-section, I am not comfortable with that option, at least not yet, perhaps not ever.

Maria thinks she should skip the New York City trip with me on Sunday and Monday, she feels there is too much going on at the farm. I’m not sure, I will leave it up to her. I hope she comes. We haven’t yet taken a real vacation in our marriage or time together, these shorter trips are important, but I leave it to her. She has great judgment.

I felt closer to the sheep than ever, I admired their calm, their ability to center down together. Ma came over to Maria several times to have her back scratched. The wind was strong, but warm, there is something timeless about a flock of sheep.

Ma looked active and busy, she is eating and drinking now. I’ll give her another antibiotic shot tomorrow. Still no signs of labor.