Most country folk think of baby farms animals, especially calves and lambs, as the first sign of Spring, right? Well, this country girl does. I love watching the newborn calves and lambs bouncing around the fields.
What farmer hasn’t told at least one story about bringing a newborn calf or lamb into their kitchen to keep warm during the first couple of weeks or to give the little darlings a bottle of milk? The sobering fact of farming when this happens is usually because the cow or ewe didn’t accept her baby.
Here is an unusual, but true story about a little lamb we adopted from farmers. This little lamb was a triplet. He was the smallest of the three lambs. During his fight to survive he broke his leg. Of course, it broke my mom’s heart when she heard about the little lamb. What mom who had grown up on a farm wouldn’t be touched?
I didn’t know we had adopted a lamb until I called home while I was on vacation. To my surprise while I was talking to my mom, I heard a loud baa…baa in the background. When I asked why was I was hearing a sheep in the house, Mom happily informed me that there was a lamb in our bath tub. Completely normal? I had to think about this one. Once my mom told me Sparky’s story, really did make sense.
When I got home after my vacation, Sparky tried to run up to me. I knew instantly why his name was Sparky. He was so cute.
Sparky was now living in a large box in our kitchen. He had a soft teddy bear in his box to keep him company. loved this bear.
Sparky was an unusual lamb because he loved to ride in my vehicle. My boss and co-workers agreed to me bringing Sparky to work. I would place him in a card board box in the back where he was safe on the floor behind the driver’s seat. Sparky was so relaxed and comfortable in my vehicle; he was usually sound asleep by the time I got to work. He loved going to work with me, mainly because he loved the attention he received.
Of course, as Sparky got bigger, he was moved outside. He wasn’t happy about that. Lambs are supposed to live inside and ride in the backseat of vehicles, right? He finally accepted the fact that he was going to be living outside or so we thought. When our dog Max was outside, Sparky followed him everywhere. When Max thought he had been outside too long, he would gently, bump the door. Sparky also learned how to “knock” on the door. His pawing at the door was not quite as gently as Max’s.
Our Sparky grew up to be a very rambunctious ram. We sadly had to sell him when he was three. Memories of Sparky still make me smile.
