January 1st we woke up to a brisk farm day. No, it wasn’t the crack of dawn. In fact not only did the rooster crow but the cows called to be milked. We had to sleep in a bit. Erick called in to let me know that we had additional work to be done as lambing season had begun. We were blessed to find 5 healthy lambs up and about ready to nurse. Of the three new mom’s, one had to be encouraged to take on her motherly duties. She didn’t quite know if she wanted to adopt these two new strange beings or go join the herd in the neighboring field. On our farm, we have a hands off approach until intervention is needed. We let nature take its course when at all possible. A low stress introduction to motherhood makes for a strong bond and strong lambs. Some days we need to be more involved and New Years day was one of those days. While Erick milked, Conner our 15 year old went to bring the less than motherly ewe into the barn so she could be managed and “trained” in here motherly duties. After a near lifetime on the farm, he knew how to spot the right mom from the flock of 50. He saw the signs of recent birth and grabs his shepard’s hook to gently grab her after herding the flock up to the coral. Now I come to the scene. It was a clear morning. I was thrilled to be out and view the miracles of birth. Conner was happy to do the work but a little less thrilled to need to manage an irresponsible mother ewe. He had her caught when I arrived. I went to help him carry her in to the barn and lost hold. While I dove through the snow on frozen ground to catch her I failed to get the job done. I looked up to see the disappointment in Conner’s eyes as he realized he had to round her up again. I saw the man coming out as he took the responsibility even though it was not his own failure. Out he went once again to bring the flock in. This time I had my head on task and got her into the barn. As we spent the morning training this new mom, I thought of all the times in life we want to stray from the path of duty just to be brought back by God’s loving hand. I am glad for the farm lesson in my own life and I am glad for the opportunity to share that message with my teenage son. After a few days of work, mom had learned to care for her lambs. She has rejoined the flock with her lambs. Life on the farm is good!