Gaudium magnum: habemus agnos! Seven lambs: three sets of twins plus a straggler, born not without difficulty in January, and now out in the fields compulsively gambolling under their mothers’ watchful eyes. The first twins, both boys, were born close to Epiphany, and because the Ryeland Flock Book Society says all lambs’ names in 2022 must begin with “C”, that meant, obviously, Caspar, followed by – blame Twitter for the suggestion – The Tablet’s Rome correspondent.
The local lambing course having been cancelled in October, as Christmas neared we were shocked by how little we knew. From graphic YouTube videos, BBC Countryfile specials and even Clarkson’s Farm, we took one essential lesson: if you’re not sure, call the vet. So we did. Often. Which was expensive, but probably no more than the course would have been, and there’s nothing like learning on the job.