Plaid CJ: April 2013

I'm back! And alive! The internet was down for most of the time I was lambing, someone apparently was out hedgetrimming and trimmed a bit more than he intended, and thus the internet was down for 6 weeks. How the farmer lived I have no clue, but I digress. Lambing! Its spring break and that means that all us wee Glasgow vets go out into the world and help all those cute baby lambs!
Things started off well enough, I got to the train station nice an early, got my tickets, and was on my way! It snowed a good portion of the trip down, so I think that was why my train was slightly delayed. Only by a 13 minutes, but that was just enough time to make me miss my train and have to wait for another one for an hour! But I eventually got there and it all worked out. The house was amazing! Its a really old big house and my bed was so comfy and warm, it was great! We had dinner and then went to go check on the sheep and then back into the house. When I inquired on what time I should be up again (ie: the dreaded night shift) the farmer said that he'd see us the next morning at 7! NO NIGHT SHIFT?! It was music to my ears! Already this place was going to be so cushy, I really lucked out.
Most days we were outside at 7, feed lambs and ewes until 9:15-9:30 and then went inside for breakfast, back outside after about an hour, then doing some general work, watching the ewes until round 1, then back inside for lunch, back out after and hourish, more work, then inside for dinner and a bit of a rest before back outside round 9 for one more feeding and checking on the ewes and then bed by 11! It certainly was a lot of hard work, lambing always is, but it was so much better than last years placement, plus I had another vet student and the farmer for hang out with!
I was enjoying this cushy lambing placement so much, and then it snowed. And it didn't stop snowing for a few days, which was slightly miserable because it was so cold, and we got a bit backed up because we couldn't take anyone out because of the snow, but still better than last year! The farmer was so amazing and nice, the only room with heated floors in the house was for the dogs! His cows were well taken care of and they were so tame we could wander in the shed with them and they even let me listen to their rumen without moving! We were even int he same pen with a giant Limosen Bull and he tried to smell my hand, amazing! The farmers mom brought me food everyday and it was so good, they were so sweet, and we all went to the familys house for Sunday dinners. Towards the end I got a wee bit annoyed because I scratched my eye with my contact lense and it was really irritating my, so a few days I had to wear my glasses, so that kinda sucked. Then the last days the farmers cousin came with his 5 daughters, so they were running around and helped me feed lambs. It was fun having the whole family there and listening to all their funny stories. When the time came to leave I was quite ready to go home, plus exams are coming up so I need to hit those books! But it really was a great experience. The 1st year I went with got on really well, he was really funny and we had a great time! It definitely changed my mind about sheep, maybe they aren't that bad after all! I would definitely go back next year, though it seems that Americans are bad weather luck there, so who knows if they'll take me! But still, great fun!