We had a fair bit of sun today but the wind made it feel cold. We looked at the grass and willed it to grow faster!!! Amazingly, this last time last year we were about to start lambing, in fact in 4 days the first ones were to be born. We cannot even begin to imagine having lambs at the moment: the ground is too wet and the grass is just not good enough for the ewes at all. We are six weeks off lambing this year still. Whalsay is due first, last year she was last and had a still-born lamb so we are keeping everything crossed for her this spring. At this stage, the fetuses are going through a massive growth spurt. 70% of the growth takes place in the last 30% (i.e. 6 weeks) of the gestation period and this is when the ewes need to keep themselves well fed and in top condition!! Or rather we need to keep them well fed and in top condition. At the moment we think they are all doing okay. Muckle looks huge already, twice the size of Bressay pictured here!!