Photo Bucket List Check - A Birth!

I was working on a totally different post for today, but I had the most AMAZING opportunity this week and just had to share right away!

When we first moved to Poolesville I taught a preschool class in town and was lucky to meet some of the neatest kids. One of my most favorite students, Sadie, lived on a farm and in the early spring her mother, Amanda, brought in a baby sheep. AN ACTUAL BABY SHEEP VISITED MY PRESCHOOL CLASS! If I didn't already know that I was living in a magical place, that totally confirmed it!

I am blessed to call Amanda my friend and to have the privilege of watching that amazing little girl turn into one of the most amazing big girls. Amanda is head farmer and sheep doula (is that a thing? I just made it a thing.) at Plow and Stars Farm raising grass-fed Katahdin (read:adorable) lamb. Every year she lets me come over and snuggle the baby sheep (while my husband chews his nails worrying I'll bring one home) and every year I try and time my visit so I can catch one of those mamas in action. Unfortunately they tend to have their babies in the wee hours of the morning, almost like they know that creeper with the camera is NOT a morning person and they'll be able to have some privacy.

Yesterday she invited me over (after texting to ask if I could come) to meet some of the new babies. My friend Molly and I spent a few hours just hanging with Amanda and the babies and also trying to will some of the mamas into labor. The adult conversation and beauty of the sheep, and their pasture, and those fluffy clouds totally filled my bucket! I was still on a high, sitting home editing photos, when I got a text from Amanda that one of the sheep had given birth and that a second babe was on its way. I have never put pants and boots on faster!

What an amazing experience watching this sheep become a mama for the first (well, technically second) time! These were Artemis' first babies (probably why she wasn't smart enough to wait till I was asleep) and she needed a little assistance. Watching a very mature and grown up Sadie hop right into helping was even cooler than watching a brand new sheep take his first breaths. I'm so grateful I was able to capture these moments. The boys, Andes and Alfio, are doing beautifully and I can't wait to go back and visit them so I can maintain my role as creepy aunt who talks about knowing them since they were born at every opportunity.

Before you watch, please know that this film depicts an actual birth so naturally there is blood. I was looking for the proper maturity warning on Vimeo, but there was nothing for "Farm Animal Birth" or even for birth in general, or for blood, so I clicked nudity and I'm still laughing. My favorite moments: watching Sadie grab that aspirator out of Amanda's pocket without missing a beat, when Amanda takes her gloves off pet Artemis and tell her what a great job she did, and those tiny baby bleats!!