There’s a Baby in the Barn

I wrote a post a while back called A Flock of Our Own. At the time, we were just getting started. Dreaming. Learning. Figuring it out as we went.

And now…

There are babies in the barn.

Friday, February 6th, I noticed one of our young ewes acting… different. Not dramatic. Not obvious. Just different. She looked different. Moved different. Stood different. I told Peter, “She’s either in heat or about to have a baby.”

We went to bed and didn’t think much more about it.

The next morning was freezing — unusually cold for us. Peter had already left before sunrise. All the animals were tucked into the barn because of the cold. My middle son, John Grady, was on morning feed duty.

He burst back into the house and said, “There’s a baby in the barn.”

I didn’t believe him.

I ran out in slippered feet, pajamas, and an old Carhartt thrown over the top.

And there she was.

Already dry.

Already clean.

Already groomed.

It barely looked like a birth had happened at all — the sign of a very good mother ewe.

She had a brown dot over her right eye, a thumbprint-sized spot on her back, and a few other little freckles scattered across her wool.

So of course I named her Freckles.

Peter will tell you she’s “number four” and not to get attached.

Too late.

I scooped her up and did all the checks I had read about in my homework — warm tongue (good), dry nose (healthy), strength in her legs, confirmed she was a little girl. I knew what to look for. I knew the signs.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the overwhelming joy in that stall.

Her mama watched every move we made — not frantic, not aggressive. Just steady. Quietly baying, rhythmically calling to her baby. When we set Freckles back down, she immediately smelled her, confirmed her, and let her nurse.

There was nothing for us to do.

Nature knew what to do.

“He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.”

— Isaiah 40:11

We separated Jimmy the goat, Annie the very large-and-in-charge flock leader, the ram, and the other ewe to give mama and baby some quiet space to imprint. I ran to Tractor Supply for a heat lamp, alfalfa hay, and molasses — the essentials for a good nursing mom.

The barn smelled like cold air, sweet feed, and something holy.

A week later, we noticed the other young ewe starting to act the same way.

We moved her into the stall with Freckles and her mama. And sure enough — exactly one week later — on February 14th…🩷

Two babies in the barn.

This one is a little ram. Perfectly white. Born on Valentine’s Day. There was no way we weren’t naming him Valentino.

He’s smaller than Freckles but already quicker. Alert. Curious. Possibly our next breeding ram. A perfect little male specimen.

In just one week, the weather had shifted back to our usual 65–70 degrees. The barn a sticky mess of molasses and alfalfa hay in that musty-but-glorious way that only barn people understand. And an energy of spring fever washing over all the livestock. 

Today, we opened the stall and let everyone out to graze together. Freckles bouncing around and Valentino trying to keep up. Two young mamas doing exactly what they were created to do. A ram who clearly understood the assignment. And our faithful Jimmy and Annie looking on and leading the way around the farm. 

I just stood there. Overwhelmed.

From our humble start a few months ago… to two healthy babies born on this property in our barn. A healthy flock. Healthy moms. Healthy lambs. 

I cannot begin to describe the emotion of watching something I prayed over and planned for actually come to life in front of me. I have so many beautiful hymns about sheep and shepherds swirling in my head... But like a looped record, I keep hearing Psalms 23 by Keith Green. He is so good to me and I am grateful to understand first hand the shepherd's love for the one. 

"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." 

Matthew 18:12-14

I have no idea what comes next.

But I know this —

There are babies in the barn.

Where in your life have you seen something you hoped for suddenly come to life?

Lord, thank You for new beginnings and answered prayers — sometimes in slippered feet and cold barns. Help me never grow numb to the joy of watching You bring life where once there was only hope. Amen.

Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all. 💛