Christmas is over and the new year will begin in less than a week.

During the winter closure, the ranch is quiet but busy with work being done to prepare for the cold winter and for spring.

As for the animals, this month passed by in a flash as we worked on warming the sheds and moving the sheep from the pastures where the grass had disappeared.

After the new year, the lambs start giving birth around mid-January, so the mother lambs that were outside will one by one move into the warm shed to prepare for giving birth.

The mother sheep outside

At the new location:

Other news from the farm at the end of the year was that they were setting up a goat farm on Kagayaki Hill to deal with the pests that frequently appear on the farm, such as wild boars and deer.RikiYou moved.

Male goatRikiYou are expected to scare off wild boars and other animals with your overflowing, manly scent.

Riki is a sweet boy but a little violent...

And yet she's quite an attention seeker (-_-;)

Riki also joined Ark Tategamori this year.

I'm going to be a father next spring.

A lot of things happened this year.

Thank you very much for your help.

As a token of our appreciation, we present two of our best shots of the year.

My favorite shot is of blue sky, greenery and looking straight into the camera.

Thank you for this year.

We look forward to your continued support next year.

Happy New Year.

Department of Agriculture and Stock Animal Management

Sugawara Ayumi