Mount Saviour Monastery

March 2021 News:
In like a lion' describes our weather at the beginning of the month with strong winds creating below zero wind chills and even more challenging conditions for the ongoing lambing season. More positive signs of spring were observed on the 3rd when we no longer needed the chapel lights for Lauds due to increasing daylight plus the first honking flocks of returning geese. Our 'regulars', two geese, made their yearly return to the pond nearest our chapel and can often be found waddling around with the sheep in the field.

Also on the 3rd, more than a month ahead of their normal schedule, nearly all the sheep were moved into the yard for birthing. The morning count on the 4th registered 25 newborns.

More welcome signs of spring, including warming temperatures, were in evidence on the 9th with the first red-winged blackbird sighted in the a.m. and a flock of robins on the chapel lawn in the afternoon. On the 11th Turkey Buzzards returned to our skies above, while the first woodchuck made a brief reconnaissance from her burrow below. And yes, we do know it is a female, having observed her and her offspring for the past several years.

After several days of warm weather, most of our snow had melted by the 15th. A FedEx envelope was found on one of the guest house porches under the receding snow. It had been delivered in December and had been covered by snow continuously since then! The warmer weather made for improved conditions for the lambing. By the 16th the count was up to 91.

A purple crocus was brave enough to be the first flower to appear in a timely manner on the first day of spring. The barnyard was emptied of the final ewes and newborns which were put into the fields on the 28th. The count at the end of the month with only two more mothers left to give birth was 132 lambs born from 79 ewes.

 

Next up is their vaccinations and ours.  All brothers who want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 now have appointments scheduled.  That moves us one step closer to reopening the monastery to guests again but there remain many variables beyond our control. The Center for Disease Control continues  recommending no travel even for those fully vaccinated. The New York Times reports that as of the end of the month there was a severe outbreak of Coronavirus in our area which places the county at a very high risk level. Our neighboring counties are also at a very high risk level. Plus the increased talk about a possible 'Fourth Wave' and the question of the multiple variants and other questions about the vaccines themselves all suggest that it will still be some time before the pandemic has run its course. In the meanwhile we wish everyone a Blessed Easter!

 

Happy Easter