Hard at work

Progress on the house paddock was good until Carl discovered the hinges he had will not fit the gate.  He is off back up the hill looking for ones that will fit right now.

I have told him he has to get a move on as then there is back paddock and weaning has to start soon!  Back paddock needs a bit more work on the woods side and Sam is the one we need or that as he is magic with the monkey and can bash posts in, on his own, at a rate of knots.  Hopefully, I can tempt him in to doing a bit of that on Wednesday - although I do also need help with moving the sheep so we will have to see how busy he is.

Cassie is doing well and I am sure she is gradually straightening up.  Her walking is much better and the wonky neck does not seem to be causing her any problems.

And - great excitement in the greenhouse this afternoon as one cucumber seed is growing.  It is definitely a cucumber seed and not a bit of twig as I dug it up to check.

I have managed to dig over another bed today but it was a small one - I am putting off tackling the monster bed!

Good news!  Lorry unloading a mini (well quite a big one, actually) digger at the bottom of Bell hill - I think they may be looking at the hole!

Dodgy Connections

Internet problems are besetting me at the moment and I have been off line for the last few days.  I had one glimpse of the World Wide Web a few days ago but after sending a few emails which took almost 3 hours I just turned the whole thing off and gave up - miraculously this morning it had cured itself!  Hope it is not temporary.

I am not getting a great deal of sleep at the moment as the lambs are due tomorrow and I did think Stumpy was imminent two days ago but it was just discomfort accompanied by rather a lot of wind.  Hopefully, at least one will appear tomorrow - maybe even later when I go back to check.

We have also been busy with fencing - I had to buy a new energiser for the electric fence and it is a pretty scary one which shoots off blue sparks  if it earths out.  It did come with a free fence tester which is a wonderful little thing you hold on the wire and a  multitude of pretty lights twinkle and flash if all is well - much easier than a piece of grass!  Sam has been inventing again.  This time a sprayer (which actually works, despite what it looks like)!

The weather has ranged from very warm T-shirt weather to freezing 4 jumper and long john weather - sometimes all in one day.  Today we are in cold weather which is slowing up what was good grass growth.  I need the paddocks that are resting to grow quickly as the girls are waiting to move into them.  It will mean Bert and her baby, Trouble, will have to be separated as Bert is not due for a long time and I need Trouble to stay with the other youngster.  I am not sure how Bert will take it as, although Trouble was a bottle fed, Bert is very fond of her babies!  Here are the pair of them - with one of the other issues behind them - The Rolling Pit!  Wherever I put the girls they always create a rolling pit!

The sun has got his hat on - sadly, so have I!

Excellent news last night from Irene at Ashdale.  I will let her tell you more but just to say she took our knitting to a show and has sold a phenomenal amount.  After my saying things had gone flat after Christmas - well, they have picked up now!!

It has been a busy day today - and lovely weather.  Carl and a friend have been fencing.

Spring has definitely been in the air - buds are bursting!

After lots of poo collecting for me and lots of moaning about his bad back from Sam, we did a bit of halter training.  My poo collecting was quick due to the Mule and his new tyres - not once did I get stuck or slide!

Halter training also went remarkably smoothly.  Barnaby Rudge is still a little nervous of his halter but Barry Norton had got to the stage where a little walk was called for - but who to take with us?  Harry and Dylan are already well halter trained so it should have been one of them but Spike, the blood giving wether, was desperate to come out.  We have never halter trained him but Sam was keen!  So Sam put his halter on - no fussing - and he was ready to be off!  I can't say he walked perfectly but he was not bad.  Little Barry was not that keen on going out but walked well coming back!  We have had a long debate over whether to show the next photo due to the state of my trousers, the fact that Barry's lead rein is a bit of old rope, and me looking enormous (I was wearing 4 jumpers as, despite the sun, it was cold).  In the end the photo stays in but the hat is to be replaced and the trousers are supposed to be in the bin tonight!

Carl needs hosepipe!

A very nice sunny day again but I have been chained to the Mule - knitting!  It took me quite a while to corner Greeves for his first bottle this morning, he is moving around much more now.  Most of the girls spent the day at the top of the hill either communing over the fence or sunbathing.  Bert did do a little dance at one point but other than that they all had a fairly lazy day. 

Particularly Emily who took control of the rolling pit and snored terribly!

Now Carl has gone in his shed to make something.  The reason all the fences are taking so long is the added barbed wire and electric fence fortifications and it is all getting very expensive.  We wanted to put low level barbed wire and Carl has done the first bit running from an invertor which is not pleasant if you forget to turn it off in the morning!  But he has put it on electric fence posts in front of the stock fencing.  This is fine but not very aesthetically pleasing so I wanted those screw to the post hooks.  We found them for about a pound which sounded great until we realised we would need around 2000!  Then Carl had a brainwave in bed last night.  He woke up muttering, "Must get some hosepipe!"  I have been fearing for his life all day and wondering if the fencing was getting on top of him.  But no, he has a plan!  More on this later if it works!

Foo Man Choo

Very exciting this morning! Carolyn looked very restless when I let the chickens out. She was on her side moaning, back end gaping, grunting like yesterday. . . then she wandered off on her own . . . then she rolled around . . . then she stood straining over the poo pile for ages . . then . . . she calmly started grazing again!

Little Star spent an hour this afternoon looking like Foo Man Choo - she had got some fleece stuck in her teeth!


And this evening we have been removing posts that it took ages to put in because the paddock is not the right size for the Master Plan! Dobby and the rest of the wethers loved the posts coming out of the ground and kept pronking about while I operated the front loader and Carl did something technical with a piece of rope.