Month: October 2020

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Worming

The results of the poo samples from the donkeys revealed that William has a lower worm count than Toby, so this is the recommended treatment for both of them because the worms will be in the pasture, and it’s possible that Toby just has a lower resistance to them. The donkeys grazed in the lower paddock, it’s likely that they won’t be able to venture out for a couple of days if the forecast for heavy rain is correct. The sheep are still in two minds about their shelter, gave them their hay inside again, perhaps it’s just been too warm to be inside. Made a stew using the local Red Devon beef, really tasty, expect the dumplings helped!

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Verbena Bonsaris

Still flowering in the border, towering over nasturtiums and crocosmia. Moved the animal arcs next to the old sheep shelter as they’re not as popular as hoped, the sheep prefer their old resting place even though they’re getting wet, hopefully they’ll have adopted them by tomorrow. The donkeys slipped and slid down to the lower paddock and didn’t stay there long, A very wet and windy start to the day, cycled to The Anchor and back from Pamphill for coffee without getting wet. Levelled more of the hardcore for the paddock driveway and stewed Bramleys on top of the woodburner.

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Tomatoes

These must be the last of the Gardeners Delight, the leaves have lost their green and are almost yellow, some have blight but luckily it hasn’t spread to all the plants. Picked up the windfall Bramleys and stewed them the on top of the woodburner. Lunch at the Baker Arms. Managed to give the donkeys their vitamins and settle them with a little more straw in the fading light, went out to see them at 5.15 and it was dark by 5.45. A cool day with weak sunshine, strong winds and rain at dusk.

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Sheep Arcs

Moved the Ouessants into a different paddock so they can use the new shelters from Solway Recycling to hide from the rain; not too sure at first they had a helping of hay to help them settle in during an afternoon sunny spell. These arcs are heavy enough to stay put in the wind and light enough to be moved around the paddocks. William and Toby stayed near their stable today to protect the saturated ground in the avenue. They watched the activity in the lower paddocks with interest and we’re excited to receive a couple of beech branches from the hedge. A wet morning gave way to late afternoon sunshine, picked and ate the last courgette.

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Hockey’s Farm Shop

Starting at Moors Valley Country Park a 20 mile cycle to Hockey’s at South Gorley via the Castleman Trailway. Had a puncture en route so stopped for a while to remove the back wheel and replace the inner tube, fortunately had a couple of knowledgeable riders with me to do the job quickly. Sausage roll and coffee for lunch before heading back, this week’s rainfall meant a few muddy stretches and the ride through the ford was interesting. Cut a few beech branches for the sheep and donkeys, the grass is growing more slowly now so they need to be moved into a paddock that’s been fallow for a while. A sunny day with the odd shower.

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End of British Summer Time

Dark mornings turn into dark evenings as we move towards the winter solstice. A red sky to start the day, and a lovely sunset. The woodpecker spent more than ten minutes pecking at the good things to eat in the grass this morning while a plump pheasant sat on the fence calling. A day of sharp cold showers and warm sunshine after yesterday’s rain; the rising spring in the paddock has formed muddy puddles which the donkeys paddle through to get to their favourite hedge. As always, the sheep run for cover when it rains. Runner beans for tea.

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Mahjong

A very wet and windy day, easy to clean the stable area but difficult to stay dry. The donkeys were a little disturbed by the shoot happening in the field across the lane, sounded very close but didn’t last long, they soon trotted down to the paddock. The sheep didn’t like the heavy rain so huddled together in their shelter most of the time. The hurdles that were delivered a few weeks ago proved to be difficult to put together in a row so were replaced today. Played several games of mahjong and lost!

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Tatty Bianca

Tatty has lost an ear tag which will have to be replaced if she ever moves, she’s not as tatty as she was after shearing but the name suits her. Gave Winnie the purple spray treatment on her front left hoof, she has developed a slight limp and the leg above feels warmer than her other three; will have to check it again tomorrow, couldn’t see any sticks or stones that could be causing discomfort. All the sheep have been eating a little hay every day and the runny poo from Nola has improved. Rained a lot overnight, all the water butts are full again, no need to water the hedge for the next few days. Another lovely sunset.

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Beech Branches

It may have been too wet to spend a long time in the paddock but William and Toby can still enjoy branches cut from the top of the hedgerow. Autumn leaves are falling fast, the ash trees are nearly bare and the smaller oak trees have mainly orange leaves while the bigger trees are still green. Parts of the hornbeam hedge are just thin branches, other areas have crinkly copper coloured leaves that curl and hang on blowing in the wind. The pear tree has lost all its leaves, the apples are faring better, particularly the Bramley. A sunny day with light winds ending with a delicious dinner at The Baker Arms.

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Bridport Harbour

A super surfers day at East Cliff, West Bay with blue skies and strong winds. The walk along the South West Coast Path to Burton Bradstock has some significant highs and lows and spectacular gulleys and inlets. Cliff falls are common along this stretch off the Jurassic Coast, often revealing fossils. A very wet morning, walked to the farm to get eggs, the donkeys stood out in the rain and enjoyed nibbling at the hedgerow when they were let out into the paddock at lunchtime, they had a few more beech branches with their vitamins when they returned to their stable for the night.

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Head Butt

The sheep definitely have a daily playtime. Usually starting around 5 o’clock they chase each other round and round and over the woodpile and up and down the paddock, jumping as high as they can with all four feet off the ground. Tatty Bianca and Nola stop for a while to head butt each other, Tatty retreats a few steps before rushing headlong, head down, into Nola, the sight of two skulls in contact made worse by the noise – neither sheep is harmed and Nola eventually breaks eye contact with Tatty and is rewarded with a nose rub. All part of life in a flock! A cloudy day with some sunshine and fresh winds.

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Cycle Ride

Cycled 22 miles from Cranborne to Chettle and back through Wimborne St Giles and Long Crichel on country roads with lovely views through deciduous woods rich in Autumn colour. Gave the car seats a quick clean to remove the brick dust and adjusted the timing on the outdoor lights, the mornings are really dark and the sun sets a lot earlier so the lights on the stable are important. Picked more apples. A sunny day with light winds that cooled and strengthened later, the woodburner is alight every evening so the log basket needs to be topped up regularly. Watered the strawberries.

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Runner Beans

Pretty much on their last legs, picked the last beans and will leave the rest to fatten up for seed for next year, they’ve more than earned their place in the veg patch, and they definitely smell different when they’re cooking. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are over as well, one last cucumber to pick, and the courgettes have turned into marrows. Cleaned the donkey stable and water trough and planted the freshly rooted strawberry plants in the filled beds. Picked apples, all stewed and in the freezer. A sunny day with light winds. Lunch at the pub.

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Mower Trailer

The most flexible accessory in the garden, used for carting things around, and up and down the paddocks. This was the last load of the day, a tarpaulin with grass cuttings from mowing oak paddock, poo collected from the donkeys in laneside, a few beech hedge cuttings for them to eat later, a green hurdle, and a now empty cardboard box of crunchie ice creams destined for the compost heap. Moved the fresh cuttings along the top of the heap which is sinking nicely. Another warm day with light winds and late cloud to hide the sunset.

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Speckled Wood

Today this butterfly ventured indoors, it may be the last sighting of the year although the caterpillars could overwinter and emerge as early as January, if not here then further southwest. A very warm and sunny day encouraged a lot of butterfly, insect and bee activity – the wasps were still dopey and flying near the ground. Moved the sheep to the square paddock and the donkeys to laneside once the oak acorn area had been fenced off. William and Toby were overjoyed to be in the avenue again and chased up and down braying and nudging each other before moving into the paddock for a few hours of gentle grazing.

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Sunset

Every night this week there has been a lovely sunset, and tonight was no exception. Cycle ride from Pamphill to The Anchor for coffee in the sunshine returning along Sweet Briar. Nola had runny poos so was unceremoniously upended, her fleece trimmed and her bottom washed, good news – no sign of maggots! The rest of the flock watched or grazed and she was happy to eat the mix afterwards. Must buy dagging scissors as the ones from the kitchen drawer were not up to the job of cutting a lanolin enriched fleece. The donkeys enjoyed another strip of fresh grass and a handful of summer hay before eating their vitamin mix.

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Thistles

William and Toby love them and they’ve closed their eyes to savour this delicious treat. Fortunately, thistles grow in the meadow strip and could be available all year round, perhaps I should plant some in pots and move them into the greenhouse just to make sure. Started to dismantle the temporary sheep shelter, Walter started to nibble at the waterproof cover when it was on the ground, luckily he couldn’t reach it when it was on the roof. The cats brought a mouse into the dining room, managed to trap it and release it outside. A cool, misty then sunny day with light winds and a lovely sunset.

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Bramley Apples

A bumper crop of red and green apples that fall beautifully when cooked and taste delicious. There are a lot more to be picked and stored, hopefully lasting until after Christmas. Moved both arc shelters in with the sheep, they had a nibble of the edges with no success and settled down between them to chew the cud before moving off to graze. A family of four deer were in the field until quite late, they had to watch out for traffic in the lane before crossing into the copse. Trimmed the wisteria, some of the leaders had grown 20 feet or more outwards and sideways. A cool showery start to the day with bright sunshine later and a clear red sunset.

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Animal Arcs

This arc designed for use by two pigs will be home to the ouessant sheep. Two were delivered on a pallet, one ready assembled and one flat (curved) packed. Assembly was delayed from yesterday because of the strong winds, so two hours of drilling, screwing and manouvering pieces of plastic into place resulted in an arc that’s ready for use. The sheep were very curious and although Nola and Digby had a look Walter was the first to go inside; it’ll be interesting to see whether they choose to sleep in and around this one or prefer the temporary shelter further down the paddock. A sunny cloudy day with light winds and warm sunshine. Picked Darcy Spice and Bramley apples.

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Roe Deer

Still sitting under one of its favourite bushes at nine o’clock this morning, would have stayed there all day if it hadn’t been disturbed when I fed the fish in the pond, I think the windfall apples are the real attraction. Too windy to assemble the animal arc, mowed the rest of the laneside paddock instead and added the buttercup and grass cuttings to the compost heap which is warming up nicely, turned a few feet of steaming straw. The sheep poo is slightly less sloppy today and there are no mucky bottoms so the drier grass must have helped. Picked runner beans and tomatoes, a dry windy sunny, sometimes cloudy, day.

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Phlox

Creeping Phlox, 50 well rooted plug plants, potted-on and safely in the cold frames where I hope they’ll stay warm enough to grow on over the winter months and be ready for planting out in the borders in the spring. The sheep arcs from Solway Recycling were delivered on a pallet, one assembled and one flat packed, the horse riders waited a while when the lorry blocked the lane, and then turned round and re-traced their steps; the challenge of moving the load across the stones in the driveway took a little time. A warm sunny day with a cold wind, another lovely sunset.

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Hurdles

25 powder coated hurdles and a pass gate in a lovely shade of green arrived today, a few have helped to fence off the fallen oak to stop the sheep from eating the bark and let them have more grazing. Talked with the vet because there are a lot of sloppy poos in their paddock. It’s probably the after affects of a lot of rain making the grass too lush and should sort itself out in a couple of days. The concern is always fly strike which can kill a sheep, the soiled fleece under the tail is an ideal place for flys to hide and lay eggs, but at this time of year it’s usually too cold for them to breed, so hope that’s the case. Picked tomatoes and a cucumber. A warm sunny day with cloud later and a lovely sunset.

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Willow

Toby and William love willow and the high winds of last weekend brought down a few small branches from the lane-side willow tree, they’ll be given a little at a time as a treat. Collected several more loads of rubble for the driveway, some of the larger pieces will form an edge and the smaller pieces can go in the middle, reversed the car onto the first few yards without getting stuck so that’s progress. Widening the front driveway with plastic frames filled with gravel to avoid driving on the grass will look a bit smarter. A warmer day with light winds and the odd shower.

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Sheep Shelter

A temporary shelter In the bottom paddock, not really a Mk III, just enough to keep the rain off until the new arcs are available, hopefully next week; they’re made to order by Solway so take a few weeks to arrive. Collected more rubble for the paddock entrance, need someone to drive on the bumpy surface to see if they get stuck, may try the ride on mower when the box is full of grass. Getting through a few logs every day in the woodburner so cut some pallet wood to get them burning well at the start. The rose bed has been weeded, must give them a scattering of manure before the frosts. A windy showery day with a glowing sunset.

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Not me….

Somebody knocked it over….. William and Toby have been standing in the rain for the last few days and didn’t want too much attention, now the sun is almost shining they’re happy to be scratched and fussed. The morning was warmer than I expected, didn’t make it to the bike ride because of flooded roads around Dorchester. Spent a couple of hours cleaning the filter for the pond instead, the water was a bit chilly, started to rain and the wind strengthened later before a lovely sunset. Picked the last outdoor tomatoes and dismantled and stored the bamboo canes ready for next year.

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Driveway

The paddock entrance has been a bit of a problem with several vehicles getting stuck in the mud when it rains, so in the winter bales of straw etc are often left at the front of the house and manhandled to the workshop for storage. A quantity of rubble should help to form a base that’ll be worked into the ground by the next set of tyres, fortunately there’s lots available locally. Rained all day, good for the garden, made a few additions to the temporary sheep shelter to afford more protection from the weather, the donkeys are very wet but still stand outside. Wore gloves most of today as the temperature dropped, hope the weather improves tomorrow for a cycle ride.

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Acorns

Acorns are a cumulative poisonous to donkeys and sheep so the oak tree drop zones have been behind hurdles or the electric fence for the last couple of months. I picked up over 3000 acorns last year and looking at the amount still left up in the trees I think I’ll try the ride on mower when it’s drier to see if it will collect them when it cuts the grass. A very wet day, have put all the pairs of shorts away, for now, they’ve been worn for months so had to consign one pair to the compost heap. Picked up windfall apples and stewed them in a saucepan on top of the woodburner, could become a nightly ritual to fill the freezer!

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Willow William

William and Toby love eating willow, it’s medicinal aspirin for them so the quantity needs to be sufficient without promoting an overdose. This small branch and a few smaller pieces came down in last nights storm, the sheep ate some of it out of curiosity and left this for the donkeys, with William getting first bite. The rain was torrential this morning so mucking out was a little delayed and the donkeys had made a mess of their stable, which is unusual. Washing the hardstanding was easier and the day brightened to allow apple picking in the sunshine. More rain after sunset, the days are definitely drawing in, time to light the woodburner.

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Ouessants

The sheep have enjoyed their time in the square paddock and especially liked the new wood and stone obstacle area that held their interest for at least half an hour….! The grass is getting shorter so they’ll soon be moved into oak paddock where the grass is much longer, it mustn’t get too long before they start to graze or it’ll become too tough and they won’t eat it at all. Straw delivery today, 24 bales unloaded and stacked in the dry before 0930, which should last the donkeys until mid November. A sunny start to the day with rain later, picked tomatoes, runner beans and Bramley windfalls.

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Electric Fence

A busy day mowing the lower paddock, moving the electric fence and rotating the animals around, the rain wasn’t too bad in the morning, but it turned into a downpour later in the afternoon so the stable yard had a good wash and sweep. The donkeys waited (almost) patiently in the avenue until their new paddock was ready and then they ran and bucked with excitement. The paddock they left had been cut in half because of the acorns from the tree collecting in the grass, they’re poisonous to most animals but pigs can eat them with no ill effect – don’t have any pigs! The day ended with stormy skies and then a bright moon.