Month: December 2020

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New Year’s Eve Grass

William and Toby can’t graze the soggy paddock so a few square meters of grass by their straw area has been fenced with hurdles, William especially loves eating grass. Perhaps when the paddock driveway is finished they’ll be able to walk up to the gate. The hunt horses were ridden along the valley and up the lane with the dogs chasing and barking in the field opposite, the donkeys looked in their direction as their route circled our paddocks. The sheep paid attention but didn’t seem unduly worried. A cold frosty sunny cloudy day with light winds.

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Cycle

From Witchampton to Farnham and round the Gussages, about 20 miles. Groundwater levels are high after the recent rain so the fords were a step too far for bicycles and some of the ditches couldn’t cope with the volume of running water so the road became part of the ditch. Everyone made it through OK, we just kept peddling! The donkeys had to stay out of the wet paddock and eat straw and apple branches. A cold cloudy day, when the sun broke through the temperature lifted a few degrees.

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Tatty Bianca

Tatty was limping a little, looked like her front left hoof was painful so she was lifted off the ground and sat on her rump while her hooves were inspected. Apart from being a bit muddy they were all looked fine with no stones so a dose of the purple spray was administered to each hoof and she was soon enjoying the grass with the rest of the flock. Paddocks too wet for the donkeys so they stayed on the straw and hard standing, emptied a few more bags of rubble onto the driveway which held their attention for a few minutes. A cold cloudy day.

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Christmas Pudding

Made by sister and flamed with brandy, was soon eaten and tasted really good. The reindeer head on the wall usually looks really effective but has blurred a bit in this photo. Planted more hazel in the meadow strip to plump up the hedge, the Wren was flying about round the hornbeam and the Robin was watching to see what was changing, they’re all looking well fed and are singing well. Another deluge overnight so the donkeys couldn’t go out into the paddock, the puddles are quite obvious now and will take a few days to drain. A colder day with the odd sunny spell between showers.

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Poppy

Poppy is half Maine Coon so very fluffy, and at this stage of winter her fur gets tangled very easily, the ruff round her neck will have to be trimmed or she won’t be able to reach beyond it to groom herself properly, which isn’t easy without being scratched! The snow has nearly gone, a few piles are left where it blew under north facing hedges. Cold, misty drizzly rain most of the day so the hardstanding was easier to sweep. No time in the paddock for the donkeys, they did a bit of mutual grooming and had fresh apple branches. Puddles in the paddocks and the spring is running into the ditch again.

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Chewing the Cud

The Ouessants spend most of their time eating grass and chewing the cud, they sleep for about four hours a day and are highly social animals that like to be with their flock. The frosty start to the day made poo picking easier, they’ve got over their runny bottom episode, helped by a daily helping of dry hay. The donkeys were out in the paddock until it started drizzling and then they came back up to the stable yard for their salt lick. The straw bales are sometimes being rejected so ‘steaming’ has resumed. Lunch at The Baker Arms.

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Boxing Day

The donkeys had their edible Christmas tree and liked the carrots and pieces of apple the best, it was was soon knocked over in search of the treats hidden in the straw and then quite quickly abandoned. The sheep had a very similar tree and stayed interested a bit longer, actually eating some of the twigs and chewing at the bark. The paddocks are still very soggy, a couple of dry days will help dry the ground, there’s a rising spring in the avenue that’s still creating puddles there so that area won’t be used until water levels fall. A lovely sunny day after a hard frost.

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Christmas Day

Walter became a reindeer for the day, sporting a lovely pair of antlers. The rest of the flock were very curious, he eventually lowered his head and shook them off. The donkeys were having no such adornment and spent a few minutes cantering round their paddock churning up the ground. William took hold of Toby’s mane and held on, showing his teeth, Toby didn’t appear to mind they just ran round together hoof by hoof. A bright and breezy day with a bright orange sunset last night.

Happy Christmas
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Primrose

Must like the warm wet weather as it doesn’t usually flower until after Christmas but there are several plants with rain-dropped petals surrounded by dark green leaves. The donkeys were spooked by an engineer in a high vis jacket working on a telegraph pole over a field away and had to be released from their halters. They circled round a few times and were on high alert for the rest of the day, they’d rather be out in the paddock but more rain overnight has left already saturated ground with more puddles. Heavy showers on and off all day, promise of sunshine tomorrow.

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Willow

Blown off the big willow in the bottom paddock these twiggy branches are a treat for the donkeys, Toby especially likes to eat the smaller pieces with buds and come back for the larger pieces later. Any particularly desirable branches will be eaten by both donkeys in a tug of war moment. Moved the sheep arks higher up the paddock to a fresh area of grass near the hay feeder. Several Robins are sitting on top of the trees singing and the rooks are flying around calling to each other. A warmer sunny cloudy day with a couple of showers, fed the fish.

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Cycle

Along very muddy roads, drains clogged with hedge cuttings and soil from the fields, through very big puddles at Hammoon to Sturminster Newton and back through Child Okeford to Shroton for lunch. Lucky the rain eased off for a few hours before setting in again at dusk. The hay feeder in the sheep field needed more support for the roof after last nights rain. Another apple tree has been pruned so the donkeys had more sticks to nibble. Looks like the car needs a wash!

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Winter Solstice

A sunrise without rain, very welcome! The shortest day heralds the start of winter but as the days lengthen the sunshine will more than compensate for the the lower temperatures. The paddocks are saturated so colder temperatures and a frost would harden the ground, the donkeys were out for a couple of hours in the late afternoon for a bit of exercise. The latest bale of straw is not to their liking so it has a topping of barley straw to encourage them to eat. A sunny dry day with light winds.

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Apple

The Ouessants are getting a liking for apples, they come running when you go into their paddock, the only variety left for them to eat is the D’Arcy Spice and they’re stored in a dustbin in the workshop protected from any mice that may be interested. The donkeys ate half the new bale of straw opened for them yesterday, no steaming required! The pheasants and rooks like picking over the straw which is been thrown out of the donkey’s stable each day, there must be grain left to eat. Heavy rain all day.

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Hay Feeder Shelter

Mk II; the first shelter has an old fence panel for a roof and is staying in the lower paddock. A shelter is needed in willow so this new one uses two hurdles, has a corrugated bitumen sheet for a roof and it will have plastic sheeting at the sides to keep the hay in the feeder dry. More rain last night so soggy paddocks and no grass grazing for the donkeys. The good news is that William and Toby like a newly opened bale of the wheat straw they’ve previously rejected, and emptied their feeder last night. A very wet day with driving rain and low cloud over the hills.

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Poppy

Likes to drink water wherever she finds it and has learnt to look for this glass because it’s usually in the same place every night. Sunny bike ride for a couple of hours, including the muddy Sweet Briar, with a nice hot coffee at The Anchor. Moved the sheep arcs from the lower paddock, which is still saturated, to Willow, the sheep were curious about the new location and ran in and out of them to make sure they were ok. A cloudy start to the day before the sunshine broke through with a promise of more rain overnight.

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Desensitisation

William and Toby are very aware when people stand on the grass above the stable yard, it’s a metre or so higher than their viewpoint, it disturbs them and they start to circle around. So the plan is to introduce them to things they may not be familiar with and standing on a chair in the paddock may be a little different. In the event the donkeys are chilled, curious and calm. Heavy rain overnight followed by torrential rain, the waterproofs just about held out for the poo picking and were then hung above the boiler to dry out. Toby brayed in anticipation of the nightly feed. A cloudy sunset with the promise of sunshine tomorrow.

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Playing

It’s the time of year when the Christmas music books come out of the cupboard, a CD provides the orchestral backing track for the trumpet solo, hope the donkeys like hearing the result! The rain has made cleaning the hardstanding easier, it had developed a green tinge that is gradually disappearing with energetic sweeping a couple of times a day, and there’s no shortage of fresh water. Torrential rain overnight was followed by showers and occasional sunshine, no grazing in the paddock for the donkeys today.

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Corfe Castle

Bike ride in sunshine and showers from West Holme to Corfe Castle returning through Creech, some 17 miles. Soay sheep graze round the ruins of the Castle, originating from St Kilda they are extremely agile and traditionally take refuge on cliffs so the steep sides of the castle mound are ideal for them. Partly feral they don’t need shearing as their fleece is shed naturally in spring, very different from ouessants who crave company and need delicate shearing because they’re small. Overnight rain left a patchwork of puddles in the paddocks, a mild and sunny showery day.

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Wet Wet Wet

William and Toby had to stay on the stable yard today, the ground everywhere is saturated after torrential rain last night. Their hooves would sink down five or six inches at every step, taking the green grass down every time and leaving the paddock poached. If Toby decided to do his favourite handbrake turn then several square meters of grass would disappear and become muddy furrows. They both waited patiently for their vitamins and late afternoon portion of steamed wheat straw topped off with a little barley straw. A very very wet day, misty at times.

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Elephant Garlic

Six big cloves are now in the bed next to the Marco Polo garlic which was planted five weeks ago, they sprouted quickly and are now six inches high, once harvested and dried they should keep for up to a year. These shallow beds were filled with compost for the strawberry plants but there were only enough plants to fill half the beds so there’s been lots of space available for the garlic. Collected the last load of rubble for a while, there are lots of bags to empty and the contents will need leveling. Heavy rain overnight followed by a sunny day with a chilly wind.

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Tyres

Two new tyres and tubes waiting to be fitted, it’s the end of the road for the old ones, not sure the donkeys will be interested in playing with them but will give it a try. The new ones are less mountain bike and more hybrid so will roll better on tarmac while giving reasonable grip on gravel and mud, I’ll be trying them out on Monday. Wheeled the bike into the paddock for the donkeys to see, they ran around for a while so left it there for a few hours before putting a few apple slices on the saddle. The donkeys weren’t scared of it then… A mild sunny cloudy day with light winds, more heavy rain overnight.

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Ouessants

Moved the sheep shelters to a different part of the fallen oak paddock where there is fresher grass, the sheep are sleeping in the shelters more often as the nights get colder and their footfall is creating a few tracks to and from their favourite places. They always enjoy a handful of sheep mix. The donkeys are eating steamed straw with a couple of slices of barley straw and ate a few leafy twigs from the top of the apple trees. Rain overnight meant watering of the new trees wasn’t necessary, a cloudy cool day with light winds. The owl was hooting at dusk.

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Driveway

Making progress towards the paddock gate, three more loads of rubble collected today and last week’s contributions leveled and driven on with no problems. William and Toby are eating more of their old straw, ferreting underneath the new barley straw which is on the top. A very cold cycle ride in mist with ice drops falling from the trees, difficult to keep hands and feet warm. A very welcome coffee stop half way round meant I could warm my gloves on a radiator. Sunshine for half an hour before dusk.

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Donkeys

William and Toby are still less than impressed with their wheat straw, they’ve been chewing at the big silver birch log and are still nibbling the rails and kickboards in the stable. My sister advised steaming the straw in a dustbin with a kettle of boiling water, and that has certainly helped. So today I bought two bales of golden barley straw and tonight they appear to be a little more enthusiastic about rummaging around in the feeder. A very cold day with persistent fog, the sun tried to break through but didn’t make it. The sheep had their usual portion of hay and an apple.

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The Hunt

Turned on to the road ahead of me, dogs running around everywhere and barking with excitement, after a few hundred yards they turned right onto the bridleway. A wet and cold day to be out and about, I hope they had their thermals on, horse boxes were all over the place off-loading horses wanting to join in, and the gateways along the road each had a crowd of people watching and waiting for them to jump the hedges and chase across the fields. A cold day with sunny spells, a lot of rain overnight has led to soggy paddocks and squelchy pathways.

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Pixie

Always has her head in the bucket licking out the last pieces of hay or biscuits. The rest of the flock are off to eat the new strip of grass, they get very excited when the fence is moved. Hope it doesn’t result in runny poos as they’ve been ok for the last week. More rubble was delivered, nearly finished arranging the bottom edge, just the infill to sort out. The donkeys were spooked by the guys delivering some trees, took a while for them to settle, they’re still picking at their straw and have started eating the tops of the rails. A cold day with sleet showers.

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Birthday

I don’t always get a tree decorated for my birthday, it means I had somewhere to put my presents and cards before I opened them. Some more trees were delivered today, the guys spooked the donkeys with their post banging and a bit of hammering. Also had a delivery of rubble so double trouble, they’re picking at their straw, changed the batch in the feeder completely. A cold day with sleet showers.

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Advent Calendar

A bit different from the usual advent calendars, the contents are best eaten with a glass of port and a slice of fruit cake, just maybe not every day…. Early cycle this morning from Pamphill Green, along Sweet Briar, and past White Mill, wet and often muddy, the raindrops felt cold but fortunately the wind was light. Heated seats in the car essential! William and Toby are nibbling at their straw in the hope of something tastier, they still don’t look as if they’re losing weight. Cut a few apple tops for them. A sunny end to the day with cloud building from the west.

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Straw

Good news, the donkeys have started picking at their straw again, they went straight into their stable from the paddock tonight and started munching, their reward was a few apple tops from the Bramley, which still has some of it’s leaves. Hopefully the feeder will be empty by the morning. Collected more rubble for the edge of the driveway and topped up one of the raised beds with donkey poo. The sheep are eating their way through a strip of fresh grass and bleat loudly every time they hear a gate shut. A chilly cloudy day with a bit of drizzle.

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Smudge

Sitting in front of the woodburner keeping warm, Smudge doesn’t mind the bright frosty start to the day, there was a coral pink sunrise sky followed by bright warm sunshine. Spent a few hours sawing willow and eucalyptus branches which are now stacked and seasoning under cover, ready for burning next year. Cut several beech branches for the sheep and donkeys, William and Toby are still not eating their straw, they pick at their bedding while waiting to be let out into the paddock and trot back up to the stable for their vitamins when it’s getting dark. A cold and cloudy end to the day which may mean no frost tomorrow morning.

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Durdle Door

Super 16 mile cycle ride from Moreton to Crossways, Winfrith Newburgh and Durdle Door, with coffee and chips at The Red Lion on the way back. The track along the ridge has wonderful views although the far distant hills disappeared in the mist that persisted all day. In the summer the roads are clogged with traffic and the pathway down to the beach full of people, today it was very quiet. The donkeys are still not eating their straw, gave them an apple before bed. A very foggy cool start to the day with a watery sun and showers later.