Month: January 2021

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Wrench

All the fence strainers in the paddocks seem to have moved slightly so both hands are needed to open the gates, not ideal as always moving things around or carrying a poo picker. Invested in this wrench to adjust the nuts and bolts and so far it’s done the job easily, two gates done, ten to go. More torrential rain overnight, the donkeys stayed in their stable until breakfast time. The sheep must have spent the night in their arcs as the ground inside was well trodden and muddy, moved the arcs to fresh ground in one of the drier moments. A mizzly drizzly day with a freshening cold wind and falling temperatures.

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William and Toby

Not impressed with having to stay off the paddock and near the stable the boys refused their breakfast and wouldn’t venture off the straw, it was blowing a gale at the time so that may have spooked them. They nibbled on an apple branch and did eventually eat something from the feeder after lunch before having their vitamin mix at dusk. Their coat was too wet for a groom. A few bags of rubble were delivered at the same time so William was interested in watching the activity on the driveway. A mild showery day with very strong winds.

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Sleepy Sheep

Chewing the cud must be exhausting as Bianca and Pixie both had a proper sleep afterwards, Winnie is usually the first to lead off, she and Digby are still happy to settle a little further away from the others in the flock. Nola has been bleating on and off all day and moved to the bottom end of the paddock; the sheep in the field across the ditch took some notice but didn’t reply, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong, nothing untoward is happening in the ditch or the lane. Heavy rain overnight means the Vale is starting to flood, a mild showery day with increasing winds.

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Sunset

Dramatic skies over the hills have everything; low cloud, rain and blue skies, paddock rails bathed in winter sun. A pair of woodpeckers spent half an hour feeding on the frost free lawn and the pheasants passed through on their way to the discarded stable straw in search of grain. Emptied more rubble bags onto the driveway. The spring is running into the ditch, paddocks too wet for the donkeys and the sheep are starting to forge favourite pathways to and from the hay feeders and their arcs. A milder dry day with light winds and rain later.

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Ouessants

The snow lingered in places, very frosty overnight with ice outside the stable which needed salt, the concrete doesn’t get any sun at this time of year. The Ouessants munched their hay happily and poo picking yielded a lot less as it was hidden in the snow. The donkeys had a couple of hours in the square paddock which is still squelchy, the spring in the ditch has stopped running. Emptied more barrow loads of compost onto the hedge, a dry cube of grass cuttings in the centre of the heap has given way to more worm laden compost. A sunny day with light winds, gave the donkeys their mix in daylight.

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Snow

Almost an inch overnight, it didn’t last long in the sunshine although some has lingered in the shade. The donkeys were spooked by the sound of scrunching snow underfoot, it does have a peculiar sound so maybe they’d not heard it before, they had a couple of hours on the patch of grass by the stable before their daily cup of vitamin mix. The sheep carried on as usual, eating the hay and visiting their de-iced water trough after a couple of minutes at the mineral lick. The spring is running in to the ditch again, must decide how best to measure the flow rate. A cloudy end to the day with sleet showers.

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Scratching Post

Smudge always walks to this dead tree whenever he goes outside, he likes to keep his claws nice and sharp, it’s main purpose is to keep the front gate open so I’m not sure how long it’ll be before it needs replacing. Checked the ditch, spring not flowing, ferried a few more barrowloads of compost from the heap to the hedgerow. Watched the rooks swooping around as the shoot scared the wildlife in the field on the other side of the lane. A frosty start to the day, early sunshine and light winds replaced with increasing cloud and falling temperatures with a promise of snow overnight.

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Sunny Day

Groomed the donkeys and walked them down to the bottom paddock so they could graze for a few hours in what felt like spring sunshine. The ditch has drained as well as it can, several dams are holding back the water higher up and the spring had stopped running. Finished a jar of delicious home made lemon curd. Lovely and warm in the morning, wore one fleece instead of two! The day clouded over towards dusk and a shower of hailstones lowered the temperature significantly. Turned off the water supply to the stable in anticipation of a frosty night.

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Meadow Strip

Gave the sheep the opportunity of fresh grazing in the meadow strip, herding them there was less straightforward, they missed the pen made of hurdles and headed up towards the top paddock gate, the idea was to allow them to graze grass without nibbling the new hedge. Managed to get round them while they grazed and they were soon in the allotted area but they didn’t settle and bleated and head butted each other until they were released and happily trotted back to their paddock. Moved a few barrowloads of compost from the heap; checked the ditch which needs more work to clear debris, spring still running. A cooler day with light winds and no rain.

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Ditch

Looked too full of water this morning, the paddocks all drain down into it so decided to clear a couple of downstream dams made of a few years of acorns, branches and brambles. Cleared the dams and then discovered a small trickle of water half way up the bank. Digging increased the water rate until a real gusher was cascading down into the ditch, hoped more digging of the bank under the fence would reveal a drainage pipe, but none discovered yet. There is a deep hole in the clay under the paddock out of which water is flowing, so maybe it’s a rising spring, had to clear the ditch several times to let clay and water run away into the lane. A two sets of waterproofs day with strong winds.

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Head Cuddle

William does love a head cuddle although it is a little back breaking bending down and lifting a donkeys head onto your shoulder and then standing up, they’re surprisingly heavy. Fieldfares in the paddock today and a song thrush in the garden eating the berries. Did more work on the driveway and a few barrowloads from the compost heap, moved the sheep arcs to a fresh piece of grass. The donkeys went onto the small paddock for an hour or so but came back to their stable when the wind increased and it started raining.

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Daffodil

The first to brighten the garden, this Narcissus has it’s back to the south facing wall and is in the shelter of the hedge, it survives the attention of nibbling animals when food is short because it contains poisonous alkaloids. Removed another rail so that compost can be removed from the front of the big heap, it looks really good, crumbly, and smells fresh, with a layer of leaf litter on top. A brilliant orange sky started the day and the sunshine was really warm for a couple of hours before the cloud increased, started to rain at dusk.

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Waiting

For their morning hay, the sheep come up the paddock towards the stable as soon as they hear gates opening and closing, Winnie usually heads the charge with a lot of bleating. Walked the donkeys down to the fallen oak paddock where they chased each other around, braying and kicking up their heels before settling down to graze. The puddles have mostly drained away although the post hole by the compost heap is still full of water, rescued a ladybird which was floating about, put a brick in the hole to help them climb out next time. Warm in the morning sun, otherwise a cool day with a hazy sunset.

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Fresh Apple

The donkeys and sheep all love chewing apple branches and nibbling at the bark, so collected another load from a village a few miles away, the donkeys were the first to sample this variety and gave it the thumbs-up. Not sure the roof lining in the car will ever be the same, and there’s some of the remnants of straw bales collected earlier in the week. Emptied the last of the bags of rubble onto the expanding driveway and levelled a couple more yards, I thought the recent heavy rains would make it less firm to drive on, but it’s ok. Heavy rain overnight, the puddles in the paddock are getting bigger, a bright and breezy day with some sunshine.

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Bianca

One of her front hooves looked like it had split, there was a piece hanging to the side, almost detached, so upending required! It turned out that the lining on the outside of the hoof, the thickness of a nail, had grown very long and curled under and somehow been pulled sideways, it came off easily enough with a tug. Her other hooves had ‘curled under’ nails so cut all these level with the hoof with the dagging sheers, which did the job ok, and finished off with purple anti-bacterial spray. Must check the other sheep at some point, if they all need doing may invest in hoof trimmers. A colder, frosty, sunny day,

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Small Paddock

Between the straw area and the new driveway, surrounded by an electric fence to stop William and Toby eating the hedgerow this small area has longer grass than in the square paddock and because it will become part of the driveway it doesn’t matter if it’s poached. Not big enough for a run around but it’s ok for a rollover. As the days are milder the fish have emerged from the bottom of the pond asking for food, mustn’t add too much to the water or the nitrogen content will increase, they should eat everything within the first minute. A cloudy mild day with increasing winds.

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Native Hedgerow

Planted in autumn 2019, the Field Maple trees, Hornbeam, Hazel and Beech hedging plants have had to withstand both drought and deluge, so twice weekly watering and having drainage ditches was vital. They’re budding now, so spring should mean a big difference in terms of new growth. A pair of Green Woodpeckers were yaffling their way down between the trees, coming back up and picking around on the lawn for ants, they particularly like licking the grubs out of the nest and have a long tongue that can loop round the back of their necks. A wet start and finish to a mild day.

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Wet William

It rained a lot last night, a couple of inches in the wheelbarrow. William must have been standing outside as he’s very wet, the raindrops run down and fall off his eyelashes, and he’s rolled over in the stable to have so much straw on his coat. Toby is not as wet, and neither is very impressed with having to stay out of the puddly paddock. Started work on the compost heap, removing a couple of rails and part of the liner to make an opening for the wheelbarrow. The compost is about eighteen months olds at this end and will be good for mulching and topping up the raised beds. A wet morning, drier in the afternoon, milder.

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Pear Tree

Severely pruned to a more productive shape the tree is much more open and the idea is that a bird should have enough room to fly straight through, and it looks like this has been achieved. The cut branches and twiggy bits have been saved for the donkeys and sheep to eat, the lichen and bark are chewed to reveal a deep orange core. Moved the last of the compost out of one of the raised beds and started filling it with donkey poo; the compost will go back on top ready for planting carrots in a couple of months. A milder day with a brisk wind and the threat of rain; the cloud gave way to a stripy pink sunset.

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Ice

The water troughs in the paddocks are used by the donkeys and the sheep, so when the night has been cold the troughs need to be cleared of ice. This pile of ice is the result of two cold days / nights; it doesn’t melt away in the foggy day with temperatures only just above zero. Occasionally there are rooks and pigeons drinking, garden birds choose the smaller bird baths in the garden. The fish are resting at the bottom of the pond and have stopped eating, the waterfall is still running so there’s enough oxygen for them. A warmer day with some sunshine.

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Ouessants

The sheep poo is tested for worms every few months; as Pixie has had a runny bottom she had her own sample taken and the other sample was a random selection from the paddock. The results from the vet show that there is no evidence of a gut worm burden and additionally Pixie’s sample had a low Coccidiosis count, so no treatment is necessary. A good result for the sheep and evidence that regular twice daily poo picking of the paddock is working well as a control measure. No frost this morning, still very cold, low cloud and fog formed as dusk settled.

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William and Toby

Happily grazing in their stable. Toby forages to the bottom of the feeder and then tosses straw out onto the floor with his nose for browsing later. The square paddock is looking a bit cut up with their chasing around, the frost this morning cleared by lunchtime and they were able to go out after a good scratch. Power in the workshop tripped off last night so the timer for the light string had to be reset, I wonder if the donkeys noticed they weren’t on. A frosty foggy morning with light winds.

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Frosty

Very foggy and dark this morning, the daylight hours are definitely getting longer at the end of the day but the mornings still seem to be dark until the same time which feels a bit odd. The day brightened briefly at midday before the foggy gloom settled again. The water in the troughs had half an inch of ice and all the bird baths had to be defrosted. The wren is still flying about singing and the rooks could be heard but not seen in the fog. The donkeys waited to go out in the paddock, the mix of wheat and barley straw seems to be to their liking at the moment.

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Head Butting

Walter and Digby squaring up to each other with Bianca watching, they each take a few steps back before rearing up on their hind legs and charging at each other with heads down, the sound of skull crashing against skull is a bit alarming. The younger ones especially like to play this game every day, usually just before dusk, and not just the wethers, Pixie joins in and occasionally Nola. If the older sheep really want to interfere they approach from the side in defense of their offspring. A cold and cloudy overcast day with light winds, the woodburner was alight and roaring all day.

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Frost

The view down the paddock to the sheep where they’re having their daily portion of hay. The water supply to the tack room has been restored, the problem was actually in the joint below the tap where one of the washers was missing, the below zero night-time temperature was enough to stress the joint and result in a leak. Checking the water meter gave reassurance that there were no other problems, apparently a slow turn of the wheel every few seconds is normal. An easy remedy for the plumber who was wearing shorts and a t-shirt when he got out of his van! He soon put a hoodie on. A sunny cloudy day with a cold wind.

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Dagging

Relatively easy to lift up, Digby was first in the queue for dagging, having the soiled wool and dry poo cut from around his back end. All the sheep’s fleeces are four or five inches long now and as the wool grows it becomes dirtier in places so is best removed and used as a fertiliser in the garden Although they’re not keen on being upended the process doesn’t take long and once on their feet they like to come and watch the next in line and are then happy to eat hay from your hand – sheep don’t bear a grudge. A cloudy cold day with a brisk wind and some sunshine.

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Cycle

Trailway and quiet roads in the sunshine, one puncture and several hills in the 20 miles, the seasonal hedge cutting continues to take its toll on tyres and tubes so we carry the spares and tools to get us out of trouble. Doughnuts half way round were welcome as the temperature started to drop towards freezing and we upped the pace to keep warm. The donkeys looked at the straw entrance to the paddock before wandering in and grazing, the surface is dry but the inches deep hoof prints are puddled with water that doesn’t want to drain away, the last few dry days have helped, hoping for more sunshine.

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Walter

The grass is really frosty except where the sheep have rested overnight and then it’s squashed flat and bright green. Walter has a frosty back because he stayed chewing the cud in the same place for a while, and has a fleece that’s a great insulator. Emptied more bags of rubble onto the drive which is progressing OK. The Woodpecker has been sitting up in the tree waiting for the ground to soften so that he can have his daily feed from the lawn. All the water troughs and bird baths needed de-icing and the basket next to the woodburner seems to need filling all the time, some of the stores have stayed dry which is good. A warmer end to the day.

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Hydrangea

With flowers still attached to protect from the frost it withstands the cold as does the Bergenia behind which wilts its huge leaves. The water tap in the tack room had frozen overnight and broken one of the connections underneath so as it thawed the water started to leak out. The water supply was turned off nearer to the house and the repair will have to wait for a plumber. As the water butts are all full this shouldn’t be too much of a problem as long as they don’t stay frozen. A very cold day with mist and light snow showers.

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New Years Day

A very cold foggy start to the day, and the frost lingered well past midday, never clearing in places. The sun helped raise the temperature for an hour or two but once past two o’clock it felt cooler again. The tap in the tack room had an icicle this morning and the stable yard was icy in places – all the drinking troughs were frozen over and had to be thawed. The donkeys had a few hours in the paddock and the sheep ate a couple of buckets of hay and didn’t mind whether they were in sun or shade. A clear sky at sunset with the mist rising in the valley. A very Happy New Year to all (both) my readers!