Dorset lifestyle
William and Toby enjoying Cleavers, a herb known for its healing properties associated with reducing inflammation of the skin. They are both shedding their coats and are spend time scratching on posts and gate fixings, so a regular portion may help, the crows are pulling hair from their backs. Toby finished his handful first and joined William to pinch what was left. Moved the electric fence from the lower paddock, watered the vegetable seedlings. A sunny start to a cool day with cloud later.
Pixie is a big fluffy ball of wool just waiting for the shearer, tidier than Bianca who is shedding stylish strands just like dreadlocks. All the sheep were sitting in the morning sunshine chewing the cud before the rain arrived, Walter tidied up Pixie by eating any available hay from her fleece. Finished preparing the greenhouse for the tomatoes, all the pots have a spadeful of worm casts from the wormery in the bottom, the wind increased at lunchtime and the temperature dropped so didn’t move the plants in to acclimatise. A rainy end to the day with waterbutts filling ok.
Before the rain that’s been promised for tonight, the grass has had it’s first cut of the year, the meadow strip has been left to grow wild and has meadow cress mixed in with the buttercups and thistles. Finished part of the driveway, it’s ready for a load of scalpings to be delivered. Planted a few of the sunflowers outside in a warm corner, started the framework of canes in the greenhouse ready for the tomatoes and cucumbers. The donkeys have just about eaten all the grass in the bottom paddock so will soon move into the square, the sheep will move into willow. A sunny start to a cloudy day that turned colder, lit the woodburner.
William paused in the avenue to look at the sheep over the fence while they had their hay. Fresh straw, warm water, apple sticks and a mug full of vitamins were waiting for him and Toby at the stable, as usual. Interesting cycle along the Sika Trail in Wareham Forest, slight delay when I caught the handlebars in a bramble loop and promptly fell off! Thankfully, no damage done and the ride continued with a coffee stop and then an ice cream at the Quay. Watered some of the hedge and the beans and the sunflowers in the greenhouse. A cold start to a sunny day with a chilly wind, no rain, water butts are nearly empty.
Started a year ago today, the blog is still going! There have been some changes over the months; this bottom paddock has been divided in two and with regular grazing by the sheep there are no buttercups in flower, and no rain for the last month means the grass is shorter as well. Adjusted all the gates so that they can be opened and closed with one hand, the stock wire on on of them needs raising as it’s dragging on the ground, the sheep are too big to be able to wriggle underneath. Pint in the garden at The Bennett Arms, a lovely sunny day with a chilly wind and misty sunset.
In the lower paddock on a lovely sunny day, they watched the tractor drive in through the gate, down to the bottom paddocks and up to the pile of logs waiting to be split. It was a few hours before the tractor left and they could walk down the avenue. Stacked all the logs ready for use in a couple of year’s time, they’re already drier than wood from a healthy tree so could be used sooner. Cycle ride towards Hambledon Hill and back through West Orchard, a warm day with a moderate cooling breeze so no fleece required.
Starting to thicken out in places, the hornbeam is doing well with the beech following on later. Would be good to let the sheep in to eat the grass but they’d eat the hedge as well so that’s not an option. Moved a couple of barrowloads from the compost heap to help feed the hedge and retain water when it rains – promised for a week’s time. Gathered together all the logs for splitting, watered the raised beds and the seeds in the greenhouse. The runner bean seeds are up, not sure what happened to the French beans so have sown them again. A sunny day with a cold wind from the east.
Grazing happily in the sunshine, the gate was opened later in the afternoon to allow them to nibble at both paddocks and use the arcs as well as the corner shelter for shade. Cycled from Pamphill to the golf club for coffee, all the hedges at the roadside are trimmed very neatly and some are growing new leaves, but not all – they need rain. Collected four straw bales for the donkeys, the farm is optimistically cutting grass and are also desperate for rain, there’s none in the forecast for the next week, we’ve had less than a fifth of the monthly average. A fine sunny day with light winds.
Toby taking an interest in his sample, William has a bag of his own and both have been sent off to the Donkey Sanctuary for testing, the amount of worms in the sample will determine the quantity of medicine required. Historically, Toby has a greater worm burden than William but we’ll find out what the result is in a week or so. Bianca is running around the paddock so no more purple spray required. Stacked wood, moved woodchip, collected more rubble. Bought a salt lick for the donkeys. A lovely spring day with light winds and a hazy sunset. Beer on the terrace.
Sitting watching the donkeys and sheep in the bottom paddocks until disturbed; a neighbours cat has started wandering around, she likes to walk towards the donkeys on the yard and then rolls over before moving just beyond the fence. Toby puts his nose through the rails and sees a paw moving quickly towards him so backs off, and then there’s more rolling over from the cat! William then takes his turn at the rail, with the same result, they could become firm friends. Finished moving the pile of woodchip, stacked the rest of the logs. A sunny day with a fresh chilly wind.
At sunset, the first of the year to travel along the vale, climbing and then descending over the hill towards Shaftesbury, would have been cold as the temperature drops quickly at the end of the day. Bianca has stopped limping and is still shedding her fleece, the shearer isn’t due to arrive until June so there are a few weeks to go before she loses the lot! Six water butts are empty and the ground is starting to crack, need rain to invigorate the new leaves, having to water the greenhouse and the new plants in the border. A warm sunny day with light winds.
Limping in the paddock this morning so rugby tackled and upended, four feet cleaned and trimmed and an dose of purple spray applied to each one. Still limping this afternoon, may take a couple of days to cure, she’s started shedding her fleece. Watered the hedge early, in the shade the hose was filled with ice, melted ok in the sun. Released the fresh green leaves sprouting on the young hedge plants, if they stay in the rabbit proof plastic wraps they overheat, turn brown and fall off. A very warm spring day with blue skies and sunshine with a bright orange sunset.
Potted on, and in the greenhouse with the beans and the parsley, a warm day so both the vents opened. Lots of bees and wasps around the ceanothus and wisteria, they’re not flowering yet but must still be an attraction. An orange tipped butterfly was out and about round the border and the nettles in the ditch. Watered the raised beds, currants and rhubarb. A group of hang glider enthusiasts circled round Hambledon Hill, mirroring the flight of the buzzards over the field. A cool start to a lovely spring day with light winds, didn’t light the woodburner.
Have replaced the rhubarb in the border by the hedge and will produce clusters of fruit from June until August, have added a few redcurrant plants as well. There’s an increase in the number of flies on the poo picked from the paddocks so the cold nights aren’t stopping them multiplying, the sheep have been dosed so are protected from fly strike, and the donkeys are having a daily application of citronella spray. Lunch in the marquee at The Baker Arms, a cold sunny start to the day with a fresh easterly breeze.
A mix of apple, willow and hazel twigs are worth pulling around the yard to get the best bits, groomed the boys and led them down to the bottom paddock without them having their breakfast, so they came back up to the stable early to eat straw from the feeder. Toby had a rollover on the way. Collected four bales of straw, the sheep won’t need any more hay now the grass is starting to grow. Repotted the sunflower seedlings and had lunch in the sunshine, a sunny cloudy day with a chilly wind.
So far the blossom has survived the frost, a profusion of white petals that are ahead of the leaves, the adjacent fishpond is full of toad tadpoles and hungry fish, the daffodils are mostly over for this year but the primroses are still in full flower. Stacked logs, raked the woodchip, fixed the gutter on the back of the stable. The sheep and donkey poo is attracting flies, a good reason to remove it from the paddock, it will help reduce the faeces worm count and subsequent medication. A sunny start to a cool day with light winds and the occasional shower.
Running up the paddock in the sunshine for a handful of treats, they spent most of the day in the shade under their shelter, another reason to run is to be alongside the donkeys when they come back to the stable for the night. The first house martins swooped round the stable eating the insects, no sign of the swallows which must be here as well. A hard frost overnight helped form a ribbon of fog down in the vale which took a couple of hours to lift, the morning was warm and sunny with temperatures dropping as the chilly wind from the east moved in.
These need to be much smaller, will have get someone in to do it as I’ve never used a log splitter, it’ll double the size of the pile behind the fence, I think. Spread some of the woodchip on the rose bed, raked the remaining pile around to let out some of the heat. Cycle ride from Shroton to Sturminster Newton for coffee, and back through Child Okeford, 14 miles of country lanes and trailway in a moderate cooling wind with some sunshine, followed by chips at The Cricketers. The donkeys and sheep spent the day out in the paddocks eating grass and chewing on branches. A lovely sunset.
Too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, William and Toby pushed right to the bottom of their feeder, the fresh straw is the same all the way down so not sure why, they raised their heads in turn, snuffling and snorting. Cleaned the rest of the greenhouse, watched the kestrel hunting over the field. Watered the hedge and the raised beds, two of the waterbutts are empty. Grubbed up a bucketful of dandelions, left the thistles to grow on for the donkeys. A cold start to the day with snow showers on a strong wind followed by warm sunshine and a mellow orange sunset, half the day was winter and half spring.
The tree that dominated the view from behind the stable has been cut down to it’s lower limbs, all of them are hollow and some have worms working at the very top of what’s left. The limbs have flattened tops and horizontal perching places, and an owl box has been fixed in the centre, the nesting hole faces south and encourages any inquisitive owl to fly in over the open field. The box may become home to a sparrow hawk or kestrel and if not then maybe a pigeon! There’s a big pile of logs that need stacking and seasoning ready for the woodburner in two years time, and the woodchip will be spread around the garden. A cloudy day with sunny spells, variable temperatures and moderate winds.
The bottom paddock still has some grass but the small paddock by the stable with the mound the sheep love so much is looking bare and brown so they have been moved into the square paddock to allow it to rest and rejuvenate. To help them settle in they have a new apple branch and although it was cut weeks ago the buds are still bursting through the bark, the water trough has been cleaned as well. The shelter in the bottom corner needs the roof raising to make poo picking easier and the ground could be leveled at the same time. A cloudy cool day with some warming sunshine later.
Making good progress towards the final few square metres, several loads collected and spread around, the edges are almost finished, the first real test will be tomorrow when the tree surgeon drives over it. Fixed a couple of narrow planks to the bottom of the owl box ready for fixing in the oak tree, watched the kestrel hunting above the field, after a few minutes it was chased away by a couple of crows. Groomed the donkeys, William’s bald patches are improving as he starts to shed his coat. A bright cold cloudy day, warmer when in the sunshine and out of the brisk wind.
Left on a fence post because the donkeys like to play with them overnight, banging them on the ground and dragging them around. Last night Toby managed to wrap one around his front leg, tightening it round his fetlock by treading on it with his back leg and walking away. A different look, certainly, easily loosened and removed when his foot was picked up with no damage done. Collected more rubble, dug up a bucketful of dandelions, a pair of Jays we’re flying around the hedgerow. A frosty start to a cold cloudy day with late sunshine and a bright orange sunset.
Lovely seven mile walk from Tarrant Gunville to Ashmore for coffee by the pond, sat on the aquafer bench and returned through the bluebell wood. The hint of blue will turn into a carpet over the next few weeks and blend with purple violets and white wood anenomes before the tree canopy closes overhead and blocks out the sunlight. Lots of wildlife and birds around including a herd of deer, buzzards, skylarks and owls. A frosty, cold, sunny day with a moderate and gusty chilly wind, snow showers late afternoon with a pale crimson sunset, still light at 8.15pm.
I’m very happy to say I was wrong about the toad spawn, there are lots of tadpoles in the pond, all being ignored by the fish who are bigger than last year and prefer the pelleted food. The strings of spawn must have been laid lower down in the water, out of sight in the elodea. The water is clean and clear with some weed growing on the waterfall. Friends came over to talk with the sheep and donkeys and stayed for lunch, which was lovely. A sunny day with a cold persistent wind and a pale orange sunset.
Lovely calm spring morning across the vale, may have had a frost, not sure. The sun was up early and shone all day, a breeze at lunchtime cooled the temperature but late afternoon was glorious. Watered the seedlings in the greenhouse, the automatic openers were working so opened the side vents. Dug up two buckets of dandelions and planted three new azaleas, snowdrops and bluebells. The first carrots are showing, sowed land cress and cos lettuce in the raised bed and runner beans in pots. The animals were happy in the paddock. Beer and crisps on the terrace at dusk.
William bites and pulls at Toby who at the same time nibbles William, they’ll do this for a few minutes and although it looks a bit rough it’s part of their pair bonding ritual and is supposed to release feel good hormones, the sheep and donkeys grazed the paddocks all day. More work on the driveway, no more rubble to level, watered the hedge which has a mass of emerging leaves, removed a lot of dandelions from the border. Fed the fish, still no toadspawn so probably won’t have any this year. A chilly start to the day with a brisk wind, warm sunshine late afternoon, had an ice cream on the terrace. Happy Easter.
There are clouds of blossom all over the branches, should be a bumper crop of sloes in the autumn but in the meantime the bees are making the most of the nectar and pollen, the foliage appears later. A lovely sunny afternoon after a cold start, the sheep and donkeys chased about in the paddocks. Herds of cows have been let out onto the grass in adjoining fields, they’ve been kept inside since before Christmas so will be enjoying their freedom. Sowed French Bean and Runner Bean seeds, the tomato plants are doing ok and the cucumbers look good as well. Repotted a few parsley plants, would be good if it self seeded. A warm end to the day.
Walking up the avenue to the stable for their vitamin mix having spent all day in the lower paddock. Their hearing is good so calling them in works ok, just takes ten minutes or so for them to arrive, Toby likes a rollover at some point and William stops to look and think. The pile of apple twigs is going down and the last of the D’Arcy Spice apples will be eaten by both the sheep and donkeys in the next couple of days, they’ve lasted really well piled in a dustbin since September. A misty start to a lovely warm sunny day.
Named after the sky, her tummy has the same markings, likes to hunt mice and roams around and about the paddocks and the edge of the compost heap. A few bags of rubble dropped off on the driveway, it’s been widened a little and will now be edged with lumps of oak and surplus fencing posts. Donkeys and sheep spent the day in the paddocks; collected four bales of straw, the grass should be sufficient for the sheep if the weather stays warm so didn’t get any hay. The Robin is still sitting on the nest, no eggs yet. Blackthorn blossom nearly out. A cloudy warm day with light winds.
