Dorset lifestyle
All nine grazing happily, Pixie thinks there may be treats available, she wandered off when none was forthcoming. Cut the hedges and started emptying the shed ready for dismantling and delivery of the new one next month, would be good if it could be reassembled in the square paddock and used as a sheep shelter. The big willow tree is browning off at the top, it lost a few twiggy bits in the wind so the donkeys and sheep enjoyed eating those. A cool blustery day with the occasional sunny spell.
A lovely autumn evening looking across the most photographed village green in the country. The village has two churchyards and Sue Ryder and Leonard Cheshire are buried together in one of them, alongside the many Polish veterans who served during World War Two and lived in their various homes. Stayed in The Five Bells, a family owned pub that was comfortable and welcoming. Our house sitters enjoyed a lovely sunset after a warm sunny showery day.
William and Toby competing for, and sharing, the same hazel branch cut from the hedge in the lane, they can reach the branches from their paddock but prefer home delivery! A decent amount of rain overnight has filled up most of the water butts, although the donkeys weren’t too keen on the high winds which left them on high alert first thing in the morning. Picked what may be the last of the runner beans, the plants are developing seeds quickly. A warm sunny, windy day.
Commonly seen in wide open spaces that have a varied habitat of sorrel, dock, thistle, bramble and hop, so this is the ideal place for them to live and breed. It’ll reach 4cm in length and then form a cacoon of leaf litter in which to overwinter before the moth emerges in the spring, also called the Owlet Moth because their large eyes can be seen in the dark when their grey mottled bodies can’t. Can be a pest when large numbers invade strawberry beds, so hope they stay in the paddock. A sunny warm day with an increasingly cooling wind, promise of rain tomorrow.
Has had his feet trimmed, Walter and the others came close to see what was going on, his horns are re-growing ok. Managed to do Walter and Digby as well before a random kick drew blood! Moved the electric fence to give the donkeys more of the hedge to forage, they’ve nearly reached the area of paddock that has acorns, so will have to check the ground before letting them in to graze. A warm sunny, humid day with a bright orange sunset.
A fabulous thirty mile ride taking in the highs and lows of the Chichester area, cycled towards the South Downs, with fabulous views and several refreshment stops. The narrow canal path was challenging in parts because of the camber, and the uphill and downhill from West Dean full of flints and deep gulleys. Passed Goodwood racing circuit on the way back. A warm sunny day with light winds.
Another glorious sunset, the wall is warm from the day’s sunshine. Poppy weighs over seven pounds now, and is eating both wet and dry food, which is good. The donkeys don’t seem to like eating the remaining couple of bales of last year’s straw, may have to keep those for bedding and move on to giving them this year’s crop. Picked runner beans and courgettes. A warm sunny day, dark by 7.30.
William and Toby enjoying the sweet new growth from the top of the apple trees, several bags of ‘tops’ have been harvested and hung in the roof of the workshop to dry out, they make an excellent winter snack when grazing time in the paddocks is limited. Picked the first of the sloes, they’ll have to be put in the freezer for a few weeks to sweeten before being added to sugar and gin, with daily mixing the sloe gin should be ready to strain into a bottle in six months or so, ready for summer cocktails. A cool start to a cloudy day.
It’s the end of summer and the start of autumn, the days are noticeably shorter and the mornings and evenings cooler, the harvest moon full and very bright. The last of the fields are being cut for silage and the majority of hay bales are safely stored in their barns. Traditional stubble burning is no longer an option to clear the ground of seeds after the wheat and barley harvest, so weeds will have to be controlled with herbicides. Picked mange tout, runner beans, courgettes and apples. A sunny hot day after a misty dawn.
The sheep and their arcs have roamed into a different paddock, they started grazing immediately, heads down and munching, they come running when the willow branches are pulled down within their reach. Trimmed the nettles along the fence so that the donkeys can work their way down a new piece of hedgerow, enjoying the blackberries as they progress. Picked mange tout and courgettes. A lovely deep pink sunset at the end of a sunny cloudy day.
Hastings Old Town has the largest fishing fleet that is still moved onshore by winches and tractors at high tide. The beach shelf is very deep and winter storms move the shingle bank even further up the beach. The steepest funicular railway in the country is the quickest way to the top of the hill which gives spectacular views of the town and coast, the path through the High Weald winds past obsolete radar stations and coastguard lookouts, sometimes moving inland to avoid unstable ground. A sunny, warm day with light winds.
Hastings old town has 50 Net Shops, black wooden sheds standing in neat rows on the shingle beach. They were built to provide weather-proof stores for the fishing gear that rotted if left wet for a long time. Most stand on a piece of beach that appeared suddenly after the first of the town’s groynes were erected in 1834. The new beach area was small, so each shop could only have about eight or nine feet square to build on, and with limited space the sheds had to grow upwards, some originally stood on posts to let the sea go underneath. A hot sunny day, took a ride on the funicular railway to the top of East Hill.
Looking west from the pier, a lazy early evening enjoying a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. No wind to speak of, warm and tranquil as the tide turned and the last of the paddle boarders came in to shore. House sitters are coping well with the demands of the livestock. A warm, sunny day, fish festival tomorrow.
“Albion” is one of the last Wherry’s sailing on the Broads, and is available for private hire. Starting from Horning we spent a lovely day motoring to Potter Heighem and through the Bridge, which dates from 1385, on a gentleman’s day launch. Built in 2004 it’s a beautiful boat with a teak deck and a fiberglass, simulated clinker hull, and an inboard 23 hp engine. Stopped for fish and chips at lunchtime and an ice cream as we returned to the mooring. A warm, sunny day with light winds.
Coastal path walk in the sunshine with lunch at the Overstrand cafe. House sitters are looking after William and Toby and the cats, and hopefully the sheep will be looking after themselves. BBQ in the garden followed by a build-your-own Eton mess. Lovely.
The second sowing of the year has done really well, despite little or no rain, replacing the garlic which was harvested from this row of raised beds by the stable. The strawberries are producing lots of runners and the new plants can replace the mange tout in a few weeks time. Walked the donkeys up and down the avenue before letting them out in the paddock. A cool, then warm, sunny, cloudy day.
Watching the fish in the pond, just in case one jumps high enough to escape the netting. Poppy is putting on weight, she weighs six lbs now instead of four, and she’s a lot more lively, venturing down to the stable each day, she’ll eat the donkeys balance mix if she gets the chance. Moved the electric fence to give the donkeys a strip of fresh grass. A sunny cloudy day with light winds, the balloons drifted down the vale early morning.
Digby getting his daily dose of minerals, donkeys and sheep both choose when to have a lick, they combine the minerals with a drink from the water trough to give themselves the correct balance. The donkeys have to walk up to their stable to get their lick, and the walk uphill helps to control their weight. The sheep usually find theirs close to the arcs, the block may need to be relocated as they’re starting to look a little tubby. A warm sunny day with light winds, the balloons were out early and drifting across the vale.
At The Baker Arms in Child Okeford, raising money for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance which attends over 2000 incidents each year. Fabulous food, including game pie, great beer, good company, and the traditional raffle, helped raise over £1500 to help keep the team flying. In the quiet of the paddock the donkeys enjoyed eating the blackberries in the hedgerow and were reluctant to come back to their stable for the night. A sunny, warm, cloudy day with a bright red sky at sunset.
Toby and the lambs made contact through the fence, they like to touch noses at some point during the day, Elton had a tug at Toby’s fringe as sheep like to chew everything, William wandered over to see what was going on but didn’t get as close. Started building a sheep shelter in Willow paddock, time the sheep moved out of Fallen Oak. A sunny cloudy day with the odd shower but not enough rain for the vegetables, so more watering, picked runner beans, mange tout and courgettes.
Three plants growing on top of the compost heap, the poo/grass combination is more than a year old and still generating a bit of heat so they need regular watering. As always the courgettes come all at once or not at all, and the flowers are usually chewed by the snails. Rained this morning, but not enough to water the runner beans or top up the fish pond. William is still eating the blackberries in the hedgerow, no need for the fly masks today as much cooler and fresher. Time to move the sheep into another paddock as Fallen Oak is looking patchy. A cool, mizzly, day.
Rides for anyone under 7 stone, so not me! The saddles have a wodge of padding underneath and the donkeys browse a hay net all day in the shade when they’re not walking along the beach. Cut down the nettles and dock along a strip of laneside paddock near the hedge, the donkeys are eating the ripening blackberries along with the thorny brambles. Watered the vegetables, a warm sunny day with the odd drop of rain, the nights are drawing in and it’s almost dark by 8 o’clock, promise of rain tomorrow.
Lunch at The Crustacean restaurant in Weymouth – a nice day out at the seaside, read a few chapters of my book, and had a swim and an ice cream. The sea was relatively warm and the temperature reached 30* at times, luckily there was a cooling onshore breeze. The donkeys and sheep spent their day in the paddocks and the cats wanted to be fed when they heard the car in the drive. Cut a few apple twigs for William and Toby and the sheep had willow leaves. A lovely warm evening with a super sunset.
Squeezed in behind Elton, up against the fence, with Ivy keeping an eye on what’s happening behind her, just in case…. Elton’s injection site on his neck has been a bit swollen but it’s calmed down after a few doses of antiseptic purple spray. Jago still hasn’t got the hang of head butting, Walter and the rest of the flock make a few half hearted attempts to get a contest going but soon give up. Watered the hedge and the vegetables, the ground is very dry and the water butts nearly empty. A hazy start to a very hot day with light winds.
A very misty start to a humid day, with no wind, the sun took a few hours to break through and then the temperature rose steadily until falling again at sunset. The donkeys came up from the paddock for salt lick and water several times and the sheep lay against the fence, panting in the sun, despite various areas of shade being available. Watered the vegetables and the hedge, picked mange-tout, runner beans, courgettes and most of the tomatoes.
Toby walks behind William resting his head until William bucks and kicks and throws him off, a routine that is repeated a few times before the gate is opened and they walk down the avenue to the paddock. They’ve broken their plastic name collars with daily tugging and scraping along the concrete, will have to get something similar for them to play with. Took delivery of 32 mud mats to put in the avenue gateway, the spring has dried up so the ground isn’t as squelchy, it’ll need leveling first, and a couple of boards put in place to hold the mats in place. A cloudy start to a hot day.
Enjoying the warm sunshine, stretched out until I disturbed him, the days are cooler in the morning and evening but the sun still feels hot in the light winds. Gathered several bags of nettles to dry ready for the sheep to eat in the winter, by then they’ll be really crisp. Bagged compost to give to friends and topped up a raised bed, watered the vegetables, picked mange-tout, courgettes, runner beans, tomatoes and apples. The Red Arrows flew over the misty vale on their way to the Bournemouth Air Show.
The tree next to the fallen oak paddock is out of reach for the sheep, so a branch has to be pulled down for them to eat, Elton gained extra height by jumping on top of Bianca and they all had their share before wandering off to graze. The donkeys were pleased to see us back from a few days away, wandering up the avenue to say hello, they recognised the sound of the car so were watching the house from the paddock. A cloudy day with light winds.
Converted 17th century Mill on the edge of the Peak District National Park set in rolling countryside. Walked along the drove which started at the mill and heads off towards Hognaston, a different path started at the mill stream, crossed the weir and wound it’s way across lush fields, through muddy gateways and across several brooks before reaching the village. Grabbed a blanket and ate outside in the late evening sunshine with chevrons of ducks flying overhead.
Circular route round Carsington Water, Derbyshire. It was the last dam to be built in England and holds back a huge reservoir of water, pumped up there in the winter for use in the summer. The pathways round the lake were hilly in parts with a few sharp gravel turns at the end of downhills. Picnic afterwards before the rain arrived, planned barbecue moved inside but managed cocktails on the terrace. A cool cloudy sunny day with the odd shower.
