Dorset lifestyle
Toby grazing the hedgerow at the side of Willow, the electric fence down the middle of the paddock makes the donkeys walk the furthest to get to the brambles, although two of the posts holding the tape have to be moved to get them back to their stable at night. Moved a barrow load of compost and then went out for lunch. A cloudy, cold, sunny day with moderate winds.
From Pamphill through the Tarrants for coffee at The Anchor, a few hills with lovely views, passed the old airfield at Tarrant Rushton, one of the old hangers is still standing and part of the runway, which is good for cycling. Moved a load of compost and pressure washed part of the stable yard, looks a lot cleaner. A sunny day with a gusty wind.
All walking through the gates on their way up to their night shelter, their fleeces offer such good insulation that the frost sits on their backs until it melts in the sun. Moved compost from the heap to one of the raised beds, the level has dropped by half so it’ll take a few barrow loads to top them all up. The only thing left growing is the Cavolo Nero, which is doing quite well despite being eaten by caterpillars earlier in the year. A cold cloudy day with late sunshine.
Toby and William coming round the corner to inspect the new birch log, yesterday’s has been stripped of it’s bark so no longer of any interest. The visit from the Donkey Welfare Officer went well, the boys are in good condition and not overweight, which is good, leading them out of the paddock was easy although they were pleased to go back and be closer to the sheep in Fallen Oak. Had coffee and cake and watched the sun go down. A drizzly start to the day with late sunshine and a bright orange sunset.
Sheep in the Small Paddock for the night, they passed the donkeys on their way up and Walter touched noses with Toby before having a chew on the ‘not switched on’ electric fence. It’ll be a bit of a shock for them when the battery’s connected! Moved the fence a little to give the donkeys more room. A cold cloudy day with lots of colour in the sky at sunset.
Most of them like to grab hay from the bucket, Nola is the one that stands back and waits until everyone else has eaten and they all like to be hand fed. They spent the day in Laneside before coming back to the Small Paddock for the night. The donkeys had been in Willow, the electric fence stopping them from churning up all of it as they ran around, pleased to be out on grass. A cloudy, cold, day with light winds.
William watching what else may be on offer and giving the branch a sniff while Toby gets his teeth round the twiggy end. Their necks are covered in thick hair with their legs almost as well covered and very little comes out when they’re groomed. Heard the woodpecker knocking, it’s either to mark it’s territory or to find a mate. The hedgerow is thickening with bunches of catkins and swelling buds on the hawthorn and blackthorn, need to do the hedge laying before nesting starts. A cold cloudy day with light winds.
The hay racks are hanging on a couple of hurdles in the shelter extension which gives the sheep more room when they’re feeding. The grass in the small paddock is still long and the sheep love running up and down the mound. Cut branches for them from the hedgerow, Walter was more interested in licking the loppers. Laid a few more mud mats and finished fixing the bench to the wall in the shed. A cloudy cold day with light winds.
The donkeys went out onto grass for the first time in over a month and really enjoyed the extra space, Toby had more of a run around than William who was more interested in eating. The new garden room shows how much the wooden stable block has faded, it needs weatherproofing as soon as the weather improves. Fixed a light on the corner to illuminate the small paddock, saves wearing a head torch and makes it a lot easier to feed the sheep after dark. A frosty start to a cold, sunny day with light winds.
12 miles from Pamphill, a lovely ride in the sunshine round Badbury Rings to the Anchor for coffee, and then back along Cowgrove. A few muddy stretches in-between the ups and downs on grass, the tracks still wet in places. Planted the last of the willow rods and cleared a few brambles. Hoping to let the donkeys out in the paddock tomorrow if it stays dry. A frosty, sunny, cold day with a super sunset.
The sheep have moved from Willow into Small to give the grass a chance to recover, the extended shelter has room for the hay feeders and the rising spring doesn’t affect this paddock as much as the others. The Ash trees look ok at the moment, have planted a few willow rods along this stretch of hedge to replace them if they show signs of die-back. A frosty start to a sunny day.
A lot of colour in the sky at the end of the day, the oak tree has long lost its leaves and now just looks hairy. Electrical work has been taking place in the shed behind the stable, so the donkeys had lots to look at and listen to; they started eating their breakfast late, tempted by carrot peelings and sliced parsnips. The rain that started the day had moved on by lunchtime and the sun eventually made it through the clouds to end the day.
William and Toby hoovering up a handful of hay that was destined for the sheep, a treat for them in addition to their branches and apple twigs. May let them out in the paddock in the next couple of days if it doesn’t rain, there’s always plenty for them to watch but they don’t get the chance to run around. The mowers were collected for their annual service, they get a lot of use so need to be reliable. A sunny, mild day after a sharp frost.
The first thing the sheep do when they’ve lost interest in their new branches is to go over to use the salt lick, the amount in the tub is a lot less than a few weeks ago, the winter grass must have less minerals. The tub is light enough for Walter to pick up and move around, his fleece is getting very long, your fingers can get lost in it! Booked a slot at Pocket House Studio for wool rug making next year, looking forward to receiving this year’s rug soon, A frosty start to a cold, sunny, day with light winds.
A foggy start to the day, groomed William and Toby, they’re keeping their thick winter coats and their feet were easy to pick out as the straw area is still very wet, the farrier is booked for the end of the month so we’ll find out whether William’s seedy toe has improved. A cloudy cool day with light winds and a lovely sunset.
Collected from Sherborne, this load should keep the sheep and donkeys happy for a while, they’ll nibble away and eat all the bark and then eventually it’ll end up on the woodburner. The sheep didn’t eat all their hay so the donkeys had some, they were very excited when the hunt passed by in the lane, keen to get out of the yard and join them. Laid a few more mud mats. A misty start to a cool, cloudy, day.
Making the most of fresh hazel branches from the hedgerow, the sun was going down when I cut them, and the sheep and donkeys knew exactly what was happening at the end of the paddock and were all keen to have their share. Saw the heron sitting on top of the oak tree. A cold, bright, sunny day ending with a panoramic flame red sunset.
Bright sunshine and acres of soft sand beside a very flat sea. Walked past Nothe Fort on the coast path towards Portland before turning back towards the harbour, lunch in the sun at The Anchor. The animals are being well looked after at home, they’ll be enjoying the sunshine as well.
A lovely crisp and frosty start to the day after a week of rain, all the animals were out and about and the donkeys‘ coats felt really warm. The paddocks are still very wet but will start to dry out if it stays dry for a week or two. The temperature started to drop at this time in January last year, with snow later in the month, so it’ll be interesting to see if the weather follows the same pattern this year. Bright and sunny all day with light winds.
The pathway from the stable to the compost heap crosses very boggy grass where the spring rises, so that’s the first place the grids will be laid. The ground has to be reasonably level and flat and then the grids clip together and can be filled with sand and gravel. There’s fifty square meters of grids so the majority will be laid in the paddock gateways and by the side of the paddock drive to make a turning circle. A day of showers and light winds with the promise of sunshine tomorrow.
Eating the hay that’s been pulled out of the bucket and left on the ground by the rest of the sheep who are all heading off looking for richer pickings elsewhere. Cut half a dozen branches from Laneside hedge for the sheep, the donkeys will have them tomorrow after the catkins and smaller twigs have been eaten. Collected four bales of straw. A wet, cloudy, day with light winds.
Cleared of a lot of twigs, leaves and silt, and now running freely, a number of dams had developed to slow the flow. The biodigester outfall has a roll of chicken wire in the end to stop anything running up the pipe and this was home to a large stinging nettle that had roots over a meter long growing inside the pipe. Didn’t seem to be making any difference but it’s been removed. A cloudy cold day with light winds.
Heavy rain overnight has made the paddocks even wetter, the spring has sprung by the compost heap and is running over the paddock driveway, so it’s another day staying by the stable for the donkeys. Toby is expecting some food, he often starts to grunt or display the Flehman response – he bares his teeth and looks up, just waiting… The new shed is looking good, the rain runs off the planks in beads. A wet end to a dark, wet, day.
Grazing Laneside and liking a branch cut from a part of the hedgerow that had fallen over, it’s root completely rotten, wasn’t sure they’d like it, will cut logs from the trunk. This part of the hedgerow was laid a long time ago and I think the rest will fall within the next year and need replacing. A clear, frosty, start to the day before the temperature rose and wintry showers and heavy rain moved in on a brisk wind.
William loves fresh grass, even a few square yards is better than nothing when the paddocks are out of bounds. Had to build a barricade of hurdles just over the fence to stop the donkeys eating the end of the hedge. This patch of ground just outside the straw area includes the pathway to the muck heap which gets very muddy with the daily wheelbarrow traffic, so have ordered a pallet load of plastic grids that clip together and filled with sand and gravel to create a solid path. A frosty start to a cloudy day.
The small oak has served two years as the Christmas tree, it was stored in the roof of the tack room over the summer and dried out completely and is now too brittle to last another year – will have to find another one. Planted a few willow rods in the Laneside verge, a Blackbird and Robin hopped around looking for grubs. A colder, frosty, brighter day with light winds.
The last of the half dozen sown last year, it had a few slugs and snails in the outer leaves, but there was lots left to make tasty leek and potato soup. There are a few carrots left in the same bed, will lift those this week. Part of the hedge laneside has fallen, it was laid a long time ago and it’s roots had rotted, cleared part of the bank so the last of the willow rods can be planted along that stretch. A colder, cloudy day with light winds.
Toby likes to rollover in the stable when most of the straw has been put to one side and he flaps his ears when he gets up, the donkeys can’t get to their usual patch because The Avenue is too wet. Planted a few more willow rods and cut the front hedge. The sheep have nibbled the soft bits from the hazel branches so the donkeys had them to eat overnight. A cloudy, dry day with light winds.
Took more than a mouthful of hay and moved away from the rest of the flock, the younger ones like to stay with their heads in the bucket, only moving when pushed aside by one of the others. The grinding, chewing, chomping noise from nine sheep is nice to listen to for ten minutes or so. They all escaped into the small paddock when the gate snagged on a large tussock of grass, they spent an hour eating fresh grass before returning to their arcs for the night. A cloudy, mild, day with heavy showers and light winds.
Toby out and about and having a stretch on the straw before the rain arrived, even that area has a few puddles where donkey hooves have sunk into the ground. Cut hazel branches from the lane for the sheep to nibble the twiggy bits and then they’ll be passed on to the donkeys in a couple of days, William and Toby will happily drag the branches around, stripping and eating all the bark. A dry start to a wet, mild, day.
William looking at the view from the top of The Avenue, the horses were trotting up the lane. The cycle ride from Pamphill to The Stocks for coffee was very wet and muddy, the tractors doing the hedge cutting run over the verges and pull the mud onto the roads, luckily there were no punctures. A mild cloudy day with a short spell of warm sunshine.
