Dorset lifestyle
Rolling over in Willow, the purple sprayed cut under his leg doesn’t seem to bother him but the equine vet is coming to have a look just in case he needs antibiotics, he’s eating and drinking normally. Laid the last two rows of grids in The Avenue and filled them with gravel, sand will go on top once it’s settled. Potted on the cucumber plants and collected straw bales. A cool sunny day with a freshening breeze.
Fabulous ride along the Kennet and Avon, from Bradford on Avon to Bath and beyond. Through the two tunnels on the old Somerset and Dorset railway line, a cold, and occasionally damp, experience with some lighting and a classical playlist, which was unexpected. With an average speed of 8mph and a maximum of 25mph we crossed two aqueducts, with spectacular views of the valley below. Tasty lunch at The Angel Fish. A warm sunny day with light winds.
The sheep have moved into the Square Paddock where the grass is longer, it’s been fallow for weeks so is well rested. The donkeys have followed on from the sheep and are grazing half of Willow, once they’ve been in there a week they can move into the other half and the grass can be topped to remove any remaining seed heads, ready for the new Spring growth to take over. A sunny warm day with light winds.
Red and pink Camelia and Azalea with the white Stellatta Magnolia, there’s a lot of new colour in the garden, the primroses are still blooming and the first of the tulips are showing off, hope they don’t get drenched and blown away in the next day or two. Topped up the troughs for the hedgehogs and the birds. Pulmonaria Trevi Fountain is blooming and the Forsythia is bright yellow. It’s amazing how the plants have responded to a few days of sunshine. A warm, sunny day with light winds..
First paddle of the year, the sea is 10* and feels ok when the water has washed over warm sand. The intrepid swimmers belonging to ‘The Blue Tits’ had no problem with venturing in where it was colder. Had beer and chips before going home, collecting the last lot of gravel on the way. The edge of the driveway is finished and there’s a new path from the greenhouse to the shed. A warm sunny day with a freshening breeze.
He’s absolutely fine after a rather traumatic day – spooked by efforts to catch Winnie, who’d escaped the sheep pen, he tried to jump the hurdles at the top of the Avenue. He’s not a good jumper and didn’t quite make it, but with some momentum and considerable body weight he ended up on his back, four hooves in the air and looking rather surprised, so he just rolled over and stood up! Once Winnie was secured in the sheep pen William was able to walk down the Avenue and into Willow paddock, a graze at the top of his leg stopped bleeding quite quickly and the vet was able to have a look and dose the area with antiseptic spray. A not very relaxing sunny, warm, day with light winds.
William and Toby like eating the bark, their teeth make a rasping noise as they bite the logs, if it’s a really tasty piece they’ll eat all the way through to the centre. Moved hurdles to the corner of the small paddock ready for the vet’s visit, now the weathers warmer the sheep need Clik solution applied to their fleece to avoid fly-strike, it’ll be another month before they’re sheared. A sunny warm day with light winds.
The sheep are making the most of the lush grass at the back of the stable, they graze in there for an hour late afternoon before returning to the small paddock for the night. Digby came over to see if any treats were available, he’d already had hay and a handful of a country mix that looks like muesli, his fleece is thick and soft, still waiting to get the rug made from last year’s fleeces, hope it arrives soon. A warm sunny day with light winds.
Venturing onto the yard outside the stable, Poppy likes to eat the donkey balancer when she can find any that’s been dropped, the bark on the branches has been nibbled by the donkeys, they need fresh ones most days. Collected more gravel for the new path by the shed, the grids at the side of the paddock driveway are almost full. Sowed French Bean seeds in pots in the greenhouse. A warm, sunny day with light winds.
Enjoying the sunshine in the paddock, the grass has been cropped by the sheep so the donkeys can graze all day, as the days get longer and warmer the grass will start to grow and the sugar levels will increase, so their time in the paddock will have to be restricted. Must plant the runner bean seeds, the plot has been turned over so the framework of sticks can go up, the raised beds are full of compost, all ready for sowing carrots when the soil warms up. A sunny day with light winds.
The old potting shed with a new opening for the sheep, have also removed a panel in the back wall to increase ventilation, it’s certainly cooler inside. The rubber mats are hanging on the fence to get rid of the smell, it’s taking a while. The spring has stopped running and the paddocks have dried out in the last couple of days so the donkeys were able to go out for a few hours. True to form, William stopped and ate the first clump of grass and Toby had a run round. A warm sunny day with light winds.
It’s the first day of Spring, the day when the sun crosses the equator and the tilt of our hemisphere means the days are warmer and longer. Certainly true of yesterday when the sun shone all day and the bumble bees and brimstone butterflies were flying around. The Hyacinths have done well to overwinter, they must like it in the border, the shallow dish behind needed to be topped up with water for the hedgehogs. The day ended with a glorious orange sunset.
A glorious sunny day, very warm in a sheltered spot, even contemplated putting on shorts for a moment or two. Finished clearing the greenhouse floor and washed the glass. All the tools have a place in the shed, emptied the bottom two trays of the wormery ready for use in the bottom of the tomato pots, will have to take out a few worms first, they’ll clump together in a corner in a week or two and can be taken out as a wriggling ball and put back in the wormery. Late lunch at The Crown in Marnhull before laying a few more mudstones and watching a lovely sunset.
Exploring the fallen oak, it’s always hurdled off to stop them chewing at the bark, but the grass does need eating occasionally. They have run of all the paddocks, apart from the Square, which has been fallow for a while, they’ll move in there once the spring has stopped running and the ground has dried out. The donkeys watch them with envy from their stable block. A cloudy start to a lovely sunny day.
Torrential rain has left the willow rods very happy, most of them are standing in running water in the meadow strip. Sprouting from several buds the shoots are a pale green, and haven’t been eaten, which is good, they’d be a tasty treat for a passing rabbit. The fields in the vale are flooded, forming a huge lake, will have to avoid the lowlands for a few days. Collected straw bales for the donkeys and one hay bale for the sheep, all unloaded in a light shower. The sky cleared at dusk and the birds were singing.
William and Toby have a new distraction, a ball with a hole in it, inside are pieces of carrot and donkey balancer so as they nudge it around the treats fall out. Toby got the hang of it quite quickly and William lost interest and waited for Toby to get the goodies out. Still too wet for them to go in the paddock, the ground is taking a long time to drain. Laid a few of the mudstones and finished clearing the greenhouse and started cleaning the glass. A sunny cloudy day with light winds.
A glorious end to a sunny day, almost springtime. The fish are swimming closer to the top of the pond and the birds are singing. A rook spent a few minutes sitting on William’s back pulling hairs from his coat, he’ll soon be moulting so there’ll be lots of nest lining material available. The paddocks are still too wet for the donkeys, they watch the sheep move around and want to go through the gates themselves, they make a grunting noise before working up to a short bray. A warm, sunny day with light winds.
Showing off a good set of bottom teeth, not sure they should be as pronounced as this, probably just her age, she’s nine this year and the matriarch along with Winnie. No problem with eating, fortunately, and sits and chews the cud with the rest of the flock. Bookings are open for the shearer, it was done the middle of May last year so will go for the same time again, they’ll be pleased to get rid of the weight by then. A cloudy day with strong winds.
William and Toby Ready for the farrier, an early start for them at 0730 on a very wet day, their hooves were ok, just needed leveling off, William’s seedy toe is no worse. They always get a ginger biscuit before work starts and they were relaxed enough to be held and not tied to a rail. The paddocks are very wet so no time on the grass, they had to make do with nibbling silver birch logs and eating apple twigs. A wet day with strong winds.
Always curious about what’s appeared in their paddock, the sheep like to taste everything, so the wheelbarrow and the slabs inside were of great interest, they’re now in the gateway. Laid a few more grids for the pathway and turned the rubber mats over by the sheep shelter. A sunny start to a day that ended with torrential rain.
Taking the donkeys’ attention in the corner of their stable, they didn’t notice the apple twigs hanging in the corner until much later. The vet gave them their flu jabs and wormer, it wasn’t absolutely necessary to worm them because the count was low but as the vet was here anyway….! Planted tomato seeds which are now on top of the boiler. A sunny morning with cloud and drizzle later.
Left in the driveway, would have been better in the paddock entrance, so put them in the car and took them as far as the gate into the Square paddock, didn’t want to take the car in and get stuck as the ground is still a bit boggy. They’re now unwrapped and lying outside the sheep shelter to lose the smell of rubber before going inside on top of the plastic grids, the combination should make a durable, mud-free floor. A cloudy, sunny day with a cold wind.
Heads down and grazing in Willow, apart from Pixie who is looking to see if any treats are available, we will collect a load of apple branches today so they can have a few of those. Let the donkeys out into Willow for a run, the ground has dried out enough, have put a couple of slabs in the bottom gateway where the sheep have started digging a hole. The rooks have started nesting, carrying bits of twig out of the paddocks although they’re not roosting in any of our trees. A cloudy sunny day with light winds.
A 20 mile route through North Dorset with coffee at The Crown in Marnhull. Stopped to see the donkeys as we were passing, but they weren’t happy, too much hi-vis and too many helmets. Toby brayed and William turned in circles, would have walked down to Laneside to talk to the sheep but decided to move on. Cut the grass for the first time this year and laid a few mud mats. A sunny cloudy day with a cold wind.
These were in the bottom of a bag of twigs, a crispy sweet treat for the donkeys, the last of the twigs will be eaten this week and luckily there’s a load of apple tree pruning available a few miles away. The donkeys will watch them being unloaded and know exactly what they are and who they’re for! The fish are starting to wake up in the pond, the water is clear but I can’t see any toad spawn. A cloudy day with late sunshine and a lovely orange sunset.
Collected from a farm a mile away, it took several trips in the car to collect a pile of stone that will make a path past the water butts by the shed, and round the back of the stable. The donkeys watched the activity, not sure if the contents would eventually be something edible. The tower of mud mats is gradually getting lower, the path has reached the driveway and is settling down, the ground is still wet enough for them to bed in. A cloudy day with some sunshine and a cold wind later.
The nil sheep worm count was a pleasant surprise, all the poo picking and paddock rotation has paid dividends, so no treatment required this year. Let them onto the small patch of fresh grass behind the stable for an hour, any longer will give them runny tummies. Pixie still thinks the grass is greener on the other side! The paddocks are still very wet so the donkeys stayed up by the stable, they had a new branch to nibble. A cloudy day with a spell of warm sunshine.
She now has a bald patch on her side where a matted area of fur has been expertly removed by one of the nurses at the vets. Stern words were exchanged, with Poppy being the loudest for longest, she’ll be going back in a few weeks to have all her fur cut short for the summer. A cloudy, drizzly day with light winds.
William and Toby horsing about on the straw area, the paddocks are saturated so they can’t go out for a run, they do their best to get up speed running round in circles chasing each other. Delivered samples of sheep poo to the vets to check for worms, will get the results in a couple of days. The woodpecker spent ten minutes feeding on the lawn, must have found an ants nest. More rain overnight, a misty, cloudy, drizzly day with a cold wind later.
Making their way down to Laneside, Walter is in front and just walking through a gateway, there was a lot of heavy rain overnight so the paddocks are puddling up. Need to collect poo samples for a worm count, hopefully the burden will be low and they won’t need dosing. The donkeys will have to spend the day by their stable block as the ground is so soft. A cloudy day with light winds and rain later.
William and Toby with a few crunchy treats to keep them occupied for a few minutes after their donkey balance treats. Cycled from Moreton to Kingston Maurwood past Hardy’s cottage, had coffee and a sausage roll in the cafe and then made it back before the rain started. Donkeys and sheep were wet when they came in for the night. A cloudy day with rain showers and light winds.
