Dorset lifestyle
The journey took half an hour from Llangollen to Carog alongside the River Dee, past the chain bridge and Horseshoe Weir. After an ice cream at Carog the train set off back to Llangollen, a diesel runs most of the year with a steam train making the journey on special occasions, not sure how it would turn round, there must be a turntable somewhere. A cool, sunny, day with light winds.
The River Dee feeds the canal, two aqueducts, two tunnels and all the locks downstream on the Llangollen stretch of the Shropshire Union Canal. A two mile walk along the towpath from the marina, past a shire horse called Dakota, he was pulling a ferry that took passengers along to the hotel, just short of the weir. This stretch of the canal is unnavigable so the moorings at the marina are the last stop. A cool, cloudy day with light winds.
The highest canal aqueduct in the world, carrying narrowboats across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen, eighteen arches built of stone and cast iron. Completed in 1805 having taken ten years to design and build, length 307m, drop to the river 38m. With a footpath on one side and no path or handrail on the other, it’s a long way down! Spectacular views across the vale to Froncysyllte and the viaduct that carries the railway line. A sunny cloudy day with a chilly wind.
A leisurely pace along the canal from Whittington towards Llangollen, passed through a couple of locks and moored at Chirk Bank for the night. Looking forward to crossing the Pontcysyllte aquaduct tomorrow. Lots of fluffy ducklings were being herded into the banks by their mothers as the boats passed by. A cool, sunny day.
Standing in the shade in the sheep shelter in Laneside, the end of the paddock was partly shaded by the oak and ash trees but they chose to duck their heads and go and doze in the shelter. Moved some of the tomato plants and a cucumber into their pots in the greenhouse, will have to finish the cane framework to support them sometime. A warm sunny day with light winds.
They were all in Fallen Oak waiting for another gate to be opened, and always think it’s worth exploring another paddock. They’ll move into the Square paddock in a couple of days and then Willow and Fallen Oak will be fallow for a month or two. The donkeys browsed the hedgerow in Laneside, not able to reach the newest willows and poplar. The water butts are full after heavy rain overnight, so the grass should be growing well. A cloudy start to a sunny day, and the wind is still cold.
William and Toby spent ten minutes chasing each other around the paddock, Toby braying, before coming back up to the stable for salt lick and a grooming session. Took the opportunity of shutting the gate and giving them their balancer and mash. William is picking up a few stones in his hooves, need some more sand on top of the aggregate in the mud control mats. Watered the hedgerow. A windy sunny day, warm in sheltered spots.
Surrounded by hay that she doesn’t like much, it’s difficult to tell her condition under the fleece, it’ll be another month before it comes off, she could be a little underweight. No sign of the rug being made from last year’s wool, they did say it would be a year. Finished laying the soaker hoses in the hedges, need more connectors to use the same water supply hose for all of them. A sunny, cloudy, day with a chilly wind.
Sitting on William’s head and a couple on his back, they pull the hairs out for making their nests, there’s quite a lot of hair on the ground when the donkeys have been groomed, but they still prefer to select their own and William doesn’t mind. Arranged soaker hose in the hedge, seems to work well at the start and finish of the run, not so well in the middle, so a few puddles and dry patches. A sunny day with a cool wind.
Visited the Royal School of Needlework and talked with the Archivist about the type of work they hold in their collection, my Grandmother studied there in the early 1900’s and three of her pieces are so good they’re to be accepted into the archive, they can then be displayed in future exhibitions of work. Well done Granny! Spent the rest of the day walking round the gardens and having lunch, it was nice to drive in the main gate and down the driveway to the Palace. A sunny day with a chilly wind.
Chewing the cud in the sunshine, Digby is sitting by the logs in the middle of the small paddock, the rest of the flock are sitting round the edge by the fence. William has had his second injection for stomach ulcers, he’ll have the last one next week. Collected some grids for the only paddock entrance that doesn’t have them, and a dismantled wood store. A bright sunny day with light winds.
Head in the hedge, he likes to eat hawthorn, blackthorn, brambles and wild roses, his favourite on this occasion was the field maple, it doesn’t ever have to be trimmed from the paddock side. He’s eating his fibre mash with the balancer, he’s just a bit slow, so Toby has to have some as well. Potted on the cucumbers and tied more runner bean canes, fixed another plank of wood to the end of the sheep shelter in the small paddock, the last gale loosened the roof. A sunny, cloudy day with a chilly breeze.
Lots about, including this Common Blue and the Orange Tipped, the blackbirds have nested in the hedge and make a real racket when one of the cats walks past, especially if it’s Coby. A pair of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were in the garden, both had bright red flashes. Fixed more of the runner bean sticks, planted a few rows of Adelaide carrots and put the lemon trees out on the terrace. Lunch in Stur. A warm, sunny, day with a chilly breeze.
Afternoon tea on the terrace, cake baked by Linda, the hatching chick on the top has been around a long time and wobbles about. Fussed and fed the sheep and talked to the donkeys in the paddock who were tempted by slices of apple. Moved the teak table to where the shed used to be, it looks smaller on the concrete, needs a couple of benches and maybe a pergola to provide a bit of shade. A warm, sunny, day with light winds.
Finished moving the compost to the right hand side ready for planting with courgettes and pumpkins next month, and once they’ve finished it’ll be used to top up the raised beds. The left hand pile of donkey poo and grass cuttings will stay as it is for the next year and the centre strip is all ready for filling. The compost is full of worms, they like the cardboard but not the parcel tape. More runner beans have appeared, and the first of the peas, had all the ventilators open in the greenhouse. A warm, sunny, day with a moderate breeze.
Watching Jessie and Mackerel through the fence, this patch of grass by the oak tree and wood pile is prime ground for mouse hunting, visited frequently by the cats and the sparrowhawk. Digby’s horns curl inwards so need trimming regularly, a hacksaw does the job! The sheep spent the day in the Small Paddock, returning to Fallen Oak for the night. Cycle ride from Pamphill to The Anchor for coffee and chocolates, a misty start to a mild, cloudy day.
William and Toby in Laneside, grazing under the oak tree, this area has to be fenced off later in the year as the acorns are poisonous to both sheep and donkeys. Bought a bag of Donkey Diet for William and soaked a few of the cubes in hot water to make a mash, he doesn’t drink as much as he should which won’t be helping his tummy, so need to find ways of getting water into him, Toby drinks far more, and at fairly regular times. More runner beans have sprouted. A cloudy, milder day with light winds.
The sheep have moved into Fallen Oak for a while so the donkeys can walk down the Avenue into Laneside, have a run around, and browse the Hazel in the hedgerow, they are starting to relax, William keeps checking everything is where it should be. Ivy’s teeth look more prominent than ever, they came over to see if I had any treats, which I didn’t! The Sparrowhawk spent most of the day hovering beside the hedgerow, not sure it caught anything. A rainy start to a cloudy day with a brisk, cool, wind.
Back in their stable after a week at Endells, William has various patches where he’s been shaved and he’s a completely different shape, the bolus in his tummy and the impaction in his colon were taking up a lot of space! They were so excited to be out of the van, they inspected their stable and the fencing, kicking and bucking each other before going out into the paddock and running around. William will have treatment for his ulcers over the next few weeks. A breezy, sunny, day with a cool breeze..
A very frosty start to a sunny day with a strong easterly wind, lovely in the sun but cold in the shade. Topped up the pond with rainwater, tadpoles are swimming around the water lilies although I haven’t seen any toadspawn, fed the fish who are swimming much closer to the surface. Lots of bright yellow dandelions are filling the borders and the bees are making the most of the flowers. Laid a few more grids and filled them with gravel. A lovely sunset to end the day.
First of the season, not forced, so full of colour and flavour, there’s more coming so hope to have enough to freeze. Raked the raised bed that’ll be sown with early carrots in the next week or so, the tomato and cucumber plants are doing ok on the windowsill. A balloon was up early this morning, it didn’t travel very far in the light winds, there was too much cold mist in the vale. William was allowed to graze grass today, with no tubes or muzzle, he’ll have been happy to be out of the stable with Toby. A frosty start to a sunny day.
Taking it in turns to be king of the castle, Jago has settled on one of the slabs making it difficult for the others to run along them all. Visited William and Toby in the equine hospital, William’s tummy impaction has all but cleared and his cut has healed so they should be home early next week, the Donkey Sanctuary has transport standing by. William has been allowed to eat a handful of grass and they both may be allowed out into a small paddock for some exercise tomorrow. A wet start to a cool cloudy day.
Stormy skies and a strong cold winter wind, the sheep sat behind their shelters out of the rain showers, they didn’t want to be inside, they just preferred sitting out of the wind. William is doing ok, although the impaction in his stomach is taking time to remove, it’s being prodded to make bits on the edge flake away. Visiting them tomorrow and taking straw, balancer, treats and a ball for Toby to play with. A very windy day, lunch at the pub.
The first of the flowers in the hedgerow, protected from the cold winds by the bank. Tempted to flower by the warm days last week the rest have decided to slow down and stay hidden now the frosts are back. William is doing ok, treatment is continuing and as the only donkeys in the hospital they’re getting a lot of attention. Removed the feeder in the stable ready for cleaning, may modify the design to prevent straw slipping down the back. A cool, cloudy, windy day.
This month’s banner on their Facebook site is one of my photos, Walter, Digby and Elton, posing when the grass was greener and lusher. A bit of a traumatic day yesterday with William spending a long time being treated by the vet, and then transported in a Donkey Sanctuary ambulance, with Toby, to an equine hospital with an impacted colon. That’s resolved itself, but following a gastroscopy he does have a bolus filling a third of his stomach that needs dissolving, and an ulcer. Hopefully the cut at the top of his leg will be healing. A cool, cloudy, windy, day
007 having a nice day in the paddock with a supplement of hay to eat, the younger sheep in the flock are always more interested in the hay and Nola usually hangs back so there can’t be much sweetness in the grass. Planted a white Viburnum in the garden to fill a gap in the border and put a trowel full of worm casts in the bottom of each tomato pot. William’s Cut is healing OK, may let him out onto the straw today. A cloudy day with a chilly wind.
Toby was swiped on the nose when he nudged Poppy, she isn’t bothered by the donkeys feet and wanders up and down between them. Topped the brown grass in the small paddock, the grass had started growing but will have stopped again with the drop in temperature. Sowed courgette and sunflower seeds, potted on the tomato plants and laid out the greenhouse with trays and pots. A frosty start to a cloudy day.
William and Toby inspecting a new mat before it goes into the stable. The cobwebs and dust have been brushed away, the straw removed and the floor washed and disinfected. Hopefully three new mats will mean the donkeys will be able to lie down without a straw bed and William’s cut will stay clean and continue to heal. The house martins are back and have started building nests, breeding pairs stay together for life and with nest building this early in the year there should be two broods produced before they fly south again. A cold, breezy, day with snow showers.
Still a bit dopey after a visit from the equine vet, he had to be sedated as the developing abscess at the top of his leg needed removing and the cut cleaning, a process that took a while. Toby became ever more attentive and rested his head on William’s back, taking hold of the skin with his teeth, just to let him know he was there. They’ll have to stay up on the hard standing for a couple of weeks, the cut needs flushing and creaming three times a day and there’s a daily dose of antibiotics and painkillers. William, stoic as ever, just gets on with it, the vet will be back in a few days. A cold, frosty start to the day with a few snow showers.
When I collected the straw from the farm the weather forecast was on the agenda as the cows are still in the sheds, wise Bob said that this was about to be a Blackthorn Winter’, with sub zero temperatures and the threat of snow! It did snow today, several times, and the blustery east wind meant the temperature felt like minus two or three. The sheep were happy as usual and the sky cleared at dusk to reveal a bright orange sunset.
