Smallholding
Sweet Peas / Potting Shed / Escaped calves
Monday 12 June, 2023
Monday 5th June
Summer seems to have moved on – it’s cold, well 12C, and dry. Grass has stopped growing or is growing imperceptibly slowly.
Rebecca and I walked the ponies out this evening. Heard Tree Sparrow and Reed Bunting, as well as Blackbird, Wren and Robin.
Tuesday 6th June
The polytunnel is filling up; we’re getting a couple of handfuls of strawberries every day and the sweet peas are starting to flower.
Polytunnel.
Garlic bread / Calves / Treasure
Thursday 8 June, 2023
Monday 29th May
Office day, mainly. Dropped the car at the garage for its MOT with more than a little trepidation, but it passed first time. Bills paid, spread sheets updated, website diary done. Not bad considering TBDG (that bloody dog, Gwenna) had me up at 4.30am. Let the dogs out, let the hens down, fed the wild birds and Penfold, then fed the dogs. Took a cup of tea back to bed – at 7.30am, when the alarm went off, my eyes were glued shut. Gwenna, was back in HER bed by 5am, and sound asleep.
Brassicas / Merlin / Sunken garden
Monday 29 May, 2023
Monday 22nd May
The week started well when I have the opportunity to save a bumblebee. It had fallen in the ponies’ water bucket; I thought it was dead but it’s legs were still moving, so I swept it up and gave it a saucer of sugar water. When I returned, half an hour later, it had gone, so I’m counting that as a save.
I registered the heifer calves; it’s a D year, so Baby’s calf is Rosedean Duibhe, which is Gaelic for black and Rora’s is Rosedean Dorcha, which is Gaelic for dark.
Strawberries / Pizza / Beech
Monday 22 May, 2023
Monday 15th May
Sun, interspersed with ninja showers of rain and hail. Desk day and started work on the Festival. Seemed like a good time to scatter some grass seed on the bare bits in Sheepfold, now that it’s been harrowed again.
While I was grass seeding, Dan was trimming the mats in the cow shed. Over time, they’ve lifted a bit and become a trip hazard, so he trimmed them to fit perfectly. Or near enough.
Dan sorting mats in the cow shed.
Bronte calves! It's a bull.
Monday 15 May, 2023
Monday 8th May
Still dismal weather, but warmer. The grass is growing steadily, if not fast.
It’s almost our anniversary of moving here, so it’s time to review our insurance. It’s making my head hurt.
Tuesday 9th May
Hallelujah! We have sun.
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Here comes the sun.
Mainly calf spam
Tuesday 9 May, 2023
Monday 1st May
May Day, Beltane, first day of summer. Well, it didn’t rain but it wasn’t taps aff weather either. My brain is like cotton wool – come on, Bronte.
Three calves.
After the chores, I did the monthly shop. It’s great to get it out of the way. Dan was doing his monthly chores – invoices and the like. At lunchtime, our washing machine went BANG and we couldn’t get the door open. Manged to get the washing out by prising open the door. And it looks like we’ll need a new machine.
Calves / Milking or not / Ponies
Monday 1 May, 2023
So, Monday morning, I had to drive to Stirling to collect our meat chicks and two Maran pullets for a friend. I was supposed to collect them last Friday, but I wrote the time down wrong. Anyway, it worked fine because it meant I was able to fit in a visit to UA Mart, which may be the new venue for the Scottish Smallholder Festival. Forfar Mart, where we’ve held the event for the last two or three years, is closing next month, leaving us homeless.
It was sunny first thing but as I prepared to leave at 10am, we had this huge ninja shower. Temperature dropped from 8C to 2C. Within a couple of miles, I was into sunshine again, then ninja showers all the way. I did say last week that we needed rain – this wasn’t quite what I had in mind.
First calf of 2023 / Tatties / Hens
Monday 24 April, 2023
Week ending Sunday 23rd April
We’ve had the loveliest weather this week , and better than forecast. I hate to say it, but we could really do with some rain. We’d had the sprinklers on in the garden Saturday and Sunday evening.
However, that made it a good week for a calf to be born and Blizzard obliged at about 3.30am on Friday. Her due date was the 1st May, but when they’re cooked, they’re cooked. Dan said he thought she was close so I checked at 2am, and right enough she was starting.
Seedlings / Shrubs / Cookies
Tuesday 18 April, 2023
Week ending Sunday 16th April
Jings, what happened this week?!
Well, Grey isn’t going on his expected Club 18-30 holiday, so we’ll manage him around the fresh-calved cows and calves – still, it means we don’t have o quarantine him for 28 days when he comes back. It also changes the timetable for health scheme blood testing, but the plan has been amended and I’m comfortable with it. I’m starting to feel a bit keyed up about calving; based on service dates and a 283 day gestation period, they’re due over 28th April to 2nd May but they haven’t read the chart, so I’ll start night checks from Friday 22nd. They’re all working on their udders, but Baby is most successful.
Treacle / Strawberries / Udders
Monday 10 April, 2023
Monday 3rd April
Cool but sunny this morning; traces of ice on the water troughs, but full sunshine.
Today was the day to give the cattle the flukicide. I was a bit concerned that they – Rora in particular – wouldn’t eat their feed with the medicine in it so I added a good dollop of black treacle to the feeds – and they nearly ate the buckets. Job done!
Thank you, Messers Lyle and Sons.
