Smallholding
Blizzard / Tests / Topping
Monday 21 June, 2021
Monday 14th June
Quite a lot of rain overnight, which is welcome. Just pottered about today until the footie at 2pm.
Tuesday 15th June
Dry, sunny, breezy.
Well, this is a blow. Contacted the vet about the results from the cattle blood tests. All cattle clear for everything - IBR, Lepto, Neospora and Johne's except we have an inconclusive test for Johne’s from Blizzard. Not quite sure yet what the consequences are – there will be a retest. Feeling gutted. In touch with our vet and reading up. Can’t believe she’s got it – she’s probably a condition score 4 and is carrying her tenth calf in ten years.
Flowers / Calves / Lambs
Monday 14 June, 2021
Monday 7th June
Another glorious day. Had a cheeky wee smallholder’s lie-in, then took our daughter swimming. Then some paperwork. How can it be a month since the last credit card bill came in? But it is.
Dan and I had a happy hour weeding in the veg garden before dinner. Three of the four transplanted blueberries have survived he move. Mixed blessing as their expected demise would have given me space for loganberries and tayberries. I’ll find a space somewhere.
Sunshine / Cows / Broken PTO
Monday 7 June, 2021
Monday 31st May
First job this morning was to dose the lambs with white wormer to protect them against Nematodirus; the NADIS report said we were a red area.
I rode Smokey. Actually put on the saddle and bridle and rode him in the field. I think he was a bit surprised. So was I.
Tuesday 1st June
Dan started topping Laing’s Field. It takes about four hours, so he’ll do an hour after work until it’s done.
Tara and I took the ponies for a walk.
Gardens / Shearing / Blood tests
Monday 31 May, 2021
Monday 24th May
We had more rain overnight and the day was cool, damp and drizzly. We ate the last of last year’s apples this morning – we cooked and froze tonnes (well, it felt like tonnes) in the autumn. I fear we may not have a good a crop this year. Some of the apple trees look rough and the poor weather will have affected the number of pollinators.
Wednesday 26th May
(No, I'm not sure what happened to Tuesday either)
Finally plucked up courage to plant up the tubs for the back door. And one hanging basket.
What's happened to summer?
Monday 24 May, 2021
Monday 17th May
Nice morning, but rain started at 4pm.
Picked up two bales of hay. Took the faecal sample to the vet; as I arrived, Alistair was leaving, but he took the sample back to get it sent off. Ken arrived with diesel and to collect the weight thing off the front of the tractor.
Did some paperwork then had a snooze. Was woken by the rain!
Dan went off to empty the muck trailer because I’m going for a tonne of layer pellets tomorrow. It’s all time critical because the car’s going for an MOT on Thursday and the trailer’s going for a service next week.
Pigs / Rhubarb / Mucking out
Monday 17 May, 2021
Monday 10th May
Definitely, finally, feels like spring. Warm, sunny showers, a light breeze. Braw.
Office day but did sow grass seed in Sheepfold where Dan harrowed yesterday, and put a tape across to divide the field into two unequal halves. I thought it would be nice to see what grows if it’s not grazed.
Found a dead hen in the field shelter – she must be four years old and must have just keeled over while scratching in the straw. Not a bad way to go. And we had to cull one of the new batch. She’s been looking off for a couple of days, then looked better, but was plainly struggling today.
Bronte / Pigs / Rushes
Monday 10 May, 2021
Monday 3rd May
Nice start to the day but by late afternoon, it was like November – heavy rain and strong wind (or in the words of the BBC, a brisk breeze!). Dan made some modifications to the cheep run to make it a bit less exposed – I was going to bring them back in.
The cows came in by themselves mid afternoon. Rosie’s not going to go until her due date of the 10th, the question is when will she go. The weather for the week isn’t great. The lambs are all tucked up at the back of the field shelter.
Annie's calf / Alice's lamb / Pig ark
Monday 3 May, 2021
Monday 26th April
Rain forecast fro today but only a few showers. Annie surprised us by calving this afternoon. Her due date was 4th May, but I think if I looked back, early calving has become the norm. I saw little legs below her belly while I was doing evening chores and the legs were running about – which is good. Sadly, Ace was pummelling the calf, so we bought him in and left the girls out overnight. I’m 99% sure it’s a heifer.
Annie and her very new heifer calf.
Scoot / Roo / Skippy
Monday 26 April, 2021
Monday 19th April
The morning started cloudy but the sun soon came out and it was warm again. It’s just cold overnight so I guess the soil isn’t warming up too well. And of course, it’s bone dry.
I potted up the dwarf French beans and put them in the polytunnel to keep the greenhouse clear for Dan and Andy to process comfrey.
Kit’s lambs are proving to be a bit of a trial and expert escapologists.
VAT return and year-end completed and off to the accountant. Yay, yay and thrice yay!
Tara and I took the ponies out for a walk and a “picnic”.
Afton / Polytunnel / Peas
Monday 19 April, 2021
Monday 12th April
Finally confirmed that the steer / heifer swap is on this week. Wednesday, in fact.
Wednesday 14th April
So, Afton went off to the Selbie Hill herd and Harvie joined ours. He’s a bit wee and skinny but I’m sure he’ll fill out. It all went rather well; we confined Afton to the far end of the shed and let the three steers out, after doing them with Closamectin. They had a gallop around the stockyard before heading out. They have a bale of hay and a licky bucket. When Harvie arrived, he went straight out, then Afton was loaded – she went on quietly at the second attempt. Job done.
