Smallholding
Short and sweet
Monday 22 February, 2016
Well, in the run up to the Smallholding Scotland conference last Friday (19th) not a lot was done outside. The event went really well so we’ve got the venue and catering booked for next year and now we start working on the Festival for September.
Felix, our elderly cat, was at the vet for his regular checkup, because he’s on longterm medication. He also got a long acting antibiotic injection, which seems to have helped his snuffles.
My chum Janet and I went to see the film “Rams”. If you go, take tissues.
Pruning weeding and fedging
Sunday 14 February, 2016
Well, not surprisingly for February, the weather’s been a bit changeable. We haven’t had any snow but we did have heavy rain Thursday into Friday and the fields are very wet again. We’ve had a few really nice days though, that make you just want to get out and about. Like today – it was 10C in the sun, but where the sun didn’t hit, the ice never melted. Forecast isn’t bad for the next few days, thank fully.
Finally vaccinated, dosed and split the sheep on Wednesday. The ewe hoggs, Jinx and Juno are at Barry Mill; the four expecting singles are at Astwood with Taylor and Ted, while the twins and triplets are in two groups here. There’s plenty grass at Astwood and BM, so it’s saving a bit on hay. I’ll start feeding the triplets a bit of bagged feed tomorrow and the twins from next Monday. The vaccinating was fine except I scratched my finger with the needle – before injecting anyone – but it still swelled up and was pretty tender for a couple of days. Given the wet summer and winter, fluke is likely to be an issue so I was glad to get them all dosed.
Lucy arrives
Monday 8 February, 2016
Well, I don’t seem to have got any of the things on “The List”, or at least from last week’s diary entry, done but I’ve been busy.
We planned to vaccinate, dose and split the sheep yesterday but I wrenched my shoulder, so we’re doing them tomorrow.
Dan was at the Scotland v England rugby match on Saturday, which he really enjoyed even if Scotland didn’t win. I produced 32 rolls on Lorne sausage for the “Big Dig” at Carnoustie’s Community Garden. Dan took round a trailer load of manure before he got ready for the match. It’s a big plot and there’s a lot of work to do but there were 40 volunteers there on Saturday, making a start.
The beginning of Spring
Monday 1 February, 2016
So today, 1st February, is the pagan festival of Imbolc, give or take twenty four hours. According to Wikipedia, Imbolc falls equidistant between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox and is traditionally hailed as the beginning of Spring; it is associated with St Bride or St Brigid in her role as fertility goddess. The holiday was a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. The lighting of candles and fires represented the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.[4] A spring cleaning was also customary. Well, all that’s as maybe, but Storm Henry is blowing a hoolie and we have intermittent sunshine and seriously heavy showers, so spring cleaning might have to wait but lighting the fire might be on the agenda.
So no bonspiel this year
Saturday 23 January, 2016
The recent dry, cold weather froze everything solid. We could have held a bonspiel on the front paddock. In some places the water was too deep for really thick ice to form but I had to leave the gates on the hen paddocks open at night so that I could be sure of getting in, in the morning. However, it rained on Friday and all the ice has gone – and now we can see that the levels really are dropping. The ditches are down and flowing so if we get a few dry days, things should look a bit better.
Panic levels have dropped with the water levels
Monday 18 January, 2016
We’ve had some nice days over the last week – dry and cold and water levels have dropped. And with them, my panic levels. I’m such a control freak that extremes (for us) of weather really get me going. Sometimes I think I don't have the right temperament to be a smallholder :-)
Anyway, we have the start of a plan to winterize one paddock for each hen house, so that’s made me feel better.
We haven’t got a date from the scanner yet, but it should be soon. If I sell all the ewe hoggs, I can keep my tup for another year, but it will really depend on how the ewes and gimmers scan.
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Still wet
Sunday 10 January, 2016
IT’S SO WET! And dismal. However, I was looking back some old diary entries – last winter 14/15 was dry. I had written that we had one wet week in November but had been mainly dry. In December 2012, I wrote that I hadn’t seen it wetter but that there may have been more precipitation in the winter of 2010/11, but mostly it had been snow. I said almost those exact same words to Dan yesterday, in relation to this winter.
I know we’re much luckier than many. Our house and buildings, the vegetable garden and the courtyard are all fine but the Home Paddock and the Orchard are underwater. The hens in the brown house have formally requested scuba gear L
Happy New Year
Sunday 3 January, 2016
Hope you all had a good New Year! Still wet and windy but it’s getting lighter in the evenings. Don’t notice any difference in the mornings though.
We’ve finally managed to contain Rosie – after two further modifications. The new barrier had to be heightened at the bottom and that seems to have done the trick.
The vet has approved our new health and welfare plan for the cattle so we’ll be continuing to use Closamectin pour-on for the bull, steers and heifer calves and using Albex 10% oral drench at the higher fluke dose for the cows and in calf heifers. The choice of drugs licensed for milking cows is pretty limited. Closamectin isn’t licensed for cows producing milk for human consumption but Dan and I will live with that – just watch out for us starting to glow in the dark J
Happy Solstice
Tuesday 22 December, 2015
So the year turns; we’re past the shortest day and looking forward to the return of the sun. All of us here at Dalmore wish you a peaceful, healthy and happy year ahead.
Our weather hasn’t been too bad – very mixed but not much rain and the ditches are well down. The ewes and hoggs are getting hay every morning now and are getting keener. We’ve got three wheeled and covered hay racks out so there’s plenty room for all of them to feed at the same time. The field they’re in is the driest and there’s plenty natural shelter for them. Our scanner’s got us “in the book” so I can cross that off the list and just wait for her to contact me.
Nearly the Solstice
Monday 14 December, 2015
Only ten days to the Winter Solstice, then the days will start to lengthen. I know not by much, but in the words of a well-known retailer, every little helps J. Our weather continues changeable – temperatures from -1C to +11C; still pretty windy some days and some heavy rain but I guess it’s December in Scotland. Yesterday (Sunday) was the coldest day we’ve had this winter, with a heavy frost that didn’t lift all day, but the morning was sunny and with no wind, it was lovely to be working about outside.
