Sheep / Mats / Weaving

Diary

Posted: Monday 22 October, 2018

by Rosemary at 1:13pm in Smallholding Comments closed

Monday 15 October

Lovely and sunny today but it’s paperwork day, so was inside looking out. Also had loads of Festival stuff to do.

Took Diesel to the vet for his annual check up – clean bill of health.

Had a RHET premeeting for a school visit next week. Gave a talk at Auchterhouse SWI – lovely evening.

Tuesday 16 October

Did more Festival stuff. Why don’t folk reply to emails, even to say “no”?

Seed order arrrived

box Seed box.

Wednesday 17 October

Took Gwenna to Crombie Country Park for a walk with our chum, Janet. It was an alternative to coffee and cake. Gwenna was really good (so was Janet).

Cleaned out the hens’ caravan.

Brought out the boxes of Festival fleeces which live in the cats’ cupboard (where we put out their food, safe from dogs) and found that a cat had taken in a not-dead mouse, which had chewed two fleeces and probably pee’d on the rest. Big wash ensued.

Thursday 18 October

Had our first frost this morning – but it’s worth it for the sun.

cattle Misty morning.

Cleaned out the green hen house.

Dosed Urquhart and Teddy and gave them a pedicure. Cleaned up the daggy tup lamb. Put Teddy in with the ewes.

Blizzard is bulling. Yay! I had emailed the vet to ask her to have a look at her when we were BVD testing the calves next week, and now we don’t have to. Ace is very attentive but she’s playing hard to get. Had to give him a bucket of sugar beet and tie him up to get Blizzard out of the field for milking.

Friday 19 October

Cloudy but very mild. Ace has got the hang of the tying up thing now, but Rosie and Annie are also having wee feeds. It’ll get them ready for coming in next week.

Saturday 20 October

We were hosting a weaving course today and I was one of the participants. Really enjoyed it. Loom on my Christmas list.

Sunday 21 October

Another sunny, warm day. Dan started cutting the beech hedges – it always makes the place look so trim.

I brought the female sheep (and Teddy) in; dosed and foot trimmed the five ewe lambs and put them out with Teddy; dosed and foot trimmed the ewes and sprayed their numbers on their backs, ready for tupping in two weeks. Started giving them a wee bit of cake as a wee booster.

Laid most of the mats in the cowshed – all the ones that don’t need cut or that go under the ring feeder.

blizz Blizzard trying the not-quite-finished mats.

Picked up two bales of hay – going to start tomorrow putting a wee bit out for the ewes. If they don’t need it, they won’t eat it, but the grass is getting pretty scarce.