The shortest day plus one
Posted: Sunday 23 December, 2012
Well, the shortest day has been and gone – probably floated away on the loch that is our fields. Hey ho, we’re on the way to spring now and the weathermen have promised a couple of days respite from the rain.
It’s the wettest I’ve seen it here (although nothing in comparison to other areas of the UK) although I think there was as much water around over the winter of 2010/11, it’s just that it was all frozen that year.
So, I had been planning to bring the cattle in about this time anyway, but the weather has just sealed it for me. Since the ponies had knocked down a bit of wall in the barn a few weeks ago, John and Dan spent this morning sinking a telegraph pole and fixing rails to enclose the three big cattle. Once the straw was down, lick in, trough in, hay rack in and filled, it was time to bring them in.
Since George is seven months and Annie six, I had decided to take the opportunity to wean them. There’s not enough room in the barn for all five of them, so the calves were bound for the byre. I bedded it yesterday and sorted out their water and hayrack.
Annie troughing and George posing, in the byre.
The actual move went remarkably smoothly but there’s a bit of bawling going on now. It’s mainly Blizzard – Breeze got tired of George weeks ago, although she’s giving the odd bellow in sympathy.
So with the cattle moved, we cleaned out the field shelter, put in some straw, a water trough, a hay rack and the licks and moved the ewes over there. They aren’t shut in the shelter but they weren’t showing much inclination to come out this afternoon.
Finally, we brought the hay rack and troughs from the field the sheep were in down to the steading – all nice and tidy ☺
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