Farm Diary (17)

 

30th April

It looks as though we might actually be going to get away. It's going to be a beautiful weekend too.

We moved the cows into Slade yesterday. They look so nice under the oak trees.
The calf that had to stay behind doesn't seem to be mising the others. He's licking Astrid (she did get up and push him away after I'd taken this picture).

The apple blossom in our 2 orchards is beautiful against the blue sky.

I forgot to mention that an old ewe (8years old) had been finding it increasingly difficult to get up on her feet. She had got very large, and was spending most of her time either standing motionless or lying immovable. Yesterday she went right off her legs, and wouldn't get up at all. We rang the vet about her and he gave us something to induce her, and we injected her about 5.00 yesterday afternoon. It would work in 36 hours or less.
I thought it would be typical if she waited for the full 36 hours (knowing that James wouldn't want to leave her), but I went up this morning to find one twin born, and the 2nd one on the way.

Little Lucy who was the only other ewe still to lamb gave birth to her ewe lamb inbetween the twins. So we finished lambing at 8.30 this morning. Lambing this year went on exactly twice the time of last year.
The last lambs of the season.
One of the last triplets went very weak and floppy yesterday. We saw it at lunchtime. It was rather hollow and had obviously not been getting its fair share of milk. We felt cross with ourselves for not spotting it sooner.
James tube fed it some milk, but it looked as though it would die.
We were both pleased and surprised when it looked much brighter 4 hours later.
But I found it dead, lying as if peacefully asleep with the other triplets at 3.00 this morning.
We've been busy moving animals around. The ewes and lambs had finished the grass in Lower Meadow and we moved them to Corner Park.

We moved the ewe lambs from last year up the road. James's mother is buying the bungalow next door to us (only a field away). It was built by a retiring farmer from East Penrest in the 50's. It comes with some useful land, and the present owners suggested we made use of it straight away.

There's something very satisfying moving a flock of sheep (only 37 of them) up the road. Not from a perverse pleasure in stopping the traffic (because there wasn't any), but more, I suppose, from a feeling of being in touch with the past. These little lanes were made centuries ago for moving animals from place to place. I didn't have the camera handy though (I usually don't have it when I want it most, either that or its batteries have run down, as a digital camera uses a lot of power). It would have made a lovely picture, with the hedgebanks full of flowers and the sheep enjoying the outing, with Jess coming along behind.
In some ways I don't want to go away, as everything is looking so good here at the moment, with the trees greening and the grass lush, the blossom on the trees and more wild flowers coming out every day. But it will be wonderful to have a break.

.
Looking towards the house, in the 'New Orchard' (which has the oldest trees)

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From 9th April 1999