August on the farm

August has been a month of growing weather.  Warm and damp!  The fields are lush and green with so much grass, seed heads galore, and armies of finches darting ahead of you as you walk. 

The garden has been producing lots too.. an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers - which we share with guests. Everything feels very healthy, grown without chemicals.  

Moving cows to a new field.

Speaning (taking off) the lambs.  This was a peaceful process - the lambs were ready, barely drinking from their mothers any more and therefore not too bothered being separated - and the ewes went back to the field without a to-do. 

The Heather has been wonderful this summer, full of colour. 

Farmer mows Bracken wherever he can.  In fact he spends most of July and August on the tractor mowing Bracken.  Some of the fields he isn't allowed to cut until later on and we can see the Bracken is getting away from us in these fields, but he does what he can. 

Turning the lambs out in their new fields without their mums. 

They meet cows for the first time. 

The hill lambs were with their mothers until the big hill gather in the last week of the month. 

 

Routines

The wintery weather didn't last long.   

It has been mostly grey and damp (wet) over the last 10 days or so, apart from one or two days which have been dry and bright.  And so good for the soul. 

The feeding routine is well underway now.   

The mornings are getting a little lighter, and evenings begin a little later.   

The following photographs should be at the top of this post.  As the snow was disappearing. 

 

Ensay Fank and In bye tups

That tree. 

We have had the use of the fields at Ensay this year.  We have had hoggs and wedder lambs there.   Getting them into the fank up on the hill beside the farmhouse requires the attention of ideally 3 people. Farmer and DG gathered the field and brought them down the road, while I stood ready to block the road with sheep hurdles so that they go into the fank field rather than down the road towards the beach. 

The fank has a beautiful sea view. 

November skies 

JL's cows are on the hill now.  They are hanging around the deer fence looking over into the yard, mooing every time they hear the quad or the buggy. 

While I was away last week Farmer put the in by tups out.  This Herdwick tup is with the older ewes.   We bought him 2 years ago from a farmer near Stirling. 

He was delighted when we turned up with a feed bucket and had a taste before chasing off after another ewe. 

No 86 always enjoys a scratch. 

Off he goes..

This is Pedro.  He is a Suffolk.  He is with the older Cheviot ewes.  He has red raddle paint on his chest. 

You can see from these pink bums that he has been busy already.