Hail and shine

Lambs lie together in old tyre tracks or shallow dried up burns, catching the warm of the sun but out of the wind which is bitter today.  (This is Brownie, above) The sun is so bright but it is still very cold.   

In our corner of the island everything is a little behind, so a trip out today in the car to Dervaig and our fantastic village Post Office to post some parcels and do some shopping, was a good way of seeing how spring is progressing elsewhere.  The beech woods at Calgary are almost luminous with the sun casting its contrast between the dark shadows and the brightness of fresh young leaves unfurling.  

This can seem like a cruel time of year - the sun is shining but the grass is still slow to grow.   At a time when the ewes need to recover their strength after a winter pregnancy and provide a good supply of milk for their lambs, there is still a way to go before we reach the abundant grass stage!

Resting fields allows it to recover and we do that here and there in accordance with our 'open grazed grassland' management, this enables the grass to grow and along with it the flourishing of herb rich flowers, and provides a safe haven for ground nesting birds at the same time.

Sunset from farmhouse garden, through sycamore leaves.

The cows seem to have settled into their new groups and found their new order.   Soon the large group of cows and their calves, along with the bull, will come into the 'Field beyond Haunn' and graze the fresh spring grass we have been saving for them.  This means for anyone wanting to walk a dog along the coast path, they will meet a sign reminding them that it is not permitted to walk a dog through young stock, and that they should find an alternative route.  (in this case it means skirting along the outside of the field, going through the deer gate by the cottages, walking above the deer fence and coming back to the track or path on the other side of the field).  

Some regular guests of ours sent us a lovely email yesterday about how much they had enjoyed the 2 different holidays they had had at Haunn recently (one at Easter and the second just last week).  They usually expect to see otters at Port Haunn but on their last visit they didn't see them there. However they did have a wonderful sighting at Calgary.  In AB's words:  "On our visit at Easter we spent well over an hour watching 2 otters (mum and teenage cub?) in Calgary Bay.  One was busy catching fish while the other rolled about in the water, floated on its back and generally messed about, suggesting teenager to me!  They eventually climbed out of the water, groomed each other for about ten minutes then curled up under a rock and went to sleep." What a memorable sight.

Brownie and Brian now have a trough in their pen with some lamb nuts in it - time to tempt them onto

solid food. As it is whenever he gets the chance Brian tries to eat stones. They are growing, becoming more adventurous.

And the trees continue to burst forth in so many hues of spring colour - not all of them green. Pictured 

above, oaks on the road between Treshnish and Torloisk - and below, near the Eas Fors waterfall - ash 

tree flowers. A shower of hail as I took this photograph!

For more photos of the light and the trees look at http://headlandoftrees.wordpress.com

Case studies and animal behaviour

Richard from On Site Generation Ltd emailed me today to tell me that we have been included in a Energy Savings Trust Case Study re planning issues for wind turbines.   Their website is a useful information source for renewables and energy saving ideas, and if you are thinking of putting up a turbine their Planning Pack could be very helpful.

Calgary Beach on an early spring afternoon.

Changes afoot with the cows...The bull came home on Sunday from his stay at Killiechronan with the dairy heifers. Farmer took him out onto the hill above Toechtamhor to join the cows and this years calves.  We have 2 lots of heifers - the older ones (now 2 years old) are called 'bulling heifers', which means they are old enough to breed from - so they have joined the grown ups.   The younger ones (born last year) are with the 2 older cows who won't go to the bull this season.  Now these 2 older cows were the dominant females, and the rest of the herd are left to adapt and form a new order.   Usually the cows will range over the gentle slopes above the Haunn Cottages - enjoying the young grasses coming in sheltered places, but always within range of the feeding station in case Farmer arrives with some additional ration.  At the moment however, they are over by the hill park fence as they seem to know the others are within hearing distance - calling out to them.  It will take a few days before the new order shakes into place.    The younger heifers and older cows will go to the graveyard field once the grass comes on a bit.  There are straight rows of daffodils in this field, left over from a scheme in the 1970's called the Hebridean Bulb Venture.

And lambs.  Lots of lambs.  Brownie and Brian seem always to be hungry and call out to anyone who walks past their pen, made of recycled pallets.  Brownie dances when he is drinking - as above.

A rare visitor to the garden

The larger bird to the left of the one of the Treshnish hanging feeder is a female Hawfinch.   We noticed her whilst enjoying a sunny lunchtime yesterday.  They are quite unusual here - according to Prasad (see his blog), only 14 records in Argyll since 1953.  But there was one seen last year at Calgary so perhaps it is the same bird.  There have been a pair of Goldfinches on the table as well and they are so pretty.

Lambing continues. Luckily no more orphans to date.  Little Bill and his new mother are still indoors. She is a gimmer and takes fright whenever Farmer goes near, so it is difficult to see how they are really bonding but he doesn't bleat as he might have, had he been hungry - so fingers crossed all is well there.   Cold weather is forecast for the weekend, which will be a bit of a shock for the newborn lambs after yesterdays warm day.

A bit of sunshine

A mother has been found for Little Bill.  When Farmer was out on the hill this morning he found a gimmer whose lamb had just died and brought her back to the farm so that she could take on Bill instead.  So they are together now in a pen in the cattle shed, whilst he remembers his true instinctive behaviour - and learning that humans are not the principle food source any more.  Farmer will keep an eye on them to make sure a bond is formed before they go out to join the rest of the flock.

We found a huge patch of wood anemone in the Haunn field, lifting their delicate faces to the sun this afternoon.   Celandine and violets in good number too but not as many this.  This field is not grazed again until later in the summer so the summer flowers can go to seed in peace.

Tig on the beach at Calgary.

Sad news

Sadly Blackster lost the battle with survival yesterday.  He seemed to have such a strong will to live but with a damaged tongue he could not win really.  He is now buried in the garden.

Lambs and snakes

Below are Blackster and Brian with their surrogate mum.  Brian is growing well, but Blackster is not thriving.  Cause for concern there.  Our neighbour has since given Daughter a lamb to rear of her own.  This lamb is a bit special.  He is brown.  (so he is named Brownie).  He is a son of Bill the Zwartble tup who lives in the field on the other side of the Ensay burn, and grunts and grumbles at you as you pass - in a friendly sort of a way.  His mother is a Cheviot.  (pic of Brownie to follow).

Lambing is busy.  Farmer is still out long hours, tramping the hill with his lambing bag.  One or two losses inevitably and some satisfying successes.  

 

And there are some exotic birds at Calgary Bay - I didn't see them but did enjoy a walk on the sands and admiring Treshnish Headland (left) from afar.  It does you good to walk the beach.  There was no one else on it.  Very low tides, and faint ripples on water as blue skies tried hard to open up the clouds, like heavy curtains allowing a promise of light through their folds.  

Farmer came across an adder whilst doing the school run.  He spied it dead on the main road at the top of Burg.  He brought it home and it looked surprisingly alive, its colours were so fresh.   He said he did do a double take before he picked it up in case it wasn't really dead.  Look away now if you dont like snakes.  It is now safely pickling away in a jar.

Birth, death, rarity and regeneration

Good news.  Lambing is well underway now.  With all its associated thrills and spills.  Farmer is out of doors from early dawn until dark, checking his stock.   Walking the hill, and along the coast where a large number of the ewes live, between the Haunn gate and the bottom of the zig zag path below Crackaig.   And regularly at other times, through the fields for the older ewes, more likely to have twins.

Lamb news.  Last night a hungry newborn lamb was brought in to the fireside; only one eye, swelling round the mouth, bleating and with further wounds around its stumpy horns. Attacked by ravens or black-backed gulls most likely.  It is so cruel.  The poor lamb.  Anyway Daughter came to rescue and took on role of foster mother aided and abetted by Meg, the old Beardie.  Bottle feeds and warm cosy box for the night.  Given the name Blackster.   By afternoon he was following Daughter like a shadow.

This morning Farmer brought in another lamb - a twin he found, whose mother had walked away from it.  They do do this - they wander off in search of grass and leave lambs in sheltered places but this one took one lamb with her and, later on, Farmer returned to check up, but the ewe and the one lamb had disappeared for good.  Named Brian.  He was given colostrum and latched on to his surrogate mother pretty quickly, though Brian will be fostered onto another ewe if we find one soon that has lots of milk but no lamb.   Take it from me, these lambs are being well loved by Meg - see above!  Tonight both lambs have been tucked up in the warmth of the heating container, next to the woodchip boiler.

Bad news.  With every day that passes gradually more births, mostly happy ones - simple and natural, perfectly bonded lambs to attentive protective mothers.  But sadly one or two deaths and not such happy conclusions.  On Friday Farmer found two ewes dead, in the same spot, at the bottom of a cliff - one of them with nasty wounds around its throat.  As if attacked by something.    A horrible scary death for both of them, and a loss to the Farmer of the unborn lambs inside them as well as the ewes themselves.  We can't know for certain what happened, but sheep will run at the sight of a dog at any time of year and even more so when they are heavily in lamb or with their young.   With a very popular path (Treshnish Headland walk) following several miles of stunning coastline through our best 'rough' grazing, dogs and their walkers inevitably come into contact with the sheep.  Quite often Farmer sees dogs off at some distance from their owners and the tell tale signs of ewes running at speed in the other direction towards the dramatic cliffs of the grassy raised beaches. 

Other news.  A cold north wind today chilled the brilliant sunshine, but in sheltered spots it was lovely and warm.  As I walked along the farm track through the (natural regeneration) wood this afternoon I noticed lots of young birch trees coming into leaf.  Fresh luminous leaves unfurl, standing out from last year's yellowed dead grasses, around thin perfectly formed tree outlines.  Stock has been excluded and deer fenced out of this wood for about 4 years now, and the perfect self seeded hazels and birches are encouraging to see creeping out slowly from the wood into the open spaces.  And Prasad is finding lots of traces of Hazel Gloves fungus in several different places on the farm too which is very exciting.