I got to Garth Hall just after half 7. Put my coat, 2 pairs of gloves, mask and hat on and started down the drive to be confronted by an ewe. I unlocked the gate and propped it open then we began our impromptu game of hide and seek. I ran towards her one way and she ran up to the lane. I met her at the top and she ran up the other side. She looked like she could do it all day. I couldn’t. I mean it was good for my step count but frustrating. Then the bugger bolted. She sprinted down the lane. I went off after her but much slower. She went round the first corner and out of sight 🤬
I kept walking towards the corner and then she came heading back up the lane at pace. I heard a quad. Richard (neighbour) was coming up the lane driving her in front. She jumped over the fence into the cabbage field. At least she was safe. Jail for her if she does it again. I took her photo to make sure I would recognise her again.
First order of the day is always to feed the silvernoses. I opened up the door to Cai. Neil hadn’t filled all the buckets yesterday due to the rain so I sorted them. I like to stand outside on the floor as it’s less back breaking filling the buckets. So there I was today, standing scooping beet pulp when there must have been a gust of wind. The wind pushed the heavy door towards my back. The first thing I knew was when it hit me and knocked me forward at pace, causing me to whack my right shin. The rest of the job was done inside Cai and wonderfully the wind dropped as well 😑
Off I went to feed the pets. Baarbaara was obnoxious as usual and they all took turns in stopping right in front of me to trip me up. As usual. I did a quick look around. Petra was missing! I went further into the wellfield and there she was stuck in brambles, bless her. I’ve never pulled a long-woolled sheep out of brambles before. At least she is tame. I checked my pockets. Pen knife in my other coat which was less than helpful. I finally got her out and messaged Josh. “Strimming this afternoon”
After feeding the alpacas I needed to collect feed in mule. The muddy area around the pen isn’t the easiest to manoeuvre through. I have to line the tyres up with the ruts that are already there in order not to get stuck in mud. No problem. I’ve done it plenty of times before. I saw the tracks ahead, adjusted slightly and drove forward. The wind blew in through the missing door and pushed the whole mule to the right just as I entered the track. I steered left and the wind pushed me right. I thought the wind was going to push me crashing into the wall but the closer I got, the less wind there was so I managed to get back on track.
Lastly, before leaving for lunch, I put Patricia and Ginger Nut out into the wellfield. Patricia went straight for the lick bucket and Ginger Nut began frantically eating grass. Good to see them outside.
In the afternoon we had a last minute meeting with a potential buyer. We showed her around and the girls were their charming best. Alexa and Arwen were so friendly that they might have managed to sell themselves! Time will tell. After that I fed all the alpacas while Josh and Neil caught and treated the ewe we failed to catch on Saturday. Neil even managed to catch and treat an ewe I had seen limping in the morning. She had a foot abscess which he evacuated. I was gutted. I love a good spot squeeze. 🤦♀️
Finally the last job of the day was getting Sian and Olive into the barn. They are long woolly and as such need to lamb indoors. We (Neil in all honesty) will have to trim the long wool from around their back ends and udders. This is part of the reason why they have to be kept in. The reason the wool is trimmed is because the strands are so long that lambs have trouble finding the udder. New born lambs often struggle to latch on but colostrum is essential for their survival and health. If they were to waste energy suckling wool, we could lose one of their lambs ( if they are in deed pregnant). After that we filled the feed buckets by torch light as it was getting dark rapidly. Busy day but NOT RAINING so win-win.
Tuesday dawned and last minute Josh informed me there was a walk. He insists I knew about it. I insist I didn’t know. We were at an impasse so I told him to do it and I went to Tregurnog. I’ve been saying that we need a new catch pen for the boys because we can’t get them in. A phone conversation with Josh at around 11.40 confirmed he had the same problem. I’m not feeling smug. Not at all…
For my birthday, Josh and Jordan bought me a camera I can wear on my chest or head to film rather than holding a phone. Josh impatiently showed me how to use it on Tuesday afternoon. My concentration levels weren’t the best so once I got to Garth Hall, I couldn’t even turn it on 🤦♀️ He was less than impressed when I rang him and quite frankly, cross 😂
I finally got it on and set off. I filmed some bucket filling and feeding the Piranhas as well as Sian and Olive in the barn. By now the battery charge had dropped dramatically. I filmed feeding the outfield sheep and a bit of the view on my walk down. The weanlings were pleased to see me and Garth Vader was fascinated to see what I was wearing. There should be some very close close ups of him. Then I lost signal so was unable to film the skidding journey on the quadling through the raging torrent of mud and water that used to be the track to the boys’ field.
The signal briefly returned so I filmed all their faces when I fed them. Once I’d finished I checked the camera. No signal and then it promptly died. I’ll try again tomorrow. We’ll also see if the cinematic genius Jordan can edit anything useable out of it. I’m sure at that point I will get further instructions which I will belligerently listen to. As soon as there is anything worthwhile, we’ll post it. But I wouldn’t hold my breath…
Helen x
