Thank you to all who made a comment on "Happiness is a quiet lambing shed".
The weather in February was fantastic - springlike to say the least. March came in, as usual, snow in the first week and got worse. fortunately Easter passes us by, so it was just another crap weekend. I asked Laura if she had any Easter eggs (she was with her dad for easter) and she said yes, 1, where was mine? I apologised for being a crap mum, and said there wasn't one!
Lambing is not too bad, I think. The 2nd flock are lambing outside - not ideal but a necessity. They chase the grass every year. But, we have had 30-odd lambs go, which will improve the bank balance a bit.
I think I saw a swallow last week, but with the weather turning horrible again it might have gone to warmer climates.
Why, when I'm tractor driving or feeding the sheep, can I think of great, witty stories, but then faced with the computer and a screen it comes out crap - three times I've said that word?
Will have to get back into blogging again.
Friday, 28 March 2008
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Happiness is a quiet lambing shed!
If you have never heard the sound of sheep waiting for their breakfast, or dinner, or tea, and you are invited to do so - believe me it is an offer you can refuse! They are absolutely awful. They jump up you when putting their food out, they knock the troughs over trying to get at it, they even tread on their lambs in the rush to get to the food - you would think they hadn't been fed for weeks - let alone 12 hours before.
Feeding sheep is not rocket science. Technique is the important thing - keep the bucket close to the trough and your knees together. If the bucket is up in the air, the sheep end up wearing the food. If your knees are not together they end up wearing you! It's a "life in front of the eyes" moment when a ewe gets her head between your legs to get to food - especially if it's outside and going downhill! And I'm sure it's inbred into lambs to jump across the trough just as you are pouring (expensive) sheep meal into it - it goes everywhere!
Having a good command of the English - or French - language doesn't matter. Three words are enough "you f.......g things" is a phrase frequently aimed at sheep.
You also get hard when it comes to bottle feeding lambs. If it's a do or die situation you have no choice. Better to feed than let them die. But you can be too soft, with dire consequences. They look at you as their mother, and every time they hear your voice they start!! At the moment Mary is the worst one (Mary? she was born on Christmas day). She has the most painfull piercing bleat you can imagine. As they get older they jump up and mug you knocking the bucket over in the process. Oh yes, believe me they are no angels.
On my lambing notepad Laura has written "don't you just love lambing?" to which I have written "no!".
Anyway, good news is the time has come to wean some of them, no one sleeps at weaning time. This is to make room in the shed for the next 180 to lamb!
Feeding sheep is not rocket science. Technique is the important thing - keep the bucket close to the trough and your knees together. If the bucket is up in the air, the sheep end up wearing the food. If your knees are not together they end up wearing you! It's a "life in front of the eyes" moment when a ewe gets her head between your legs to get to food - especially if it's outside and going downhill! And I'm sure it's inbred into lambs to jump across the trough just as you are pouring (expensive) sheep meal into it - it goes everywhere!
Having a good command of the English - or French - language doesn't matter. Three words are enough "you f.......g things" is a phrase frequently aimed at sheep.
You also get hard when it comes to bottle feeding lambs. If it's a do or die situation you have no choice. Better to feed than let them die. But you can be too soft, with dire consequences. They look at you as their mother, and every time they hear your voice they start!! At the moment Mary is the worst one (Mary? she was born on Christmas day). She has the most painfull piercing bleat you can imagine. As they get older they jump up and mug you knocking the bucket over in the process. Oh yes, believe me they are no angels.
On my lambing notepad Laura has written "don't you just love lambing?" to which I have written "no!".
Anyway, good news is the time has come to wean some of them, no one sleeps at weaning time. This is to make room in the shed for the next 180 to lamb!
Monday, 4 February 2008
Kir and Chocolates
A reply from Tina to my last blog made me think that I should come clean.
Kir (a drop of creme de cassis in a glass of white wine, or champagne) is like pop. It goes down extremely well after a hard day at whatever. However, new "users" beware - it is so alcoholic! So what you might ask. Well, drinking it like pop (it is so moreish) you end up p....d as a rat very quickly, especially on an empty stomach.
I won a year's subscription to an English magazine last year when a reader asked for ideas on how to use up a bottle of Creme de Cassis, but they didn't publish my warnings. Sorry to everyone who tried it, and paid the price.
Laura and I have a chocolate cupboard. We hide it away. We're not mean or anything, but if it's out David will eat the lot. So we hide it and have some when we feel the need. It's far less alcoholic than Kir, but with probably the same calories.
I had need to attack the chocolate cupboard last week, though I can't remember why now. I did confess to Laura though. When she goes back to England next week she will bring back slabs of Dairy Milk and replenish the stocks!
Kir (a drop of creme de cassis in a glass of white wine, or champagne) is like pop. It goes down extremely well after a hard day at whatever. However, new "users" beware - it is so alcoholic! So what you might ask. Well, drinking it like pop (it is so moreish) you end up p....d as a rat very quickly, especially on an empty stomach.
I won a year's subscription to an English magazine last year when a reader asked for ideas on how to use up a bottle of Creme de Cassis, but they didn't publish my warnings. Sorry to everyone who tried it, and paid the price.
Laura and I have a chocolate cupboard. We hide it away. We're not mean or anything, but if it's out David will eat the lot. So we hide it and have some when we feel the need. It's far less alcoholic than Kir, but with probably the same calories.
I had need to attack the chocolate cupboard last week, though I can't remember why now. I did confess to Laura though. When she goes back to England next week she will bring back slabs of Dairy Milk and replenish the stocks!
Monday, 28 January 2008
A belated Happy New Year
Yes, I know it is nearly February. But with one thing and another - lambing, collecting Mother for Xmas, Xmas and New Year, illness etc., A Happy New Year to one and all.
We started December with Laura and I going to Paris Christmas shopping with a trip from our commune. It was advertised at "leaving a 6.00 a.m.", when you booked they told you it was actually 5.00 a.m. - at least I got away without all the feeding etc!!! We had a great day - found W.H. Smiths in Paris, sadly they didn't stock Farmer's Weekly so I couldn't take one home gloating "got it in Paris". Took some great photo's on my all singing and dancing new mobile phone. The funniest was at Galleries Lafayette - fantastic shops. They had young boys dressed in white - even down to the winkle pickers - and white wings. Laura said "they've had too much Red Bull!" Apparently it gives you wings! When I say young boys I mean teenage 19/20 young boys! She couldn't resist taking a photo.
Before going to Paris I warned the sheep not to start lambing before 2nd Dec. After that they could do what they wanted, within reason. For once they obliged, and started the week after our trip to Paris. The weekend of the 8/9th was awful - raining cats and dogs (Louise, my eldest, was 21 on the 7th). The sheep HAD to come in regardless of whether we were ready or not. We sorted them out on the Sunday (9th) into iminents and another couple of weeks. The iminents stayed in (and have since finished lambing), the another couple of weeks are still out - with 6 newborn additions!
Mother came into Limoges on the 17th Dec. in time to stress me out and get me organised for Christmas. Because of the burnt out tractor we are late with getting in our cereals (they are still not in), David was going on about me following him with the seed drill to do the fields - this was with a party (HE decided we should have one) and Christmas looming, no windows in my tractor and a gale force wind blowing. Well, it was like a red rag to a bull for my mother! Fortunately, or not, it rained in time so saved me hours on a draughty tractor, and grief from Ma. The day of the party arrived, 22nd Dec., at 4.00 p.m. no Christmas tree up, no table for the food (we had caterers to the food) and no David! But we knew where he was. So a quick phone call later and everyone knew I was stressed! As the first guests arrived (EARLY) I was just coming in from feeding pet lambs. It improved as it went on - especially when most of the guests wanted to watch the finals of Strictly - they only came on condition it was on.
Christmas came and went - I'm not a great lover of Christmas as we have always had to work, even when we were young and in a pub - hopefully next year we will be retired and be able to do Christmas properly, or at least without rushing about. As usual the turkey lost his legs prematurely, as he wouldn't fit into the cooker with them. The work was all done for the day before we had our dinner, present opening was done around lunchtime after the morning feeding up session, lunch consisted of Kir and chocolates!
Louise, the eldest, got engaged and proudly showed off her ring on Boxing Day. Hopefully, they will wait a bit before getting married - she has been told to look after her father so he is around to pay for it! Yes, I am a bitch, but that is for another post.
Thomas introduced us to his girlfriend, a very nice French girl whose parents keep the bar/restaurant in the next village.
So that really brings us to the New Year - Mum went back 7th Jan, kids are back at work/school,
we're back to getting up to a great feeding operation. At least the last weekend has been lovely weather. I even ditched the hat, coat and waterproofs on Sunday. If I hadn't my lower legs - were they are double wrapped with waterproofs and wellies - would have been like matchsticks!
So, it's now time to bid farewell and go and feed Matt and Alicia and Mary and their (bottlefed) friends. To the next post.
We started December with Laura and I going to Paris Christmas shopping with a trip from our commune. It was advertised at "leaving a 6.00 a.m.", when you booked they told you it was actually 5.00 a.m. - at least I got away without all the feeding etc!!! We had a great day - found W.H. Smiths in Paris, sadly they didn't stock Farmer's Weekly so I couldn't take one home gloating "got it in Paris". Took some great photo's on my all singing and dancing new mobile phone. The funniest was at Galleries Lafayette - fantastic shops. They had young boys dressed in white - even down to the winkle pickers - and white wings. Laura said "they've had too much Red Bull!" Apparently it gives you wings! When I say young boys I mean teenage 19/20 young boys! She couldn't resist taking a photo.
Before going to Paris I warned the sheep not to start lambing before 2nd Dec. After that they could do what they wanted, within reason. For once they obliged, and started the week after our trip to Paris. The weekend of the 8/9th was awful - raining cats and dogs (Louise, my eldest, was 21 on the 7th). The sheep HAD to come in regardless of whether we were ready or not. We sorted them out on the Sunday (9th) into iminents and another couple of weeks. The iminents stayed in (and have since finished lambing), the another couple of weeks are still out - with 6 newborn additions!
Mother came into Limoges on the 17th Dec. in time to stress me out and get me organised for Christmas. Because of the burnt out tractor we are late with getting in our cereals (they are still not in), David was going on about me following him with the seed drill to do the fields - this was with a party (HE decided we should have one) and Christmas looming, no windows in my tractor and a gale force wind blowing. Well, it was like a red rag to a bull for my mother! Fortunately, or not, it rained in time so saved me hours on a draughty tractor, and grief from Ma. The day of the party arrived, 22nd Dec., at 4.00 p.m. no Christmas tree up, no table for the food (we had caterers to the food) and no David! But we knew where he was. So a quick phone call later and everyone knew I was stressed! As the first guests arrived (EARLY) I was just coming in from feeding pet lambs. It improved as it went on - especially when most of the guests wanted to watch the finals of Strictly - they only came on condition it was on.
Christmas came and went - I'm not a great lover of Christmas as we have always had to work, even when we were young and in a pub - hopefully next year we will be retired and be able to do Christmas properly, or at least without rushing about. As usual the turkey lost his legs prematurely, as he wouldn't fit into the cooker with them. The work was all done for the day before we had our dinner, present opening was done around lunchtime after the morning feeding up session, lunch consisted of Kir and chocolates!
Louise, the eldest, got engaged and proudly showed off her ring on Boxing Day. Hopefully, they will wait a bit before getting married - she has been told to look after her father so he is around to pay for it! Yes, I am a bitch, but that is for another post.
Thomas introduced us to his girlfriend, a very nice French girl whose parents keep the bar/restaurant in the next village.
So that really brings us to the New Year - Mum went back 7th Jan, kids are back at work/school,
we're back to getting up to a great feeding operation. At least the last weekend has been lovely weather. I even ditched the hat, coat and waterproofs on Sunday. If I hadn't my lower legs - were they are double wrapped with waterproofs and wellies - would have been like matchsticks!
So, it's now time to bid farewell and go and feed Matt and Alicia and Mary and their (bottlefed) friends. To the next post.
Monday, 26 November 2007
Stuck in a time warp!
After finishing work the other night, and before "my" programme (Strictly c.d. - it takes two), David was flicking through the channels and came to an old Dr. Who. Bear in mind we never watch Dr. Who.
"Who's that girl?" he asks
"Billy Piper" I said
"But she must be in her 60's" he says
"That's Billie Whitelaw" I reply!
Sorry, Babe (OH) it was just too good not to share!
Again, Strictly c.d. (it takes two) - Henry Winkler was on tonight (Fonze from Happy Days). He's grey and ageing.
"It makes you feel human" says OH! who was an avid fan of Happy Days.
"Who's that girl?" he asks
"Billy Piper" I said
"But she must be in her 60's" he says
"That's Billie Whitelaw" I reply!
Sorry, Babe (OH) it was just too good not to share!
Again, Strictly c.d. (it takes two) - Henry Winkler was on tonight (Fonze from Happy Days). He's grey and ageing.
"It makes you feel human" says OH! who was an avid fan of Happy Days.
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