The joy of sheep

Some friends came to visit Rock HQ today and for once guests were treated to a guided tour without getting coated in mud and dog slobber. The mud has gone for a while as we have had sunshine for the last week or so. The dog slobber was gone as they had a toddler and gentle as our dogs are their enthusiastic welcome can be a tad overpowering at times, especially for a small, and so they were banished to the workshop and introduced to the tiny human one at a time throughout the day.

They are keen sheep fans so our little flockers showed them the full range of sheepness. Firstly Crispen who will normally welcome you as a dog would, right down to wagging tail, refused to come out of the shade, unlike Geisha who is a sun worshipper and suffers from MLS (melting legs syndrome) whenever struck by a sunbeam for more than two seconds. The two lay side by side, as different as chalk and cheese, taking in and avoiding the rays.
Maude, above, demonstrated how intelligent sheep can be by getting stuck fast in the stock fence. Trevor the pocket rocket ran around like a loon as we tried to extricate the fat lamb who perhaps by now realises that the grass isn't greener the other side, especially when viewed through wire netting. Another of our horses, William, dazzled us with his amazing fence jumping ability. He was the wrong side of the fence and munching his way through the militias pasture when spotted. Tracey had to go and fetch the beast while I served lunch. Unfortunately she forgot to photograph his daring do, her dramatic rescue, and the ever so high barbed wire topped fence he jumped. His hoof prints led to the five bar gate and stopped suddenly, perhaps the fat Welsh cob had done better than we thought and jumped the even higher steel gate! Suddenly the idea of riding him seemed, to me anyway, a lot less appealing. I want a plodder that is steadfast, bombproof and above all refuses to run and jump even when the urge takes him. The mystery of how this normally inactive cob managed to get the wrong side of the perimeter was solved when I remembered that just along the track of the Bonsai Mountain the fence had collapsed, age finally taking the fence posts to ground level. William had simply wandered along the track in the sunshine and spotted an opportunity. Good news, he's not an athlete hes just a naughty boy!

More good news. Fern is rallying. Today a bouncy individual who has drunk nearly a litre of milk. She also enjoyed a snooze in the sun.

You can't see me

The lovely warm weather continues, but we had a sharp frost last night and the poor Ryeland lambs spent a cold first night out. Pansy took shelter in the Oak tree and stayed put until things warmed up a bit.
Fern survived the night and appears a bit brighter jumping around the garden, she is still off her food so fingers crossed she might get better.

Brave new world, for some.

The two Ryeland lambs were put out to grass today with their mums Easter and Springtime. They all seem to be doing well, the ewes need to put on a lot of weight so they are getting extra rations but the lambs are bonny enough.

Fern on the other hand is a cause for concern, she is off her food and has a rasping breathing noise which may be a sign of an infection. Past experience tells us that if this is the case we are set for a rapid decline and probable death despite injecting with anti biotic and overdosing on TLC.

You can take a horse to water

Cows like Hetty on the other hand need special treatment.

This little piggie

Training for the BBMC continues despite a freak accident today in which I managed to break my left little toe and at the same time severely bruise the little toe on my right foot. The lengths I go to to self harm are quite extreme but this one was a good one even for me involving a lamb, a Bernese dog, a door and a sofa leg. I tend not to wear footwear in the house, apart from dirty hiking boots (something which makes me very popular) So barefoot today I stood up from the PC, took emergency evasive action to prevent a lamb being squashed underfoot, the brave Berner bolted as the lamb that also made an emergency manoeuvre to miss me crashed into its side. Bolting Berner hit my left leg which changed its direction as I strode forward and was stopped dead with impact on the sofa leg. As I howled and jumped sideways clutching my left my right foot was stopped by the front door that was half open at the time. Dogs hid, birds flew their nests, all aircraft were grounded (later reports say it was due to volcanic ash, not so, it was because the air was blue over Rock HQ) and Tracey told me not to be such a baby.

Tyrant at Rock HQ

Fern has firmly established herself in the pecking order at Rock HQ. She already has her humans exactly where she wants them, at the end of a feeding bottle every four hours and almost every bleat in between.

Having seen Reba's zero tolerance policy towards the vermin cats she has joined in and patrols the perimeter ensuring no felines breach at ground level. The cats have taken to furniture tops anyway and can be seen negotiating the cottage with minimum paw contact on the floors, a sort of moggy pirates game, not sure how long the curtains can take the abuse.

Humans and Cats sorted Fern turned her attention to the Bernese Mountain Dogs and many a happy minute is filled gamboling around after huge dogs who are frantic to escape. Cowards. Montana appears to have overcome her fear of this erratic woolly tyrant and being the same size as a sheep repeatedly fends off Ferns search for the milk bar and has adopted a motherly role. This does mean she has begun to clear up the lamb mines which while disgusting is proving very useful. Most of the time she spends curled up on her blanket sleeping. Peace reigns until her tummy rumbles again.

Life behind bars

Some friends called on the weekend and described life at Rock HQ as like living a Disney film. I couldn't see their point as I shoved a goat out through the back door from its raid on the kitchen, cleared up the mess from its ravaging of the freshly baked scones whilst making polite conversation as they stood in stupefied silence as a horse tried to say hello through the living room window.

Geisha has really cheered up all the herbivores by claiming the hayledge as her own and camping in the feed ring. A goat behind bars is just what nature intended!

Big softy

We have another mouth to feed, an orphan lamb called Fern who will eventually replace one of our aging Ryeland ewes.

She is a big hit with the Berners, Rocky took it on himself to act as bodyguard.

He is a big softy.