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Sue Woodcock: Shear relief for the sheep as heat rises
The hot weather has been pleasant and I cannot complain. I have enjoyed the sunshine. Because I have a dodgy elbow this year I didn't feel up to clipping all my sheep myself. I got a really good chap, Philip, from down in the village to come up and do them for me.
He and his wonderful dog, Lucy, got them into my handling system. Yes, it took a couple of goes but we got them all. Philip mainly does small flocks for those such as me who are not really commercial.
He was great because he helped me load them into a trailer and I got them off to another pasture straightaway. He was not expensive and has agreed to do them for me next year.
I am left with a few older ewes and wethers who are happily eating the grass in my top field. They look very clean in their shorn coats.
A friend of mine, who has two young boys, rang me in desperation. They have a three-year-old border collie, called Ewan, who has suffered terrible teasing by the boys and has defended itself as best it can. She adores the dog, but has to put her children first. When she bought him up to me, she cried but knew it was the right thing. Her only other option was to have it put down.
No-one will take a dog that bites regularly, and she asked if I would give it a last chance.
The poor dog is not vicious, just terribly afraid. It will take ages for him to get his confidence back, but I am willing to give him a try. All the other dogs accepted him immediately and I see no problems with them. When he can trust me he will be a wonderful dog. It is a case of softly, softly, catchee monkey.
He is eating and drinking but rushes back under the desk where he feels secure. It means that I am up to
the maximum number of dogs now.
The chickens are not only waiting for their breakfasts first thing, but they have teamed up with the goats, who push open the feed store door, and everyone helps themselves. I have remedied that. A staple has been pulled out of the catch. I have visions of the goats holding a meeting with all the other animals during the night to plot how to get into the store.
It reminds me of the ewes in the lambing sheds when I was a student at agricultural college. You could almost hear them drawing lots as to which one of them could embarrass the students at the worst possible moment by dying or having a crisis.
Sheep are very clever in their own way, and goats are worse. I wouldn't want them on my pub quiz team but they can still lead you a merry dance.
Cecily has totally settled in. She thinks she owns the place now. She lies on the settee and dreams happily, twitching and making little noises. She also tends to tease me by almost coming in and then dashing off again. She gave up chasing the gander when he turned round and chased her back. That time she did come back inside, pronto. She's not keen on rain or the dark either.
She does like to chase rabbits with Tara. The pair of them can be seen gazing for ages at the dry stone wall while the rabbits they were chasing emerge further along and, I'm sure, laugh at them. Neither of these dogs are dog brain of Britain but they do have a definite charm and comedic ability. They also combine to tip over the rubbish bin in the kitchen if I am foolish enough to let them.
I found Freeman, Hardy and Willis, my young goats, happily sunbathing on the top of my car today. I have also found them fast asleep in the cement-mixer and on the tractor seat. There are two freshly strawed shippons to recline in, should they wish. Dulcie can be found relaxing in the bigger one to keep out of the sun. She is coming on very well.
At work the other evening it was hot and sultry and one of the waitresses and I felt quite drained. Outside, there were millions of nasty biting gnats.
She was spitting tin tacks because holidaymakers using the youth hostel had parked outside her house and she couldn't unload her shopping as her front gate was blocked. They refused to move, not wanting to pay to put their cars in the National Park's
car park.
We both needed cheering up, so as the chefs regularly sing very badly in the kitchen, we started up Summertime. She can sing, and so can I. The result was that the chef promptly dropped a parsnip bake and blamed it on us! We held off singing a medley of songs from the shows until service had finished.
Later, when I got home, I let Ewan out, and he was very good. He came back when called. He is adapting to life here and is actually rather affectionate.
There were fantastic lightning strikes over towards Ilkley Moor which lit up the sky. I watched them for a while and then, as it was raining, came inside.
Another night coming back from Kettlewell after work, the insect life was so thick it was like driving through a fog. Down by the river, there in the shelter of the valley, they are quite a problem. You cannot stay outside for more than a couple of minutes without getting badly bitten.
I had to go quite slow and saw a variety of bats catching an abundance of food. They were not the only animals out hunting either. I got a glimpse of a badger snuffling as it trolled down the side of the road, then a fox crossed ahead of me on his nightly patrol. As I drove up the lane, I saw two stoats slinking into a wall with something, I think a baby rabbit.
It is a time of plenty and the wildlife is making the most of it. I am just so lucky to see such things.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
