Shaun McKenna: Growing pains of Hamble the lamb

Don't they grow up so fast! I can remember all those long, cold, dark nights through the winter, perched on that little stool inside the stable feeding her, but of course Hamble the lamb is all grown up now.

She’s been in with the other sheep for some time, yet it appears that she’s still an outsider. Initially she was getting barged from pillar to post, but as she’s built like our old coal bunker, they can barge her all they like, she ain’t going anywhere.

Every time we go near their field, she’ll come running, expecting a cuddle, if nothing else, although most days she gets taken for a walk by someone around here.

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You know when they say that things come in threes, well we’ve had one of those situations this week. I was walking through the barn early on Wednesday and noticed that there was a blackbird sitting on the front door step at the other end of the barn.

As I approached it, he didn’t budge, and to my knowledge there’s only Splat, another blackbird, would dare to be so brave. I was able to walk right up to him and pick him up without any drama at all.

I lifted him up away from the barn, opened my hand and let him fly into the blossom filled cherry tree. Now over the next few hours, very similar experiences happened a further twice, firstly with a robin and secondly with a chaffinch. I was confused to say the least. What was going on around here, why were these birds becoming so docile?

It was only later that afternoon that I had my lightbulb moment when the penny dropped and I realised exactly what was going on. In preparation for the car boot sale I’d been cajoled into doing at York Racecourse last Saturday, I had been collecting various items which could be sold on the day. One of those items just happened to be a mirror, a very large mirror, which was standing just inside the front barn door, facing the outside world.

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My theory is that the birds had each flown into the mirror after seeing the reflection of the gardens outside and were subsequently a little dazed after their crash landing, which is why they were so calm when I was picking them up.

Needless to say I turned the mirror around, so no outward reflection could be seen and lo and behold the crash landings ceased.

So, as I said, I was roped into helping out on our stall at the car boot sale on Saturday. The alarm rang out at 4.45. We had chosen the right day for it, with the weather being so lovely and we were able to clear out all sorts of gems which we needed to find new homes for and making a few bob on the way, which is always a bonus.

With showers forecast in the coming week, I was able to crack on and get the grass cut this weekend. Unusually I was able to do this without the assistance of the wind.

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What normally happens is, due to there being a breeze, I end up getting totally covered in cuttings and dust and believe me, it gets into everywhere, so as a result I’m barred from the house until I’ve stripped off on the patio and rid myself of all the rubbish, from every corner.

What I have to go through to keep our Wendy happy!