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Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

The Horses at Denbury taken by Marie on her stay at the Farm with Margaret.

We have been very busy over the past few days getting the Paddock where the Rhea are ready for the arrival of the Bagot Goats. Part of the paddock was fenced for Ostriches that was ample secure for the Rhea, but the Goats would soon have found their way out and we really didn’t want to be chasing after Goats, so stock fencing now completely surrounds the Paddock.

I collected the Bagot Goats this afternoon from Cricket St Thomas. They loaded on to the Horse Trailer a lot easier than we thought they would. The only suitable place to load them was on a path next to the Cheetah enclosure at the Wildlife Park. The Cheetah got really excited running up and down the fence line. I reckon it could see dinner, with only a fence stopping a feast. The Goats were a bit put out but not as bad as I imagined they would be as they ran after a bucket of feed that one of the Keepers was running with.

The journey back to Denbury is under an hour so it was an easy journey for the Goats. When they got off of the trailer they were very calm. None rushing to get out in a herd, just a casual slow one by one stroll, with a minute or more in between each one getting off. The last one even had to be got up as it was quite happy to stay in the horse trailer. Then it slowly relieved itself before it finally joined the others. They soon found the Rhea feeding trough and ate what was left. I had forgotten to make a stand to put the trough on so that the Goats were unable to reach it. The Rhea feed was put in earlier so they didn’t miss today’s feed. I will need to make a stand tomorrow.

We are going to get the main horse Field stock fenced so that the Bagot Goats can use that Field with the Sheep and Horses. The straying Sheep can be a nuisance to other Farmers and a pain for us when we have to look for them, so we will have a secure Field for them all.

That was a surprise seeing the Roe Deer in the Valley Field tonight. One was seen this afternoon by the Horse Field entrance gate and ran to the Wood on the right hand side when they heard someone walking close to them.. If I had not followed the Fox walking towards the camera in the Valley I would not have followed it to where the deer were laying. It is the first time for a good few months that we have seen any Deer on the Farm. We know they are about by seeing their foot prints but they have been elusive to the camera.

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Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Mouse article sent in by Elsie.

Attached is a photo of my friends’ dog, Jess, after being fitted with the wheels that enabled her to run about again after her legs and lower spine no longer worked. She had to drag herself around in the house, but once strapped into the cart would run like the wind!! Sadly she passed away a few months ago – and is sadly missed…. Jill.

Barn owl with vole. Janette

Moss – the European Eagle Owl. We thought he looked like a samurai warrior! Janette

Our Emu numbers increased to 19 today, and will increase again tomorrow to 29. It is nice to have them at Denbury, but the circumstances that we have acquired them is sad. They have come from Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park that is disposing of many of their animals to make way for Gardens that will now be landscaped into most of the Parks animal enclosures.

It is very sad for the staff, some employed at the Park for many years, some well over 20 who are being made redundant. It is going to be hard for them. Any redundancy is difficult, but for those I know who have been looking after the animals for 20 years plus I can see their hurt in knowing that the animals that they have cared for and bred are leaving the Park and they will not see them again. I can imagine their pain as they are putting the animals into the transport lorries, for they are all very caring about the animals they look after.

A lot of the animals are on their way to Yorkshire to another Zoo where they will be given a new home. Others are going to other Zoos and Wildlife Parks. I am getting the Emu and four breeding Rhea that we will breed.

The Emu that we have collected are all very friendly and have settled in much better than we had imagined. It has helped with us being very close to the Park. The journey has been under an hour, causing them very little stress.

I did manage to get a kick in the side from one as I was trying to get them out of the trailer, it didn’t hurt to much, just a bit of a shock. Another of the Emu nearly took root to the trailer. It managed to get out of the trailer, but seemed to decide that it liked the trailer better that the field, getting in and out of the trailer so many times that we lost count after ten.

Our four Rhea will be collected next week. We have got to decide where we are going to let them live.

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Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Here are some pics from Dungeness –

Swans with cygnets. Jill (Epping)

Sunset over Lydd. Jill (Epping)

Nesting Cormorants with Dungeness Old lighthouse in background. Jill (Epping)

Hebridean black sheep with ram. Jill (Epping)

close up of the ram. Jill (Epping)

The Wallaby Joeys were returned to Cricket St Thomas this morning. I was wrong to bring them to Denbury as they were not going to be suitable for what we had hoped from them.

I had attempted for nearly three weeks to contact a Wallaby Breeder to get advise on the keeping of them, but had never got an answer. Even up to minutes before we left to collect the Wallaby’s I tried to phone again. After I had finished last night Diary we went to feed them. Worried that on seeing light they would make an attempt to escape we opened the trailer door very slowly. Believe me that was a good move, for no sooner that we had opened the door the two Joeys tried to barge their way out. One managed to get most of the way out. It was so quick I really don’t know how we managed to get it back into the trailer. It wasn’t us being cleaver, just pure luck. We did get the feed into the trailer but one of the Wallaby’s was bouncing all around the trailer looking for an exit. There was not way that it was going to hurt itself physically, but it was stressing its self out.

I tried phoning the Wallaby Breeder again and was fortunate to get an answer. I explained the situation and the reasons for having the Wallaby’s . They were obviously not suitable for us to keep at Denbury, and we would never be able to train them or to be able to let them eventually to be free range. The Breeder had experienced the bouncing around the trailer and around holding shelters. The Wallaby’s would have needed to be kept in a six foot high compound. Even that may not have stopped them from jumping over. The Breeder believes that he is responsible for some Wallaby’s running wild in his area.

We had done quite a lot of reading up on Wallaby’s before we decided that we would try to keep them. A lot of the reading told us that they make extremely good pets and are easy to train, what they failed to tell us is that the Joeys need to be taken from the Mothers pouch and bottle fed, then they would be trainable and friendly as they will be looking to the human as their parent. We would never contemplate that. In Australia Joeys are found on their own after their Mothers are killed by being run over or by fires or many other reasons. Some of these are kept as pets.

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We have Friends staying this week so the Diary will…

We have Friends staying this week so the Diary will be a bit hit and miss when I manage to find the time.

We have also had a very busy day so I haven’t got the time to put any photographs on.

After a hectic morning of cleaning stables and preparing a stable for the Wallaby Joeys we finally left for Cricket St Thomas to collect them a couple of hours later than we intended. The Joeys had been weaned for a little over a week and were in an area away from the group. By the time that we had turned the car and trailer around at the Wildlife Park the Joeys had been caught and put in carry cages to be let loose into our trailer, so that they were not confined in a very small area.

After an initial panic the Joeys soon settled and sat quietly for the whole of the return Journey. We arrived back at Denbury a little after half an hour after we had left Cricket St Thomas. We parked in the Farm |Yard to let the Joeys settle before putting them into their holding stable until they got use to the different noises. It was then that one of them decided that the plastic window at the front of the trailers was an escape route and it kept charging into the window trying to get out. We found a dark blanket and covered and darken the window. It seems to have worked and the pair of Joeys have now quietened down. I am going to have to leave them in the trailer for a few days so that they do not have any chance of escaping. It is secure and very large so it is ideal for a couple of days to quieten them and for them to realise that they are not in any danger, We will them move them into the stable that we have prepared for them, letting them out into the confined area in front until they have the confidence to venture a little further to graze and meet the other animals, Chickens and Geese.
I hope to get a camera working so that you can see them.

This morning we hunted every where for the remains of the Goose that was taken yesterday afternoon by a Fox. There was not a sign of her any where. Before we left to collect the Joeys we put all of the Geese away just in case the Fox returned. About half an hour of arriving back at the Farm we found what at first we thought was one of the Geese we had put away walking close to the Holiday Cottages. We thought that one that we had put away had flown over the half open stable door. On a second look after seeing how she was walking we realised it was the Goose who we had thought the Fox had got. Both yesterday and this morning we had hunted high and low for her with out any luck. Where she had been I really don’t know.

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Starting from number osix there are ONLY THREE new photographs…

Starting from number osix there are ONLY THREE new photographs on the Photo Page.

There are ONLY FIVE more photographs left for tomorrows Photo Page.

Gannets perched on Bempton Cliffs,near Flamborough Head, North Yorkshire. Lindsay.

Male and female Gadwall.Lindsay.

As its name suggests it flicks the pebbles on the beach,hence the name Turnstone.They are remarkably tame.Lindsay.

The drive to collect the Kune Kune was about 50 miles. We must have pasted within minute from where Julia and Chris live. If we had her address we may have popped in for a cup of tea. I don’t think they would have enjoyed that visit much, with the way I was ranting.

The Pigs are kept in a large Garden, not what we had expected. Two Gilts one having a litter of Piglets from which our male was coming from and the Female that we were having.

After doing the Ministry paperwork we went to get our Female. She was not what I had imagined, she was a lot bigger than I had thought that she was going to be. She would have been the size of a domestic Pig, larger than the Wild Boar that we had once kept. The size really didn’t matter that much, it was the temperament of the animal that we were interested in, and she was very kind and interested in people.

It was easy to get her to walk to our trailer, but once there it was obvious that we were going to be a problem to load her on to it unless she was prepared to get on to the trailer herself as she was far to heavy to pick up. For sure she wasn’t going to load herself. If I had of known that she was going to be as big as she was I would have taken our Horse Trailer that the Pig could have walked on to by her self. The back is very close to the ground and it has a ramp, so loading her would have been easy.

The trailer we had taken was a box trailer that is about 18″ from the ground. With the bribe of an apple the Pig got her front feet on the trailer, but was down again before we had a chance to lift her back end on. The next attempt was to lift the trailer so that the back was on the ground. Again with a bribe of the apple she managed to get half way on. The idea was then to push the front of the trailer down whilst giving the pig a push. That didn’t work for she slipped off as we pushed the trailer down. The final attempt was up a ramp with her favorite food, a coleslaw sandwich. She ate the sandwich but wouldn’t get on the trailer. So home we came minus a Pig.

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Drove 100 miles stupid Pig wouldn t load on to…

Drove 100 miles, stupid Pig wouldn’t load on to the trailer. Tired, got the hump. To late for a roast dinner, so its fish and chips. Fish and chips on a Sunday that like having bread and jam for christmas dinner. Definitely not in the mood to do a Diary or Photo page tonight. Sorry.

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Late night again after collecting the Geese Will do photographs…

Late night again after collecting the Geese. Will do photographs including the Geese tomorrow.

One Family of Holiday Guests this week are from Wales. Seven altogether, five being Children. Other than the teenage Daughter all of the the other four have been helping us around the Farm. They must be enjoying it as they are getting up early to help with the mucking out and are with us for most of the day. We have needed to muck out a very dirty stable for the Geese to be housed in that we are collecting this evening. It has taken ten trailer loads of wet and very heavy muck to clear the Stable. All of the Children have helped. Mum also got stuck in. The job did take less time with the help that they all gave. The best bit being is that they all enjoyed it, especially the ride on the quad to the muck heap.

Joseph came out with a couple of funny remarks. He calls the Quad and Trailer the Poo Chariot. The best one though being that the smell of the muck cleared his nasal cavities. Every time I remember the remark I cant help but laugh. He is a funny Lad. All the Children are very good to be with. The youngest are twin Girls that I am having a little difficulty understanding their Welsh accent. The older boy Callum did work hard helping with the Stable. I reckon that they will all sleep well tonight.

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Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Built a snowman ( in Surrey , England )From my friend in England . Marie/NJ.

Photograph of snow in the garden. 2nd February 2009. Merrilyn.

Baby time at Martin Mere. Merrilyn.

Photograph of Rosie who is a Tortie. She doesn’t look much like a Calico. What do you call this type in England please? Rosie’s Mum in Toronto.

There was a few inches of snow on the ground at Denbury this morning. A lot less than we thought there would be. Seeing the snow falling on the Valley camera last night I thought that there was going to be a lot more. It seemed to be coming down so heavy that the camera would not focus on the Owl that landed on the post in the Valley. It was the first Owl that I had seen on the post for a while. The snow was soon gone when the sun came out, although there has been a few flurries.

It was just as well that Julia and Chris were here as I was unable to get my car up the drive because of an ice. There is one spot on our drive that does not get the sun. When it is cold the ice will stay there until it warms up. This morning I had to go out with the trailer, but the wheels would not grip on the ice so I needed to reverse back to the Farm Yard. Fortunately Julia and Chris wanted to go to the shop that I was going to so they offered to tow my trailer with their Land Rover.

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Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page sent in by Judy.

Hi Mr Farmer, here are some views taken whilst I was on holiday in Norfolk. I hope you will be able to include them on the gallery.

The Old Lighthouse. Hunstanton. Norfolk. Taken from the arch of the chapel of St Edmund ruins.

The famous striped cliffs at Hunstanton. White chalk upper, Limestone, or Red Chalk middle layer and then a layer of grey/green Carstone. Many fossils have been found.

Castle Rising. 12th century Castle with keep built around 1140AD. The most famous piece in its history was when it came to the Mother of Edward III , Queen Isabella ,following her part in the murder of her husband , Edward II. It is said to be haunted by a she wolf with hair as white as snow and dripping fangs!!

The Church of St Lawrence, Castle Rising village.

Sunset at Heacham Beach. from Judy.

All of the Reindeer are now in the field we have prepared for them. Last evening we decided to take the four Females (Cows) to the field as we wanted to collect Padfoot the Male from Cricket St Thomas early this morning, before the Zoo opened to the public. We had decided before we loaded the Females that we would have a few problems and a bit of a run around to get them into the Horse trailer to take them from the Stables to the Field. In fact we could not believe how easy it was. We had prepared ourselves with gates to confine then in a small area just by the entrance of the trailer. We let two out of the stable and they walked straight into the trailer, we opened the other stable expecting the first two to come out of the trailer, they didn’t and the second two also walked straight in. On getting them to their Field, no sooner had we opened the trailer doors they ambled out took a few paces into the Field and put their heads down to munch at the grass.

We got up very early this morning so that we could get the Horses into feed them before we set out to Cricket St Thomas. The Zoo is only forty minute away from Denbury, so an easy journey for Padfoot the Male (Bull)back to Denbury. Again he was easy to get into the Horse Trailer. The Zoos two females were watching Padfoot leave. It made us wonder if they will miss Padfoot. Mind you we have the same problem when any of our Horses leave the Farm when sold.

We didn’t know what to expect when we let Padfoot out of the Trailer when we arrived back at Denbury. At first he was in no hurry to leave the trailer. He seem a little bewildered, that was until he saw the Females who had come out of one of the two shelters that are in the field. Head up and away he went for all of ten paces, until he realised that he was in a field of grass. Padfoot didn’t even bother to acknowledge his harem. Even when the Females were next to him they were ignored while he munched on the grass. Thankfully moving the Reindeer and introducing them to each other was a lot different than what we had imagined. It was a bit of an anticlimax. We have been looking in on them all day. They have settled in well and are together as a group, even when in the shelters they are all together. Padfoot come over to the the rails when we call out to him as Paddy bringing the Females with him. He is not in his Rutting mood yet, but going by what we have been told by both the Zoo and the suppliers of the Females he will soon change.

We are using the main Badger camera to look into the Reindeer untill we get the time to install a camera into the Reindeer Field.

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number six.

We thought she looked a bit unusual. Lindsay.

Ducks in a pond in Connecticut. Anjela Connecticut.

The grannys bonnets are in my garden. Barbara.

The first is my dog , Pepper, enjoying an ice cream. PM.

Newstead Abbey. Nottinghamshire. Judy.

Sonny went to his new home this morning. We don’t like parting with any of our Horses. In Sonny’s case it was that we got him to be a companion pony for Smuggler until we had the time to break him. We really needed to break Smuggler last year, but although Sonny was a very well put together Dartmoor pony, and that we were also giving him away free, no one except for the people who took him today had made any inquiries for him. We believe that he has gone to a good home. The two children that Sonny is for came when he was collected, they were very keen on Sonny and they do have other Horses so he wont be on his own. Mind you we would not have let him go to any one unless Sonny had a companion. The people who have taken Sonny will need to have him gelded, that will cost in the region of two hundred pounds, and of course they will need to break him, so they will be putting a commitment into him.

Both Smuggler and Sonny knew something was happening that they did not like, as they started to call to each other as we were loading Sonny into the Horse trailer. It was quite easy getting him into the trailer, and it would not have caused him a lot of stress. We managed to get him to follow a feed bucket and within fifteen minutes he was in the box. He kicked the side of the Horse trailer once the back was closed. Both Horses then started to call to each other more. It is sad and we do feel sorry for them. They have been together for four years, since they were both about nine months old. When we got Sonny he was only days away from going to be slaughtered. A lot of moors ponies do finish up this way, as there are very few homes for them. Some years the ponies bring very little money in the pony sales straight from the moors. Many bringing little more than a pound or two each. At least Sonny was saved from that fate and is now going on to a new life. Both Smuggler and Sonny will miss each other for a while. We have taken Smuggler from the top paddock in to the stable yard that Breeze and Arnie are kept. He has been calling for Sonny all day, but will settle quickly once he get use to his new stable friends.

We put Lady and Emmi and their Foals into the Horse field this morning. They both seemed very pleased to be together. There was no squabbling and they stayed close to each other all day. Within a few days the Foals will start to play and run with each other.