Categories
webcams

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.

Categories
webcams

We checked Lady s foaling dates and they are correct…

We checked Lady’s foaling dates, and they are correct, so she is about three weeks overdue. I should think that it may be to do with Woody being unwell. Lady has always been very dependant on Woody. Woody’s illness has caused her to stress out a bit.

When ever Woody crashes out in the paddock, I take her back to her stable. After I had taken Woody in, Lady would stand by the gate and continually call out for her. Over the past weeks, with Woody going into to her stable early, Lady is getting use to Woody not being about so much, and has called far less. Hopefully this will be the start of her not depending on Woody, as much as she does.

We did a bit better with the Sheep movement today. We managed to pen two Ram Lambs and the Flock or Stud Ram. We made sure that we had a cover on the top of the trailer, so they were not able to jump out. About an hour later, Dolly, Minty, Cranberry and an other Ewe followed the bag of feed, into the pen. We also managed to pen the Lambs in with them. Unfortunately I had not made it as secure as I should, and the lambs managed to find a way out. Dolly’s Lambs waited patiently outside for her. Over two hours or so, the other Lambs came to the pen to feed off of their mothers. I managed to catch all the Lambs and put them into the trailer. Dolly jumped into the trailer to be with her Lambs. I managed to get the other three Ewes into the trailer, and I took four Ewes and five Lambs to the field that I had prepared for them. There are now nine Sheep and five Lambs captured. Still a long way to go, but we will get there.

These two pairs of Geese wont give up. I was just going to write that a pair had settled, as there were only one pair on the lake today, and they were on the island. When I checked on camera this evening, the other pair were back and still fighting. Surly one pair must go and find another nesting site.

After seeing the posting about the Butterfly Farms cameras, I phoned them, The Ant camera should be on now, on the Butterfly Farm camera two. They were going to try to put the new cameras in place this afternoon. If they manage to get them up, they will get an electrician, to get them on line. This will not take to long. The cameras are off very often. I know that is because of circumstances beyond their control. As soon as they realise that the cameras are off, they will quickly restart them.

The Astro camera are run by myself. What I am trying to do with it, has never been attempted in the format that I am trying. The Telescope has had to be returned to the suppliers, because of a minor problem. Whilst at the suppliers the Telescope will be setup and tested. I am new to Astronomy, and although it is a very sophisticated piece of equipment, it does need a lot of my time to use it to its full potential. When it is returned I will explain all about this.

Categories
webcams

After checking Lady last night before going to bed I…

After checking Lady last night, before going to bed, I was drawn to open the boot of my car, that is always parked outside our entrance door. Why I was drawn to it, I really don’t know, I have never done it before, and there was no reason for it. I reckon someone up there wanted to give me a fright to keep me awake, to be able to keep an eye on Lady. As I opened the boot, looking into my eyes was a mouse. With my fear of mice and rats, my first and only instinct was to slam down the boot and run, but before I had even the chance to do that, a small rat came out of a gap in the boot panelling. It was horrible, I screamed, slammed the boot down and was gone. Since we have had the farm, I have got a little better when I see mice or rats, but only to the extent that I don’t scream out as load, as I once did, but I still run. Big girls blouse, you may think, yeah, but I don’t care.

It was my own fault, and I am lucky that I had not seen any before. For convenience I have been leaving the bags of sunflower hearts and peanuts, for the Birds and Badgers in the boot of the car. I wont be doing that anymore.

The first job this morning was to clean the car boot out. Gingerly I took all the old bags and spilt food out of the boot. Taking the spare wheel out was a little, no, very daunting. Fortunately I found nothing horrible. If they are still there, I have left a tasty meal for them for tonight supper. They wont bother me after that. No way, for any reason would I have driven that car last night, I dread to think what might have happened if I had seen one when I was driving.

Had I managed to move any of the sheep, I was asked on the forum this morning. This morning I actually penned in four of last years Ram Lambs. They are not so much a problem as the Ewes, as they wander all over the farm, as a group, in places that I would be pleased for them to graze off. But I had them, and it would be good practice.

I tied the trailer to the gates of the pen I had made, and started to load the Ram Lambs in to it. They did not want to be captured, one tried to butt me, I managed to get hold of his horn before he got me. I had managed to get three of them into the trailer. Then the trouble started. Hey diddle diddle, the cat played fiddle, the cow. Well, who ever penned that nursery rhyme, should have seen this sheep jump, if they had, the nursery rhyme would have been a little different, for this Ram Lamb cleared the trailer with the extra side panels on, with inches to spare, and away he went, as fast as his legs would carry him. I had somehow managed to put the trailer back up. That was a mistake, for the last one to be loaded, saw the light under the trailer and whilst nearly knocking me over, squeezed its self under the trailer to freedom, and was gone like a flash. I suppose getting two Sheep to where I wanted them was something, however small, that’s of course if they are still up there. All this experience that I am getting, could help make me a Shepperd.

Categories
webcams

The Ewe that got savaged by a dog last year…

The Ewe that got savaged by a dog last year, had twin lambs last night. She had been named as Cookie. I tried to go up to her and the lambs to check the three of them out, but she ran away into the woods, with the lambs in tow, finding it difficult to keep up with her. I was surprised that she had ran away, only two days ago she came very close to me, when I was looking over another Ewe that had lambed. It was good to see her with the lambs after her ordeal of last year.

For the past two days I have been feeding the Ewes in the pen that I had made, so that I could catch them, and take them to the field that I had prepared. Both the Ewes and the lambs, were happy to go into the pen for the feed, so I decided today I would try to catch them. As long as I could get close to the gate when they went into the pen, I should be able to close the gate behind them.

There were most of the sheep in the field. I walked up to the pen, feed bag in hand, shaking the feed inside of it, and calling out for them to notice me. It did not take them long to respond. Dolly who I did not expect to see, was the first to follow me to the pen, her two lambs following behind her. More Ewes and lambs joined in. By the time I had got to the pen, there were to many sheep to go into it. That did not matter, as long as I could catch eight or so, it would be a good start.

I put the feed into the trough, within seconds the pen was full, and they had not taken any notice of me being there. I quickly closed the gate behind ten Ewes, some with lambs and others waiting to lamb. I couldn’t believe how easy it was.

I tied the gate, and made my way back to the farm yard to collect the quad and trailer. It took about twenty minutes to prepare the trailer, putting the high sides on to stop the Ewes from jumping out. I hadn’t prepared it before, as I was not sure if I would catch the Ewes. I suppose it took half an hour to get back to the pen. I reversed it up to the pen and opened the gates, tying them to the trailer, with the tailboard of the trailer down, so that they could not make their escape under the trailer. All was now safe to load the Ewes and lambs.

I looked and I had to look again, just in case I had missed them, for except one, all the lambs were missing. My heart went into my stomach. They had somehow got out of the pen. They were there before I had left to collect the quad and trailer. I could hear them behind the hedge, bleating for their mothers, and the mothers were calling back to them. I then realised that a gap in one of the gates was to large, and that was how they had made their escape. I must admit, I thought that even with a gap in the gate they would have stayed with their mothers. Oh no, on the contrary, when I went on the other side of the hedge, to try to get them back into the pen, instead of going back in, they hot footed away, with another Ewe and her lambs.

I will have to close the gap and try again tomorrow, but I did profess of not being a sheep farmer.