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1st: Starlings A not terribly great video of a few starlings from this morning, and showing a fraction of the numbers we have around at the moment. The noise this morning from Cadbury Wood was just fabulous. We don't see starlings all year round any more, these are all winter migrants and we just love having them. There must be rich pickings on our very sodden land just now! |
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2nd: Feeling grateful Jack has started a sketchpad journal - she is not a natural artist but the sentiment behind these drawings is very real!! And a lot of fun is being had in putting pencil to paper like this. |
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3rd: Colours against the grey Daylight is in short supply just now as most days are full of grey clouds, wind and rain - but just look at the colour of the willow here - it is positively glowing!!! |
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4th: The first snowdrops are starting to appear |
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5th: Sunshine Sunshine has been in very short supply these last few weeks but after days and days of mainly rain and wind, we are now forecast some dry - and with added sunshine as a bonus. What a difference it made to the morning rounds!! We moved the sheep and alpacas into Fruit Field from Goat, as they won't now need all the inside space Goat offers plus the grass is a wee bit longer here. It is just as wet underfoot, if not wetter, but with some minus nighttime temperatures forecast, we may get lucky and the land may dry up a bit. Here's hoping. |
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6th: Outdoor feeding Another bonus to the drier weather is being able to site the rhea feeder outside once more, as opposed to inside the field shelter. We think the rhea prefer it as they are not keen on 'enclosed' spaces and feel far more secure being out in the open - where they can run away!! It will also be better for the land as the shelter entrance was very very muddy. We also think a few rats has taken up residence due to the feed being inside the shelter all the time so they may now move on. The rhea were very happy about the new arrangement and all came up to feed at once. Meanwhile, over in Fruit Field, the sheep and alpacas were very appreciative of the addition of a new bale of hay in their feeder!! |
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7th: Frosty Our first frost of the new year!!! In places the land was crunchy, a complete joy after the squelch of the last few weeks |
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8th: More frost Another stunning day from start to finish - everything was out enjoying the crisp grass, water drinkers had to be de-iced and hay racks, once again, had to be topped up. We also fed a bit of hard feed to the sheep and alpacas now the temperature and the grass are much colder - the goats already get some twice a day, not that they didn't protest when they saw us head up to Fruit Field with a bucket that obviously 'wasn't' for them. |
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9th: Approval? Hegemone and Muckle deciding the new mud mats in their shelter are perhaps acceptable. Since installing them there hasn't been the opportunity to test them out 'in anger' as it were, i.e. when it is raining and the land underneath gets wet, but we hope they will pass the test them too!! |
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10th: Sleepy hollow We have been cold and frosty for a few days now. It's always fascinating to see how the land reacts when we have a frost. Here at the bottom of Oak field, the effects are often quite mild. It's a bit of a sleepy hollow down here and when it's cold, this is often the place the animals retreat to to be warm. The cows used to sleep here when we had them, and the rhea sometimes do too. This morning, this part of the fields was way less white than nearer the top! If we ever rewild this field, it would be fascinating to see how it grew!! |
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12th: Finished - at last!! Due to a certain person spending eight days away in his 'hotel-with-benefits' (Exeter Hospital!!!), the rug making had taken a bit of back seat. Finally today though, this graduated rug saw the final knots being tied so it can now be posted off to its new owner. What was amazing was how within an hour of posting it on Facebook, we had an order for another one!! Wow!! |
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13th: Poor mice Not sure what was hiding in the grass here by the allotment fence but hopefully it beat a hasty retreat - and it's not as though digging along a fence line is a great activity anyway - for the fencing that is, the dogs loved it!! |
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14th: Looking west morning and evening - stunning!! |
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15th: And then there were five Just before the New Year, we had decided to cut back our poultry again and just keep a few to provide eggs for the dogs and us occasionally. We have been selling eggs via Lynda and they had proved popular, but we never really covered our costs and as we now eat less and less eggs, it felt a bit daft keeping more than we actually need. It's all part of the plan to make sure we adapt the smallholding to our current needs and wants which, since David's HA no 3, is now more prescient!! It's lovely having just five - need to name them now!! |
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16th: We do love a good recall |
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17th: Evening feeding - just magical |
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18th: Juniper and Peppercorn These two (pure Gotlands) are a fine looking pair of sheep, sadly, as we review our animal numbers and workload, they may be two that we look to move on!!!! |
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19th: Stunning and beautiful frosty day!! Drinkers had to be broken this morning but what a fabulous round with the dogs!! A rare dry day!! |
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20th: AN ACT OF HUMAN KINDNESS This isn’t just a teabag – it may not even be a particularly special teabag (although David tells me it is) – but what it represents is something monumentally huge for us just now!! It represents the kindness and the dedication of a particular nurse on the Cardiology ward of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where, for nine days earlier this month (3rd - 11th), David was an unexpected ‘guest’!! His third (and possibly worst to date) heart attack began whilst out on a run (!!!), some 13 years after his last one – safe to say it caught us both by surprise but once he was in the hands of the professionals (beginning with a delightful paramedic crew, one of whom - in the midst of taking David’s vitals - looked up and said ‘ooh, you have alpacas’) we both heaved huge sighs of relief. And right up until the day he was discharged, David (and myself) felt nothing but admiration and gratitude for the care he received and the professionalism shown. ‘Everyone’ nowadays has an opinion of the NHS: good, bad, indifferent, hostile, friendly, anger-driven, intensely grateful, informed, uninformed. Ours had erred towards a ‘mainly doing ok in difficult circumstances’ opinion but really and truly, amid the lack of money; the sometimes gross failures by ‘a few’; high staff sickness; the political machinations caused by Brexit and immigration policies… the majority of individuals working within our National Health Advice are undoubtedly doing the very best they can. And none more so than Alison who had obviously overheard David ask, each time he was offered it, for ‘weak’ tea: the sort where the teabag just ‘waves’ at the hot water. One morning she came over with a box. ‘Would you like a Lemon and Ginger?’ she asked. Hooked up to a plethora of wires; having to ask to go to the loo; missing home, the dogs, me (hopefully); sleep deprived and at times a little scared, David felt as though he had been offered the cure to life itself. And this from a nurse who was actually at the end of her night shift, having had to deal with a very disturbed and mentally ill patient whose nighttime wanderings and often incoherent rantings, had been emotionally very challenging (and also quite distressing for other staff and patients). His stay in hospital was an experience of contrasts: in response to the difficulties caused by the above patient he was asked, on several occasions, did he feel safe? And then a mere hour or so later, he would find himself laughing with a nurse about something entirely trivial. One minute all would be calm and sleepy and then a machine would beep and within seconds, staff would appear from all directions, curtains would be drawn and a perfectly coordinated team would, between them, resolve whatever had just gone wrong. Hospital wards are funny places. People who have no real business being together, are, in a hospital situation, thrown together. And emotions will run high: patients will be scared, confused, vulnerable, angry, anxious. Some will have quite severe mental health issues. Some will have angry and distressed relatives. On both the Acute Medical Unit and the Cardiology Ward, David witnessed staff being physically assaulted and shouted at. We read an article recently where a doctor stated that around 40% of hospital patients have mental health problems. And it’s hard when patients need to be on psychiatric wards but have other medical issues that need resolving first and so spend time on wards where their emotional needs cannot be met as well as they should. And yet, in the midst of all this turmoil, that one teabag made such a difference. So, to all the ‘Alisons’ out there – thank you, thank you, thank you!! Saving David’s life was one thing, being acknowledged as an individual and shown nothing but kindness and understanding was quite another. If you know anyone that works in the NHS, please do share this post with them if you feel they would enjoy reading it – there must be many ‘Alisons’ out there who will hopefully recognise themselves here and we’d both love them to know how much they are appreciated!! |
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21st: Will be all be staying? Part of our downsizing thoughts of course have to include the goats - having only had these guys a year now, it's going to be a tough call.. no decisions yet... |
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22nd: Great news Sparrow is in whelp, due on 23rd Feb. The vet saw LOTS!!! We are so excited!! |
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24th: And will the rhea be part of our downsizing plans?? |
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26th: Puppy Play Date Daisy's pups came over today for a play - the ground was very wet but the sun shone and when they had all had enough, they curled up in a sunny corner and went to sleep.....awwww... |
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27th: Gardening Lots of border tidying today and spreading liberal amounts of woodchip - and next week sees the start of our decking being replaced... not before time... |
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28th: Rescuing a few more chickens Once again we have had the chance to rescue a few chickens at the end of their 'commercial' egg laying days. In total we collected over 130 and all bar three (that are staying here) will be going to new homes all over the South West!! The dogs are going to be eating a lot of eggs over the next few days!!! |
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29th: What a difference |
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30th: A spell of dry We've been having a welcome spell of dry weather, fabulous for the decking being done and also of course we get some fabulous sunsets. |