Our promised snow did not materialise: we had about three and a half flakes and the rest was rain, sleet, hail and wind!! We have been left with a very soggy Cow Pad (some standing water filling hoof-prints: not good) and damp patches inside some of the field shelters where the wind and rain has been getting in from the north. BUT Parsley (pictured) and the rest are still happy to stand and munch hay - it takes more than a few hailstones and muddy hoofprints to put them off!!! The animals probably mind all this far less than we do: our concerns centre around worrying about mud and wasting straw that has to be chucked cos it's clean but damp. The sheep and alpacas did escape to their shelter for some of the day: it was lovely seeing all 15 animals tucked in there. The cows seemed happy to wander in and out of theirs and of course the goats and poultry are inside anyway.
We will see what tomorrow brings – we are meant to be far less damp but it remains to be seen how soggy the land is and how soggy it will remain. We DEFINITELY need more woodchip for the Cow Pad for sure!!