Aside from the dramas of argumentative cows yesterday, we should also mention that it was a gloriously warm and sunny day with temperatures topping the mid-teens. EVERYHING was outside for most of the day and we could see our various mud patches drying before our very eyes. Today was less sunny and less warm but still a beautiful day to be outside, as Buzzard is demonstrating so delightfully here on the path running between the garden and the top 3-acre field. This is in fact his absolute favourite place to be at the moment, and why? Because he has blissful, uninterrupted views of the lambs and kids as they run, hop, skip, leap and bleat up and down the goat path and all over the grass! Buzzard ADORES young animals be they ducklings, chicks, lambs, kids… and literally spends hours looking at them. We have a fabulous video and several photos of him in with the pygmy goats on our smallholding in Cornwall. He used to lie in their stall and ‘will’ them to come up to him – we have never seen him so still and quiet!! Considering he is a gundog, it is quite remarkable behaviour - and one we love!! Goodness knows what he will do when he meets a calf for the first time.
For us, this mixing and mingling of different species is a fabulous part of running a smallholding. Care is needed though: we wouldn’t dream of opening the gate and allowing Buzzard to mingle with the sheep and goats unsupervised. For a start, the adults would probably not take too kindly to his presence and we could not be absolutely sure he would not harm the youngsters, even without meaning too. There was one occasion when he was in the poultry area back at Lamorna when his duckling-watching went a step too far. One minute he was laying down looking at them and the next, one was in his mouth!! It was totally unharmed, albeit covered in dog slobber and no doubt with a somewhat increased heart rate and Buzzard bless him, happily gave it up when we asked him. Nonetheless, not an ideal way for a duckling to spend its afternoon!!!!