Despite my recent amateur efforts at calculating a calving date, Nellie decided to hold on for just a few days more – probably just so she could laugh at me checking on her every few hours. As luck would have it, she held on until I had just left for a business trip so I didn’t witness …
Surprisingly, today marks the 4th anniversary of the move to our smallholding in the North Pennines. This is hard to believe partly because it’s just 4 years since we left the suburban semi-detached house but also because it feels longer than 4 years given that so much has happened in that time. From having 3 chickens in our …
After all the excitement with litters of pigs over the last few months, it’s now time to think about the cattle and get ready for calving again. The last time they calved we missed the actual event but were on hand within an hour or two to check on both mother and new-born calf. Our calculations for …
It always feels odd to refer to our cattle as a “herd” particularly as we only have 2 cows with their 2 calves from last winter. However that is the proper collective noun and, according to the official letter, we were to arrange for a new herd TB check which had to be completed before …
The last couple of months have seen a few changes that have been a bit of a distraction from the blog updates but now it’s time for a fresh start with more regular postings. Hopefully now we’re finished with the Christmas and New Year period things can return to something like normal – whatever that …
Last Sunday afternoon the 2 cows (Daisy and Nellie) got a pleasant surprise when the bull (Glen) arrived. He is a fine looking beast but still remarkably placid and easily managed – just make sure you don’t get between him and his chosen girlfriend! He very soon chose Nellie as his ‘best girl’ and stuck …
It’s a little surprising to me but I’ve found that the last blog update was last posted way back at the start of June and we’re already well on the way into July! There are a number of reasons for the infrequent blog updates of late but mostly it’s been because there has been so …
Even now I occasionally find myself thinking of our smallholding as the “new” place but it’s been 3 years since we moved here so it’s time for the third anniversary blog update. The various blog updates certainly make for some interesting reading and it’s at times like this when this blog really proves its worth. …
Now that the weather seems to have settled down a little I can safely think about doing a “Spring” update here. We’ve had a bit of everything from the weather over the last week or so – snow, hail, rain, sun, cloud – but the forecast for the week ahead seems to show a more …
After what seemed like many weeks of waiting with far too much time spent examining the back-end of a cow, our second Dexter calf arrived on Thursday morning (18 Feb). On reflection we were a little over zealous in trying spot signs of the imminent arrival especially as the first calf arrived with relatively little …