The Accidental Smallholder

Right, it's clouded up so off to vaccinate lambs and Clik sheep.

Unusual job for someone!

In Bridgend

We had a good lambing this year - nineteen lambs scanned, nineteen good strong healthy lambs born. Plenty grass, all looking great. Admiring them in the field. Came home last night to find a fine ewe lamb flat out in the field. Called the vet but within an hour she was dead. Probably CCN. Could hear her mother calling in the field during the night.
I'll tell you, if you start to get smug, farming has a way of wiping the smile right off your face.😢

Next course - 18th August

My favourite view

Last course of 2019 is on 17th August! Places available.

Don't forget that the Scottish Smallholder Festival is on Saturday 28th September at Lanark Agricultural Centre www.ssgf.uk Now organised by Smallholding Scotland.

Date for your diary!

Well, that's shearing done for another year. Six bags of fleece almost ready to go to The Natural Fibre Company for processing. A few nicks but nothing serious - to be honest, another week might have seen a better rise, but I was worried about flies becasue it's been warm and damp.
Didn't quite go as planned though (when does it ever!!). Ten minutes before the sheare arrived, our bees swarmed, so the catcher (Dan) was suited up and getting them into a brood box. Thankfully, our shearer is a) a nice bloke and b) really interested in bees, so he didn't mind that things took a bit longer than usual.

Bloody fox took all our meat chicks last night. Eleven gone and one dead in the pen. System has worked firn for years. Back to the drawing board now.