A sleepy Sunday on the farm

After the usual morning routine of getting the hens up and checking on the sheep, Chris and I were invited to one of Phil’s famous late morning brunches. We supplied the eggs, Phil added sausages, bacon, haggis, baked beans, fried potatoes, toast and lots of tea and coffee. We were all so full that none of us wanted to move. The plans to stake the apple trees and move some sheep were forgotten.

Eventually, I left the guys to it and went to look at the Snowdrops, and Dot Dot. It was good to move about a bit after such a hearty breakfast.

I love having the farm to myself - from the orchard I walked down the lane, then into the small orchard, and around the pond. By this time, there was movement in the house. Phil announced we would, in fact, move the sheep.

There’s always an influx of visitors to the farm - other farmers, friends, helpers. While a few of those dropped in, Phil and I separated the ewes with lambs from the others in the shed, and moved them to the paddock. From there we moved everyone into the trailer.

I’m still learning about herding sheep. I’ve found that a gentle approach works best and lo and behold a group of them trotted round the corner and straight into the trailer. Eager to keep them there, I moved closer. Then they all ran out of the trailer. I thought I was making things worse but they all came over to sniff my hand in case I had corn. There seem to be some benefits of having befriended the ewes when they were pregnant. Phil brought up the rear and we got the stragglers and the first group into the trailer quite easily.

We drove them to one of Phil’s fields. A small group was already there in the corner. Phil wanted us to move everyone into the next field. The sheep followed me. I was delighted. Ewes and lambs nudging at the back of my legs or touching my hand.

In the next field were ewes with older lambs. They crowded round the gate. I didn’t want to open it as I had visions of them all pouring into the wrong field. Phil shooed them away. All the new contingent headed through the gate apart from two ewes who peeled off to the right. I attempted to bring them back but they were off, joining up with the others in the far corner.

Then we moved everyone else into a third field. Our job there was done.

Afterwards, we rattled along the lanes checking on 130 other sheep. 30 should have been in one field but there was no sign of them. 100 others were located, hiding out of sight from the road, in a dip. I’ve learned that they tend to do this. Some mornings I’ve gone into an apparently empty paddock, only to discover the sheep squeezing together in a small space.

We didn’t find the 30 so Phil requisitioned the quad bike to go in search of them the following day.