Midsummer mudness

Here on the farm we're approaching Midsummer - up to our ears in mud, cold, wet and with only dim and distant memories of any sighting of the sun.  Personally I blame the sheep (mind you it's always easy to blame them), we had one day of warm weather and they all started complaining about the heat.  The shearer was called and spent the afternoon giving a short back and sides to 61 ewes and the ram, and I think that was the last warm day we had... 




It's always a noisy affair as the lambs try to recognise their mothers without their winter coats, but they seem to have worked it our now and all is peaceful out in the sheep field.






The same week was also one of national celebrations - the Queen's Jubilee apparently.  As Wick Court has strong links with the first Queen Elizabeth it seemed only fitting to celebrate with the second.  Several old bed sheets were cut into triangles and printed red, white and blue to make yards and yards of patriotic bunting then strung around the courtyard for a special "street" party where the queen herself popped in to help serve tea...... 




And down in the orchard there is another queen -  a hive of honeybees has been re-located  to Wick Court and when the sun does appear the flowers and trees are literally buzzing with them.  There are regular visits from beekeepers looking more like spacemen in their strange protective suits. 




The horses keep a wary eye on the hives from a safe distance.  Word is that there are good honey stores and the Queen seems to be keeping her colony well-focussed.  As well as the honey of course the bees should help with all the fruit and vegetable production as they go about their vital task of pollinating in the orchards and kitchen gardens.





I have heard that the male bees - the drones - have only one job in life - to mate with the queen. I was interested to find out more about their lifestyle as it sounded as if we have a lot in common.  However I discovered that drones which mate successfully automatically die and any others are evicted from the hive at the end of each summer, maybe not so like that of a boar after all.....

Dudley

A Pig in a Poke

New Year, New Blog and lots of News! Dudley here, Duroc boar, gentleman pig, mating partner for six sows and father of many. It's a responsible and busy job, but all in all not a bad one.






Well it was pigs that hit the headlines this week...it all started when the builders stripped the tiles off the barn roof to mend the timbers.








Unfortunately we had a rainstorm overnight and water got into the barn and tripped off the electrics which would have been fine but it meant the electric fence went off. Those of us fast asleep in our sheds and pig sties knew no different but out in the pig paddock Valentine noticed the fence was no longer clicking and decided to walk over it and go for a stroll....unfortunately she strolled down the bank and ended up in the moat! She was so far in behind a wall of brambles it took the farmers quite a while to find her once she had missed her breakfast.



When she was found she was up to her shoulders in mud and completely stuck. It took a lot of pushing and pulling and wallowing around in mud and icy water to get some feed sacks under her rather large belly (she is in pig) and then she was hoisted out, not very elegantly, with the tractor.





However once back on dry land, washed off with warm water and a few hundred thorns removed, she went straight to bed and seems to have had no ill effects from her adventure, she's one tough lady that one.


















I have to say I'm glad to back in my own shed - I moved out for a while over Christmas - because in the corner where I was quartered there are the noisiest pigs I have ever met. Nora and Dora, daughters of Doris and BJ, the boar before me. Every time anyone walks anywhere near their pen they start screaming, whether it's feeding time or not.




Next door they now have my last 7 boar piglets and they've now started to join in too - trying to do anything in that part of the yard is like being tortured. Nora and Dora are next on the mating list - I'm dreading it, do you think they make ear defenders for pigs?








Things are a bit quieter in the back yard, the first group of ewes have come in and there are two who have given birth, one set of triplets and one very big singleton who needed a helping hand to make it into the world. All are now doing well.








There are plenty of otherewes waiting in the maternity wing so I think it'll be a lot noisier around that side of the farm before long.








Back in the front yard I have some new neighbours - and they are delightfully quiet, well-mannered and no trouble at all. Two Gloucester cows, distantly related to those historically linked with the farm, have moved in. One, Adel, is in calf but Amberley is barren so just here for the company. Apparently the plan is to build up a small breeding herd, back in their rightful home. They are very lovely animals, mahogany brown with the white stripe and of course they still have their beautiful horns - good job they are so nice natured.



After a few frosty mornings, today we woke up to snow. The children have been kept very busy feeding and making sure everything has access to water. The sheep and chickens were very ready for their breakfasts when they woke up to find everything frozen in the fields.

















And the strangest new creature has appeared in the vegetable garden - it's green and long and breathes steam out of one end , I've heard the children calling it "the dragon". This creature is fed after every meal served in the house, any scraps, peelings or uneaten food is fed to the monster and then the children line up and spin the handle. Apparently this magical beast is turning waste food into compost for the garden. Whatever next....spinning straw into gold?

Stay warm
Dudley