Category: Crofting Life

The highs, lows and laughs of crofting

Crofting Life

The Reluctant Five

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Yes, not the Famous Five, for these five are not famous, nor show any potential of upsetting the original Famous Five (but I fear if I make too much comparision I will have the copyright police sending me some fantastic and highly legalissed e-mails. Which I don’t want, obviously.

The Reluctant Five are not new on the croft, they joined us back in September. Five ryeland ewe lambs from nearby. Since before having ever owned a single shoop (for that is surely the legitimate, grammatically correct form for a single sheep), a work colleague had mentioned to be that I must get ryelands. Add on a decade and I do finally have ryelands.

Getting these sheep came after a spell of the classic of going from ‘we love sheep’, to ‘who bought them things in?’, usually said in the tail end of winter when the grass isn’t growing, the fields are covered in snow, and you have no idea when spring is going to arrive. So the last lot were sold, and it was planned to go about a year sheepless. Uh huh, it lasted only a few months. And we have sheep again.

Now these girls have settled in well. One has even been nicknamed Little Miss Crumpet (being a bit of an air head and got herself stuck twice). However, the recent snow fall meant I needed to quickly change which field they were in. And this meant walking them along the road, past five neighbouring houses, past a field that they couldn’t resist, and various new things that they just weren’t sure about. Which is fair enough, so we went slowly, very slowly, with me walking and talking behind them so they knew I was there (with their wool over their eyes, they can’t see much and voice is needed; and I did not pull the wool over their eyes, it is their natural placement of wool). Which meant, if anyone heard me, I had to talk like a commentator in a sing-song voice for about half an hour as the Reluctant Five and I meandered up the track. Sniffing (them, not me), checking out the new smells as they went very hesitantly. And what do you talk to your sheep about as you get them to move? Good question, I just hope no one over heard me, that matter is between me and them.

The Reluctant Five are now up closer to the house, have been guided to where the hay and nuts can be found, the wool lifted from around their eyes so they can hopefully see just that little bit better. They seemed content with their adventure and what probably feels like they have just reached the north pole by the most unadventurous sheep know to go on an expedition.

Crofting Life, Sheep

Sheepless Nights

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We are sheepless. Not a Sean Connery version of sleepless, but no sheep. Deliberately, as in, they have headed off to pastures new. The latest flock graced us for six months, ensuring the grass was kept down at the end of last autumn and putting important nutrients back to the soil with their poop.

But their time had come; seasons come, seasons go, and it was the time for them to head on. So no more counting sheep each day. Nighttime counting is really hard due to having to count eyes (reflecting spooky looks back from the light of a head torch), I really don’t recommend counting your sheep at night. I preferred daytime checks. And even then, they were renown for making sure one was always hidden during the daily count. Their cute faces who learned to come to the whistle, their different personalities, their propensity to find any slight gap in fences and abscond. The hay field now will rest, the grass is starting to come to life and it will soon be putting its energy into its gorgeous grass.

And while the sheep have gone, I still have multiple fleeces from previous years to sort, wash, and prep. But in the meantime, the veg patch seeds are being planted.

Crofting Life

Steak Mince and Sausages

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At the moment, we do have a small amount (six packs) of steak mince and two flavours of sausages available (only five packs of each!). Great for all kinds of meals/dishes. If you would like to order, just send me a message and I can get it sorted for collection.

And, we will soon have the full range of beef back on our Shop page. So keep an eye out here for news updates. If anyone is wanting rib roasts, please get in touch soon as we will need to let the butchers know. This is our yearly beef from our micro herd so if you have any special occasions, including those that happen near the end of the year, now is the time to request those rib roasts to ensure no disappointment. All other usual cuts are planned.

But in the meantime, if you fancy some steak mince or sausages, we can get them delivered locally.

Crofting Life, Livestock

A new day dawning

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A new day, a new dawn, and another attempt at starting the tractor. 

The tractor doesn’t like the cold. Not the whole tractor, just the battery apparently. And while it is able to cough its way to life on most other occasions, it’s a pitiful, sometimes nonexistent, attempt when it’s baltic. 

A good hour clearing snow had meant I had warmed up. And it didn’t feel quite so cold. A better sign of the battery being in less of a grump? An illusion really, as I eyed up the tractor now covered in a layer of snow. The gentle fall of snowflakes from overnight had had some merry dance and were now strewn everywhere. Yes, even inside the hay shed. Och well, the charger which had been hooked up like a ventilator giving the tractor some intensive care was showing green. A wee blast with a hairdryer cleared away the snow and the suspense grew. Now was the dreaded ‘turn-the-key-and-hope-for-the-best’ moment (and if the attempt was unsuccessful, the backbreaking attempt of rolling a bale in was now about ten times worse with a thick layer of snow to battle, and they needed a bale of hay as well). 

The wee fairy light button (what ever that warm up indicator is supposed to be but it looks like a string of fairy lights) finally turned off to signify it was ready. And instantly it burst into life. No half attempt, or questioning today. No sign that it had been refusing it move yesterday. 

So with the noise, the cows knew what was coming. The straw and hay was delivered and the tractor was parked back up with the audience of contented cows. And sheep. I got out of the tractor to find five sheep looking at me. They had polished off their remaining hay while I had sorted the cows. At least their hay can be done on foot.

Crofting Life

Clockwork

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Yes, as soon as Tim headed off for the train, the temperature plummeted. A brief sprinkling of snow had graced the grass the night before. Not in any winter wonderland, but in a hastily cast array. But at least at that time the temperature wasn’t in baltic figures.

Monday took to the challenge and made sure it was nippy. The clear skies and sunshine gave a forgiving bow to the temperature. Everything outside (livestock and locomotives) all seemed fine. Until today. Tuesday decided to one up Monday and the temperature overnight was down to -7 degrees.

The cows had been moved to their winter housing at the end of last week and have been quite content missing out on the snow. The new batch of sheep that I bought a few months ago who refuse all bucket training, were finally glancing towards their hayfeeder. Although, it was only a couple of blackies who decided to investigate, the rest remain aloof at the hay concept. Our Icelandics never went five paces away from it, so hopefully the rest will soon get the gist.

So today’s issue was not with livestock, but locomotives. The tractor in fact. Having seen the forecast for more snow and high winds, I wanted to get more straw bedding down for the cows (no, they don’t need it but I like to make sure they have it when required). The tractor refused to start. It let out an unenthusiastic humph and refused to play ball. It prefers warmer weather. I understand, don’t we all? It can deal with chilly weather, but not the down right cold. And last night it was.

So, I’ll try again tomorrow. If all else fails, I’ll be manually rolling it in. I hope the cows appreciate the effort.