Sorry I have not had much time for the blog lately. No5 is keeping us all busy. Last week was The Party. Two weeks of frantic cooking, cleaning, painting, repairing and general mayhem in preparation for her baptism. One stott, one pig and a large salmon all played their part as well. The food was magnificent and enjoyed by all, with enough leftovers for a food parcel for grandparents on their return South. All our friends and family attended and it was great to see them.
The weather up here has been extreme with high winds, high temperatures and massive rainfall, sometimes all at once. I have never seen this farm so wet, even the slopes are awash with water. We winter cattle outside so we have been very busy moving feeders to avoid poaching and soil damage. Frost must come soon, please?
We still have not received our compensation for FM from the Scottish government. However we have our SFP, so we should be grateful for that. We have cut our sheep numbers, a decision that has proved to be very wise as our buyer has cut the price yet again. We are witnessing the end of the sheep industry due to short-sighted pricing by the supermarkets suppliers.
The long winter period of maintenance, and renewal is underway. The problem with that is that I cannot find half the tools. No3 [son] is proving to be excellent natural mechanic and has started welding very well at 11. He says it is easy. I am going to have to start buying him his own stuff so he will stop borrowing and hiding mine [he does not trust me with the good stuff].
I am hoping to get back to the blog a bit more now. It all depends how well No5 sleeps. She is now growing very well and 75% of the British female population will end up shorter than her, she is going to be a big girl!