Soil Association Apprentice

We are digging docks at Wallace field. The only way to be sure you get rid of them is to dig out the whole root. The tiniest scrap and a new plant will spring from it. Thankfully Riverfield is quite soft after the recent rain so the new docks that have come up after the recent cut for hay are pretty easy to get out. We manage a trailer full before moving on to another task. Its hard work but not so bad with the sun shinning.

The hen house needs cleaning at Willowford. The hens are very vocal about the intrusion but they will be happy when it is done. A fair few spiders have left some very old webs too which are catching nothing but dust, so I sweep these out too, nice clean house.

Number 8 has got stuck on the wrong side of the wall. Hadrians wall runs right through Willowford and one of the pets has got onto the public path side and is stuck. I have come to investigate the plaintive baaing and find Number 8 on wall (no respect for history these sheep) looking over the edge with trepidation. I try and encourage him to jump down, after all he got up there somehow, but he isn’t keen. Eventually I climb up myself and we jump down together, he just needed a little push. He follows me around in gratitude, sneaking into the yard, where he is not allowed and discovering all the lovely tasty potted plants on display, yum yum! I have to shoo him out and shut the gate which amuses the B+B guests no end. Glad to entertain.

When I arrive at Wallace field there is a lamb in trouble. It has injured itself somehow and it scratching itself on the wire at the edge of the field, I suspect it also has a fly infestation. This is a problem as I am on my own today and don’t even have a dog with me. This lamb needs to be seen to. I spend quite a lot of time making a path from the field to the pens to herd them in, now it’s just a case of getting them to go where I want them. No easy task. When there is a few people its relatively easy to get the sheep headed in the right direction, but on your own… after running around after them for some time, yelling increasingly rude words I become somewhat dejected and take a rest in the middle of the field. Time to consult. Liam at Willowford suggests using the quad bike, and beeping the horn a lot. After some great effort this works and I manage to get them in the pens. Newly named ‘Trouble’ the lamb has some kind of sore on its back and this has indeed attracted flies. If you have never seen a Sheep that’s been struck by flies believe me there are few things quite so horrible. The poor thing wasn’t complaining either, if it happened to a person we would scream bloody murder. Anyhow, I sorted out the maggots and brought the lamb back to Houghton so we can get the vet to look at the sore on its back. She was looking much perkier by the weekend but its best to get it looked at just in case.

Its time for the lambs to be weaned at Houghton and Aglionby, this means separating them and taking the lambs to clean pasture, which hasn’t had sheep on this year. Obviously this is a fairly stressful time, although the lambs seem to take it better than the ewes, who spend several days vocally complaining about the situation. The lambs have gone to Wallace field and are enjoying being all together in a lush new grass field. They have also taken up a new hobby of escaping, much to everyone’s annoyance. The ewes are having the mother of all mothers meeting in the paddocks at Houghton. As the flock has been split for a little while now there is a lot of catching up to do, sheep are such sociable animals, and its obvious they are glad to be back together again. Every time I walk past they all come to the gate to glare at me, I assume to make their feelings known about my part in taking away the lambs, although they gave me enough bruises at the time to punish me. Soon enough they are happily munching away, before long it will be time to start the cycle again.

The greenhouse has got a little overgrown at Willowford, the squash and tomatoes have taken over and you can barely see out the other side. With a little vicious pruning we sort out the mess and discover a cucumber plant that has been beavering away and has made two giant cucumbers, good find.

Harriet the heifer has reached 30 months so has gone to the abattoir at Lockerbie this week. I’m sad to see her go but at least we can be safe in the knowledge that we have given her a great life and that she will be feeding people very well indeed, after all this is her purpose. Some time in the near future I’m to spend the day at the abattoir, I think it’s important to see the process through to its end, after all I enjoy looking after the animals and I enjoy the end product. I mustn’t shy away from it.

We have taken some of the boys from Wallace Field to Thacka Beck to do some conservation grazing for the wildlife trust. They are keen to get started and are soon lost in the dense grasses. This is an area with a lot of dog walkers and they are very interested in the new arrivals, Longhorns are a pretty impressive looking lot!