Tuesday 24 April 2007

Global Warming???

What's all this about global warming?
We have had nothing but rain for the past week there is nothing warm about that I can tell you.
The poor calves look bedraggled out in the rain, we have kept the youngest ones in with their mums.
We have also kept the sheep and lambs in doors on a night just to be on the safe side, as we have had foxes sniffing around not to mention again the cold rain.
It's good to watch any young animal thrive in the dry, my husband always says "better a dry back than a full belly" there is nothing worse than calves suffering from pneumonia, scours and tummy upsets because of a wet back.
The fields are starting to look greener even though they are still pretty wet, cows can make a bit of a mess when they walk through peaty ground, not that it is their fault.
I cannot believe just how green everything looks after the rain has died down, our garden has just burst out into colour over the past week or so, nature is a wonderful thing.

We will be saying goodbye to some of the young heifers and bullocks soon as market day will soon be upon us.
It is a hard time for me in particular as I get a little to attached to the young ones during the winter months.
They all have a name and all have their own likes and dislikes.
Some like to be scratched under the chin or along their backs, others like their tummy scratched or just brushed all over.
I would like to think the heifers would go to good homes for breeding, we all know what will happen to the bullocks that is guaranteed they will go into the food chain at some point poor things.
But at least we can say we gave them a good start in life and a good quality of life while they were here.
After all they are doing us as humans a great service the ultimate sacrifice you might say.

The birds are singing late into the evening, it will not be long before we hear the Cuckoo calling from the Creag Mhor Mountain, there are usually two or three of them about at this time of year.
It's quite on the mountain this year as our neighbour took all of the sheep off the hill, we do not hear lambs calling anymore except our own.
A person can do a power of thinking when you are cleaning out byres and such, I remember when I went sheep gathering with friends in Newtonmore a few years ago.
Well that's another story best left until later.
Maybe I will post that one next???



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