Wednesday 4 January 2017

Seeing to the sheep......

Lester and Helper John,
on a mission to worm the sheep which should have been done a while ago,
but time has a habit of galloping by so it hasn't.
 
In the past I have been The Helper,
but Lester worries about the sheep barging in to me, bless him.
I don't think he has ever quite got over the time when a sheep took a flying leap,
and landed straight in the middle of my chest,
knocking me to the ground like a felled oak.
It was a miracle I did not break anything,
although I lay on the ground for ages waiting for my body to tell me what had got damaged.
Not to worry,
just a touch of concussion for a day or two,
then all was well.
 
So Helper John was going to do the task of filling the syringe with wormer today,
while I did a photo shoot.
I was supposed to be making cheese,
but I have learnt that when the recipe says 'leave for thirty minutes',
that that can be stretched to longer if necessary,
so each cheese I make does not have the same timings applied,
because I am always doing other things at the same time as making the cheese,
therefore each cheese wheel does not taste the same.
Artisan cheese, that's what I make.
Anyway, the cheese was in its 'waiting' stage in its pot in the kitchen,
giving me time to be outside for a while.
 

...... and instructions on how to measure the dosages....
 

... and all set to go...
 

 
Jakey Boy, our ram, was first because he was the biggest,
Lester sat him back on his haunches
which relaxed him,
Helper John handed the filled syringe over,
and apart from a little dribble of escaped wormer,
all went down into the tummy of Jakey.
He did not appreciate the manhandling though.
He did not like his dignity being away out of the window.
 

While I was waiting I had an opportunity to have a close look at the girls.
All have put on weight, so lambs due in the next few weeks,
but their coats are carrying a lovely range of colours,
which made me feel a pang of longing to get spinning again,
an activity I have pushed to one side of late,
mostly because the Loom Project has been put on hold because of the Market Garden Project,
(funds are likely to get quite stretched this year)
Looking at those fleeces which will be coming my way in June,
I must admit to getting the spinning and weaving hunger on me again.
But I shall try to squash it because there are plant pots and seed trays to buy, not to mention a raft load of seeds to get, and then there is the subject of the poly tunnel and the shed for the shop.
 
At this point I nipped back to the kitchen to stir the curds in the cheese pot.
They were slightly matted, but not to worry, they will do.
 
 
 
All done, and saying thank you to John for helping out.
Such friends are priceless.
 
Trying to avoid looking at the Internet shop which carries Looms,
I must now go and do something somewhere else.
 
Saying bye for now,
 
Vx
 

 

12 comments:

local alien said...

Love your laid back attitude. big sheep make for lots of bruises? Lucky you have an understanding husband. Hope you are able to do some spinning and weaving soon but sounds as though you're going to be very busy. A farm woman's work is never done!

Vera said...

LOCAL ALIEN, all of our sheep are now Jacobs, which is just the right size for a small farm. You are right about a 'farm woman's work is never done', but it does keep me young!

John Going Gently said...

Happy new year dearheart x

Mama Pea said...

Good job done on what looked to be a foggy/misty day. And I'd gladly sample any of your artisan cheeses any day.

We never lack for what to do on any particular day, do we? Sometimes there are just too darn many choices . . . and sometimes we have to do the ones that make us feel good and keep us goin'!

Good gracious, did that sheep really give you a concussion? Sure hope you were at least on soft soil when you were flattened!

Cro Magnon said...

Many years ago at my people's house in Shropshire, we had a paddock that was doing nothing. My mother thought of putting a few Sheep on it, but was soon dissuaded by all the dipping, drenching, etc. Not easy is it!

Vera said...

JOHN, bless you, and wishing you all the best for this new year as well.

MAMA PEA, it was quite misty again, and cold. You are right, though, about having too many choices of things to do. Sometimes my head gets into such a spin about what to do next that I end up surfing on the Internet and watching You Tube vids instead of utilizing my time in a more constructive way! As for the concussion....the ground was quite hard, and my head hit the ground first before the rest of me did!

CRO MAGNON, we don't find keeping sheep too much hard work, especially now we have got the flock numbers down. Not sure if I would keep sheep if I was on my own though!

Kerry said...

What a scary experience, having a sheep land on you like that, thankfully with no injuries. The camera is definitely safer.

Vera said...

KERRY: I think the same thing, that taking photos is better than getting involved!

DUTA said...

"A friend in need is a friend indeed". Anyway, judging by your plans for the future , you might need a helper-helper.
The pictures are very good!

Vera said...

DUTA; you are right about needing help this year, but will try not to rely on friends to provide it in case we wear them out!

Diane said...

Glad you had help this year, taking a weighty animal full in the chest is no fun! Bet that cheese is tasty. We have out first lambs next door, they have been out in the paddock for the last few days. So cute. Take care Diane

Vera said...

DIANE, our lambs seem to be a bit late in arriving this year, but we did have a very long summer, so perhaps this made the hormones of the sheep go askew!