A Different Route........

 

Everything is drying out, thank goodness,

and here is Bonny going out to the big field.

 

 

Normally Lester would be leading her down the path on the left,

but today he is heading towards the sheep paddock .......

 

..... and through the gate......

 



 

..... and now here is Lissie, ....

 

.......... coming through the paddock.....

 

.... and on through the paddock,

and through the fence which Lester cut open yesterday....

 

And the sheep already out in the field,

happily going through the gap in the fence at dawn by themselves,

rather than having to wait to be let out later on,

when Lester gets up.

 

 

The little lamb whose mum abandoned him,

he is standing by the fence,

waiting to see if there if Lester is going to give him another feed.

He is doing well,

and runs happily with the rest of the lambs.
I am glad that we resisted the temptation to make a pet out of him.
 

And Bonny investigates the new fence,

which is this fence......

 

Lester has made a new fence line because the temporary fence line on the right of this photo was about to collapse at any moment,

which would spell disaster if we happened not to be at home.

The thought of everyone running amok up and down the lane

was a constant worry when we were out.

The cows, probably Bonny, used to think it a fun thing to horn the wire,
making the whole fence line wobble alarmingly.

She thinks her horns are things to get into mischief with,
she has already done unto death the entrance gate to her pen,
and she likes to flip her hay up in the air,
just because she can.

 





 

 

 

 

September 2015

 

This is the old route to the field,

down the side path,

across the ditch,

struggle with opening a temporary gate,

which was only a tangle of wood and wire,

meanwhile holding on to the cow, or in this instance, a calf,

which would have been pulling hither and thither,

trying to munch on tasty grass,

often testing Lester's patience to the limit.

 

 

..... and a better view of the ditch and 'gate'.



 



 

And then there was the mad dash at the end of the day,

when the 'gate' would be opened,

and everyone would barge up the side path towards their overnight accommodation,

sheep to the left towards their paddock,

cows to the right towards the barn,

only sometimes everyone would decide to go different ways,

for no reason other than that they could,

sheep going left and on out into the unfenced front garden,

there to have a wander on the lane,

and probably head towards a neighbours fields,

which most times has a crop on it,

which they then trample.

Or they might head back down the side path,

and have a stampede round the pig pens,

or have a gallop down the river path, etc.

 

 

 The cows, meanwhile, would be doing their own thing,
but in a different direction to the sheep,
and not together.
At least the sheep stay in a block of animal flesh,
the cows just go off in different directions,
making them more difficult to catch.

Most days everything would go smoothly,
and it was quite a sight to see the cows and sheep en masse,
galloping up the side path,
heading towards their supper which was waiting for them.
In some ways I shall miss that,
now the new entrance is done everything seems much calmer,
Lester included,
but it was quite an experience to see the supper time gallop.

So another much needed job is done,
apart from making the gate for the new field entrance,
now we have to get on with getting the chickens out of the courtyard,
because we are developing a thirst to have that space planted out with flowers.
After years of it being used a builder's yard,
 a chicken and geese pen,
and a general dumping ground for stuff,
we really do feel the need to have prettiness in this space
so the Chicken Project is next on the list.

And going off into my day,
so saying bye for now,

Vx