diary of a comedy sheep farm

spin cycle · Jun 14, 2019

given up today...given myself the rest of the day off....baring emergencies

......splitting headache so couple pills...shower...feet up...i did do 'necessary' and a couple of odd jobs....plus i'm pondering some seed for overseeding :scratchhead:

.....must be near ideal conditions once it drys up a little :scratchhead:

....never done any before though :scratchhead:

right recap....been miserable....but could that be that i've had the bug the girls have had

..consider quitting

....it's a decision i can put off til autumn....it's easier to say than do if you get my drift

wednesday....let some ewes+lambs that we'd housed for failed project X...now it was right turn....20 yards....field...unfortunately 'her highness'' pet lamb....'milly'...was head of the que,,,she ,seeing 'K' guarding a flank they were never going to run to,galloped up for a titbit....the rest of the feckers followed and went past

...you can guess the rest

rest of the day working on making my vermeer baler hydraulic tie :scratchhead:

thursday...had a dead ewe plus another struck on the shoulder

......i took the dead ewe straight in and the 'SO' (pink grapefuit body mist) coped admirably

....i think we're going to have a tough time with ewes getting struck though...hi alert next week

...OH I FORGOT....i've found a shearer

...mind you with this weather goodness knows when she'll arrive

finished the tieing mod

....tricky though cos it has twin string arms...if they go past each other they jam on way back

....not enough travel though and the string won't catch the bale :scratchhead:

right i'm planning a min work weekend to try replenish my elan

Flat 10 · Jun 14, 2019

Elan is a under used word

Boydvalley · Jun 14, 2019

Sounds like you need a holiday. Don’t know if you take them but I consider them essential. Always try to get away end June seems best time on a sheep farm. Stops the lethargy that I get post lambing.

If you can, get well away from the farm for one day this weekend and pretend your a normal person with a free weekend. We always head for the coast. Sometimes it feels like we’ve been away for ages.

RushesToo · Jun 14, 2019

Flat 10 said:
Elan is a under used word

As are éclat and esprit - brightness/vividness and spirit/joy

Flat 10 · Jun 14, 2019

RushesToo said:
As are éclat and esprit - brightness/vividness and spirit/joy

Now you sound like a Lotus.....

RushesToo · Jun 14, 2019

Flat 10 said:
Now you sound like a Lotus.....

Only a few miles from spin cycle hence the reference - and they were good names. I mean Ford probe, citroen berlingo, Fiat punto - I could go on. Yuk

Elan, eclat, esprit - sort of makes you smile a little.

Flat 10 · Jun 14, 2019

RushesToo said:
Only a few miles from spin cycle hence the reference - and they were good names. I mean Ford probe, citroen berlingo, Fiat punto - I could go on. Yuk

Elan, eclat, esprit - sort of makes you smile a little.

And your location makes me smirk everytime. Puerile I know!

spin cycle · Jun 14, 2019

Flat 10 said:
And your location makes me smirk everytime. Puerile I know!

not with you :scratchhead:

.....explain please

RushesToo · Jun 14, 2019

@Flat 10 - over to you mate.

RushesToo · Jun 14, 2019

Think how you handled those interesting questions the kids asked . It'll be fine, ones that went - "like the bull?"

Flat 10 · Jun 14, 2019

RushesToo said:
@Flat 10 - over to you mate.

Er

.....

primmiemoo · Jun 15, 2019

It's the weather pattern - blast all thundery headaches - and there are bugs going round.

Hope you're feeling brighter today, @spin cycle .

spin cycle · Jun 15, 2019

primmiemoo said:
It's the weather pattern - blast all thundery headaches - and there are bugs going round.

Hope you're feeling brighter today, @spin cycle .

yes i am thanks though my easier day translated into still 4 hrs work

'pigeon boss' rang at 8am....'birds went up at laceby 7:30 light wsw'.....61 miles to me...to be competitive 'parcelforce' would need to get home between 8:45-9am...he got home at 9.02.....decent effort though

up the farm next ... 'K' and i check all the sheep...i'm fretting about flystrike but we don't find any....find a poor doer lamb dead though

....fence needs a bit of attention....FECK HAVE I SWITCHED IT BACK ON

....find out tommoz

...then organise some water.....arkwrights...lunch

....bank statement arrives

...we knew what it was before it arrived....not that bad TBH......mum and i chew over options...she's coming round to my way of thinking...at least whatever we decide we're more less on a similar page at last

....got several options :scratchhead:

....no need to decide yet though

afternoon listen to a bit of cricket...aussies sounding awesome....india + kiwis look strong.....how are we favourites :scratchhead:

good news/bad news.....good news mum has qualified for attendence allowance...ppl kept telling us she did so we had a go...an old friend who's a legal secretary did it for us

....bad news...mrs spin,in my van, hit a parked car in wells co-op

....poor little van has several battle scars now

...mind you i find it quite liberating driving around in slightly battered vehicles

...as long as they're reliable mind

just had a little break from writing...i can't find where mrs spin's hidden the cooking chocolate :scratchhead:

....she's getting more cunning

...i settle for a meringue nest

....'her highness' + 'cuddles' just gone to blakeney spar = strawberrys

....i'm off the hook with 'her highness'...i hadn't done the pony's tea right tonight

..in my defense it was 'cuddles' job...but i volunteered as i was on my way to pigeon club.....'her highness' had organised cover as she'd taken her friend out today and wasn't sure what time she'd be back....i met her in the lane....'cuddles' was in the 'naughty seat' and i got told off

....on the subject of the pony....vet bill for episode other day...£300

...honestly i don't know why horse vets don't wear stripey tops and masks

ohh...strawberries here

yellowbelly · Jun 16, 2019

spin cycle said:
'pigeon boss' rang at 8am....'birds went up at laceby 7:30 light wsw'.....61 miles to me...to be competitive 'parcelforce' would need to get home between 8:45-9am...he got home at 9.02.....decent effort though

Next time you're launching him from Laceby let me know - I'll nip over there and give him a bit of a scare. It might speed him up a bit

spin cycle · Jun 17, 2019

just back from funeral 'bit of a do'....lady was mum's cousin and lived for many years a few doors down...it was a big old village family...many branches....typical north norfolk

....but outta all that family that dominated the village 100yrs ago we're the only ones still here....she was 10 odd years older than mum and we found a photo of my grandparents wedding day where she was a bridesmaid....they had two daughters one of which was the same age as me...until secondary school we grew up together...then in a bizzare turnaround in academic odds i passed the 11plus but she didn't :scratchhead:

...we went different ways after that

i got to the church early as part of the village meet and greet team...noon....funeral at 1pm.....12:45 vicar turns up in a fluster waving the order of service he's been given stating a 2pm start

....i point out we'dve well covered cos A/ gerry is there and B/ with my 'lay led' service experience i coulda probably winged it...i have after all watched ALL the father ted episodes at least twice

.....according to the churchwarden i have an 'odd' sense of humour :scratchhead:

....anyhoo it was a lovely funeral on a lovely day

SO the phone has just rung....it's the shearer....can i get sheep in tommoz for wednesday clip....PANIC...ALERT etc

but i'm not turning them away

....we've been on high flystrike alert ....going round today sheep looked really good....'you'll be reconsidering getting rid' mum teases....everything looked good today as we rode round including a group of 11 hares within a cricket pitch distance....skylarks singing....giving up stewardship's gonna be hard to

right...few odd jobs...phone calls and i'll be back to recall sunday

Gator · Jun 17, 2019

spin cycle said:
just back from funeral 'bit of a do'....lady was mum's cousin and lived for many years a few doors down...it was a big old village family...many branches....typical north norfolk....but outta all that family that dominated the village 100yrs ago we're the only ones still here....she was 10 odd years older than mum and we found a photo of my grandparents wedding day where she was a bridesmaid....they had two daughters one of which was the same age as me...until secondary school we grew up together...then in a bizzare turnaround in academic odds i passed the 11plus but she didn't...we went different ways after that

i got to the church early as part of the village meet and greet team...noon....funeral at 1pm.....12:45 vicar turns up in a fluster waving the order of service he's been given stating a 2pm start....i point out we'dve well covered cos A/ gerry is there and B/ with my 'lay led' service experience i coulda probably winged it...i have after all watched ALL the father ted episodes at least twice.....according to the churchwarden i have an 'odd' sense of humour....anyhoo it was a lovely funeral on a lovely day

SO the phone has just rung....it's the shearer....can i get sheep in tommoz for wednesday clip....PANIC...ALERT etc but i'm not turning them away....we've been on high flystrike alert ....going round today sheep looked really good....'you'll be reconsidering getting rid' mum teases....everything looked good today as we rode round including a group of 11 hares within a cricket pitch distance....skylarks singing....giving up stewardship's gonna be hard to

right...few odd jobs...phone calls and i'll be back to recall sunday

Think you should write a book spin, it I'll be a best seller, @yellowbelly will sort you out, hes cheap

yellowbelly · Jun 17, 2019

Gator said:
Think you should write a book spin, it I'll be a best seller, @yellowbelly will sort you out, hes cheap

Trouble is, he'll be in a queue - I'm still waiting for that Lancashire chap, from up near those reservoirs to finish his

Still, I'm happy to take my 20%, as and when

spin cycle · Jun 17, 2019

sunday...FATHERS DAY

....i was up mooching about but girls got up cooked a little fry up and i had to return to bed to eat plus open cards prezzies

.didn't check round sheep....rather than a daily scan round we're doing a really thorough check every other day....still a few ods/bobs to do....but i was able to do some work on mrs spin's ice cream trailer....however the big part of the day was...THE BIG PIGEON RACE

THE BIG PIGEON RACE
so about six times a year pigeon fanciers from london up to nottingham..bit of derbyshire across eastwards to north sea (lincs)....come together to race their pigeons from various points in scotland....two races were already gone dunbar and perth and these had gone well

.....but now it was FRASERBURGH

.....now this a bit of a nightmare point....some fanciers won't race it....others have tried to have it removed from the programme..but the majority still wanted it

....when i was racing i had my best and worst ever results from there...in 2010 i got a pigeon home in 5 hrs doing 70mph....the next year i lost a third of my team...a lot depends on those deciding,on the basis of weather reports, whether to let the birds go or not

earlier in the week 'swiss' phoned mum...'he's worried about sending and wants to talk to you'.....i phoned him back offered to check his birds but my real advice was...'look m8..it's a hobby if you're going to worry there's no point in sending'...anyway he decided he would so i offered to go over and wait with him

....sat the weather in berwick was bad so they decided not to liberate....sunday they let go at 6am
..now as the race goes on fanciers,as they clock, phone or email their first recorded pigeon into a control centre ..these are posted online so ppl can follow the race....i expected the first birds to hit lincs about 2pm....norfolk would be about an hour later....2pm came....3pm came....nothing

.....i set off for 'swiss' towers...grabbed chicken, steak pie and chips on the way...got there about 4pm....a handful of birds in east midlands had been clocked :scratchhead:

...'mrs swiss' was away....hence my idea for a takeaway tea

....he was pleased so we sat down ate...glass of 'old speckled hen'...all in all a very pleasant afternoon/evening all we needed was a pigeon...but it was not to be

...in the end we sat talked...coffee...until 10pm...still nothing....something had gone wrong....very few fanciers got one

....at 10pm the race is suspended until 4:30am then it starts again....but a full moon meant a few birds got home after 11pm

...on the phone today i reassure him they'll work back....they've hit some bad weather...nipped in a cattle shed

...til they feel better

....the reality is if they went seaward and got caught they might not

right...early night...big sheep round up tommoz

Gator · Jun 17, 2019

Get um flying down our valley, quite afew hit the pillion wires, few stay the night in the sheds if weathers rough. Had quite afew come to pick them up when they've been here awhile.

Did ya not send parcelfore

delilah · Jun 17, 2019

yellowbelly said:
Trouble is, he'll be in a queue - I'm still waiting for that Lancashire chap, from up near those reservoirs to finish his

I do believe he's already published it. My OH is in a book club and passes any on to me that are deemed "weird enough for you".
A few months ago the offering was 'Reservoir 13', all about a farming community up north in reservoir country. An interesting read, full of sexual tension and repressed desire. A good debut Gator.

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