November

2 – Sold 22 of last year’s autumn born calves. They went to a new home just a few miles away.

3 – Texel and Blue-faced Leicester tups out to the in-bye ewes. The gestation period is five months less five days, so lambing will start on March 29^th 2005.

5 – Penned up the four Blackface “shearling” tups, which Johnny bought yesterday at Lanark market, with our resident hill tups. As the newcomers have a different smell, they must all be tightly packed together to get used to each other, otherwise they fight. The sight and sound of horns and heads clashing is enough to bring on a human headache! The term shearling, or one-shear, means the sheep have been shorn only once, which in turn provides an indication of their age, about 18 months.

Good turnout tonight for the annual valley bonfire and fireworks at Brandon Ford thanks to the efforts of our neighbours, the Shells. Donations this year buy the fireworks for next year.   

Johnny feeding the tups.
	A Blackfaced tup. (the tips of his horns were growing into his face so they were removed).
A white faced Cheviot tup.
	Blackfaced tups. The ‘coloured’ sheep is one of the new purchases. He was ‘bloom dipped’ especially for the sale.

11 - Helped gather the Glitters sheep shines when wet, hence the name Glitters. Very pleased with the way my dogs worked, at a long distance from me, across the river and well up the hillside. Not good for my vocal chords though, especially on a windy day.

Back at the farm, separated the ewe lambs from the ewes. We do this in the “shedder” a narrow race with two exit gates. The ewe lambs, not to be mated, went to one field and the ewes to another, ready for tupping time.

New computer arrived today. An essential piece of office equipment for all the livestock and vet medicine records that we now must keep.

13 – Minnie the calf is mini no more. Out of interest, I timed her drinking her milk. She gets three and a half pints, morning and night. It was gone in 2 minutes 36 seconds!  

Sightings this week include waxwings at Branton and a woodcock on the hill. The best though was the lovely sight of a barn owl flying low over the farm yard at dusk. The holly hedge at the Old Rectory is covered with berries. Some say, a sign of bad weather to come.

16 – Vet to P.D. (pregnancy diagnose) the spring cows. Most were in calf. Those that were not will either be moved to the autumn herd, to run with the bull, or culled. It depends on their age and previous calving record.

18 – Dusting of snow on the hills. A cow was lying dead in the Rectory Field this morning. Her calf is just six weeks old and very wild. Johnny and Ross brought all the cows and calves into the cattle pens in order to catch the calf which is too young to fend for itself. As we tried to persuade it into the hemmel it turned, jumped the quad bike and a barrier of gates and ran back to the field. The whole exercise was repeated in the afternoon, this time successfully. The other misfortune today was the Leicester tups escaping from their field. They got amongst some blackfaced ewes so some will start lambing three days earlier than planned, on April 13^th.

20 – Lovely cold frosty day, bright blue skies. Looked the mule ewes on the Haugh and brought in a lame tup.

21 – Official turn out of the blackface and Cheviot tups to the hill ewes.

24 – Super view from the breakfast-room window of a red squirrel ‘flying’ from tree to tree in the wood. Perhaps it was the same one that amused us a few days earlier, balancing on the washing line.

A sparrowhawk was a most unwelcome visitor to the garden. The birds on the nut feeders scattered, apparently unscathed.