A Few More Mouths.......

After weeks of waiting, all the dairy cows are out at pasture and as always there is still hustle and bustle around the farm. We spent last week setting free several groups of in-calf, bulling and maiden heifers onto the hill behind the buildings. Now comes the task of cleaning the manure out of the winter quarters but jobs have to be prioritised as there is only a fortnight until silaging starts (weather permitting). All the Herefords are now in the field by the road showing off their physiques.
This is a favourite time of year, as the stunning shows of blossom especially the brilliant yellow of the gorse bushes. Only yesterday we saw gardens in the village, which are a riot of colour with laburnum juxta lilac – very pleasing to the eye.
Of course it’s not only the flora which have been busy but the fauna as well. The curlews have been warbling with great vigour in the fields around our house. Hopefully they will have had a good breeding season, providing that the predators leave them alone.
We are in the process of putting away machinery used in winter feeding but with a twist. The tractor that is used for chopping and blowing straw on the cubicle beds has a robin’s nest tucked in the roof space of the cab. Every day the machine is used we make sure that it’s put back in the same place so that mum can return to the nest. We were wondering what is happening in the woven mass of hay and straw. So as it’s impossible to look in due to lack of space, I thought my camera would capture the scene in the nest. It was a pleasant surprise to see five hungry mouths facing the lens

Springwatch is due back on the telly, so I thought that D and I could be the Bill Oddball and Kate Mumble of Marton