Friday 17 October 2008

The Farming Week.

There has been a theme to this week - "muck". This activity has to wait for several things - the right weather, the meeting of all Government regulations, the availability of a giant muck spreader for hire (so much quicker than our own dinky thing), and - last but not least - the
enthusiasm of the farmer to get on with the job! When I first married into farming I drew the line at calling it "muck" preferring to use Farmyard Manure. But it only takes a few years to get into farming jargon, so "muck" it is. Now it is all done, the loose housing is cleaned out, the water tank has been emptied, cleaned and refilled, straw has been laid and it all awaits the heifers who will over -winter there. They will come in when the fields get too wet for them to stay out any longer. I am always pleased when they come in because it means that when I go to get the car out of the garage they all crowd round to say hello and to see if I have brought them any goodies (potato/apple peelings, cabbage leaves - that kind of thing).
This morning we had to drive to Masham (the home of Black Sheep Ale) to go to our Feed Merchants for hen food and wild bird food. On the way we cross Ulshaw Bridge and go past the end of East Witton village green. I thought you might like to see photographs of them.
The only other development is that Tess "the kapok kid" has now demolished her second bed completely and it has been consigned to the bonfire. She now has a utilitarian plastic bed, bought yesterday and already turned upside down overnight and a frantic amount of chewing done to the feet it stands on. She never does it when we are around - she has lots of chewing toys - and she is such a darling that we forgive her anything!

13 comments:

Red Clover said...

Ha ha! One day you will have to tell us all your story, of how you entered into the farming existence and manure turned to muck.

So you have been in the west! That's great! Well, you have been close to my home, as I live just a little south of Salt Lake along the mountains.

Dragonstar said...

Thanks for your visit.
I've wandered around in here for a bit, and I've been enjoying myself. I lived on an off-shore Irish island for 12 years - had hens, duck, goats (cow milk sensitivity) and a beef cow. This last came to me because I cared for a friend's free-range herd when he was on the mainland, and I hand-reared her when her mother couldn't cope.
My son drove a "grey diesel" (Fergie TE20) when he was 12.

I liked your poem - the second one appealed to me more, but I'm not an expert. You asked about an acute accent: i don't know if your keyboard works like mine, but I get é or ú or any accented vowels by holding Ctrl and Alt and pressing the letter. It's worth a try!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for visiting red clover. I remember the journey from Denver to Salt Lake City as being a very beautiful one. The climb out of Denver up into the Rockies on hair pin bends took such a long time. Such a lovely part of the country.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for visiting, Draagonstar. Interesting to hear about your life.
Shall try your accent/grave suggestion and see if it works on my machine.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks for your visit! It's also a pleasure to read what's going on in Yorkshire! I am glad that your heifers have a place to go when the winter is too harsh. It's a good idea to have them out as long as possible. The Dutch cows are out until November, then they will be stabled until spring.

Debra (a/k/a Doris, Mimi) said...

Hi Weaver. Love your stories about farming in Yorkshire. From about the time I was 10 years old, my father rented a farmhouse to live in. He wasn't a farmer by trade, but many farmers bought up small farms and developed a co-op. They farme the land and rented the buildings. Anyway, my dad was a farmer wanna be. We had a cow, a couple pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, and always a horse or two. I had the best childhood. Farm kids and their families always made the best of what life had to offer. We amused ourselves playing flashlight tag in cornfields, swimming in the creek, and riding horses. You have an enviable life, Weaver. I enjoy reading your blog and seeing your lovely, serene photos. Thanks much for sharing!

Welcome To Wilmoth Farms said...

Beautiful pictures! I'd love to travel abroad sometime...its so georgous. I love the history and the old buildings and everything!

Annie Wicking said...

Great to hear your farming news. The thing I love most about blogging is finding out about other people's interesting lives.

Please tell us more and your pictures are wonderful too.

Thank you for your chat and cuppa.

Best wishes,
Annie

Tess Kincaid said...

I'm such a city girl. I didn't know what "muck" was.

Liz said...

It's an interesting contrast between our two countries in the way farming practices are done. My neighbour does have wintering barns but the dairy herd is still put out in the paddock to graze for a six hour stretch. Just love the photos the English country side is so different to our own - yet sometimes the same. Hope you are keeping warm.
Liz

Reader Wil said...

Thanks for the visit! Yes these creatures are fierce and their bite is poisonous, so keep your distance!

Reader Wil said...

Thanks for the visit! Yes these creatures are fierce and their bite is poisonous, so keep your distance!

Janice Thomson said...

This sure brings back memories of growing up on the farm here in Canada although our land has lots of clay so manure was manure and muck was the end result of too much rain on the clay soil :) Love these posts Weaver.