Tractor Dog in Training

Driving tractors is all well and good - but it's even better when one of my furry friends can tag along. That's why all of the dogs have been taught to sit in the tractor. Now it's Jess' turn. She's got the part about being in the tractor right, but...

...That's my chair.

While Jess was occupying my chair, I checked on the flock. These are the earliest lambs of this year. They were taken to this outfarm a 10-minute drive away because it's closer to the coast and the weather is slightly milder. This day was a scorcher.

Suckie is living with this little flock at the moment - she's looking mighty fine for a 10-year-old sheep.

The lambs were very curious about me hanging over the gate with the camera.

It's sheep by numbers:

The ewes were suffering from the heat in their woolly coats.

Even poor Suckie looked miserable.

And when I got back to the tractor, someone was still in my chair.

Scritch Scratch

Better.

Spreading Greenfield

Pip was on hand to help when we spread fertiliser on some fields in time for summer and silage cutting.

When the sower was turned on, we stood well clear.

Refill the hopper and start again...

Again...

And again...

...You get the idea. Between reloads, Pip was either posing for photos...

...Or having a break in the tractor.

It has the best view.

Two Extraordinary Occurrences

The first was when a man came, drove past my bedroom window (and woke me up) at 6:15am in a huge lorry to tip up a few tons of lime, and then another man came to spread lime on the two fields in front of the house. The lime billowing out of the spreader looks really cool - almost like a trail of burning rubber.

It's a wonder he can see where he's going a lot of the time.

There is a tractor here...

But no tractor here...

The second extraordinary occurrence happened after the seeds were sown the next day. Dad set about rolling the field and...

Yes, a hot-air balloon drifted by. That was a first.

After all of that work, now we just have to wait for the grass to grow...

Wordless Wednesday #37 ::: Behind Bars

Queen of the Stump

I can spend a lot of time watching lambs play. They're so innocent and silly, and anything can become a game. In this case, these three lambs had a battle over who could be Queen of the Stump. At the moment, this little white-faced lamb is Queen, with the aid of her speckled friend.

Pink-nosed lamb has accepted her position as subordinate. Speckled lamb tries to eat the stump.

It is speckled lamb's turn to keep watch as white-faced lamb tries to eat the stump.

Speckled lamb tries to eat the stump from the other side.

A two-pronged attack on stump occurs. Pink-nosed lamb tries her hand at eating it. Speckled lamb tries pawing (or "hoofing") it into submission. White-faced lamb shows little interest in attack and nibbles some grass.

White-faced lamb stares at the ground.

White-faced lamb stares as pink-nosed lamb and speckled lamb get into argument.

Victorious, speckled lamb becomes Queen of the Stump, and white-faced lamb is banished to go and stare at something else.