A Friendly Face

Crosby Arrives...

For a couple of years now we've been using Charollais rams (Bernie, Ernie and Ted), but now it's time for a change. On Saturday a quick browse through the local paper and a few phone calls led us to a farm which breeds Lleyn sheep. They are known for their easy lambing which makes them an attractive option for lots of farmers.

There were several rams to choose from but in the end we went for the one I picked out. We named him Crosby after the man we bought him from. Here he is in the trailer after arriving home.

The best of luck to you, Crosby!

Big Ol' Ted

These pictures were taken just over a month ago on Teddy's first birthday.

He is - despite appearances - very mature for his age. He takes most of life's circumstances in his stride.

Teddy gets along well with all of our other dogs too.

He has the manner sometimes of a grumpy old man - ask him to sit and if he's in a mood he'll just lie down and ignore you. Other times he demands to have his picture taken.

He has grown into a splendid young dog.

Racing Swallows

Rock Wall Climbing

Meeting Monkey

I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting Monkey (now called Rusty) again.

In case you couldn't tell, she's Pip's sister. I have a picture of her as a a six-week-old puppy:

She has similar mannerisms to her sister, like sitting at you feet and looking up at you seeking attention or trying to find sneaky ways to jump up.

Monkey (Rusty) is also training to be a sheepdog.

And she has an extra dew claw which Pip doesn't have.

Nice seeing you again, Monkey.

Doggie-Cam

It may have escaped your attention, but I have been neglecting this blog a little lately. There is just so much stuff going on at the farm right now that when I do get onto the laptop the last thing I wish to do is to type about what I've been doing. This upset the dogs and they sent me a formal complaint which goes as follows:

Dear Mum,

Please stop wasting time on-line talking about films and TV that you like - talk about us for a change. In short: get your act together, woman!

Love; Sheila, Pip, Teddy, Ben and Jack

I told them that I was too busy to take lots of pictures right now, but I also said that they could have a go at blogging if they thinks it's so easy. I strapped a camera to their collars and let them have a go. I'll hand you over to Teddy and Pip...

Pip: Hello. Oh, this is exciting. This is my first photo. Mum was trying to explain how the buttons worked to me and so I was giving the camera my full attention. That grass does look tasty.

This is Mum's Welly boot. I often follow her at her heels, you see. Sometimes even when she doesn't want me to.

This is what my tummy looks like when I'm sitting down. It's not usually that dirty, but I've been doing a lot of work this past week. I realise that there is a solution to the dirty tummy, but I shan't go into it.

This is a similar photo of my leg.

Teddy: Hello, everyone! I took this picture of the sky when the camera got stuck on top of the ball I was strutting around the garden with.

This is a detailed study of grass and sky. There are quite a few like these.

In this one you can see both my chin and Mum. She's pointing at something. Probably the sky.

Mum helped me to take this one of Pip.

Pip: I followed Teddy's example and took a picture of the sky.

That's where Granny keeps the oil for the heating.

I think that's a bit of my ear.

Here we have grass and my muddy tummy.

In this one Mum is holding Teddy's football to ransom.

This one is of my tummy again. I need a ba-- nope. I still can't say it.

Teddy: The sky is nice in this one, I think.

This one's a nice close-up of my football.

And finally this is one of the footpath.

See, Mum, we can take photos too. Maybe you should let us take the pictures from now on...

OK, so that was an interesting experiment at least. But what do you think? Have I just lost my job to a pair or canines?

Balmoral Show 2012

I was blessed with sunshine for the day that I visited the show. I had borrowed a lens from college so was looking forward to getting lots of shots. And I did; too many to write about here. So enjoy the slideshow.

Fly

1993-2012

R.I.P.

Sheila's Six!

It was Sheila's sixth birthday on Monday! Time has flown. I still remember that day I said to my Dad, "Sheila's one today." Here Sheila is staring intently at her birthday gift.

If I'm going to give a dog a bone, I'll usually go for a rawhide one. I get the (possibly flawed) impression that they're safer for the dogs. But this time since it was a special occasion, I got a real bone instead. It was dried, though, which actually surprised me; let's just say that I was expecting to have to wipe my hands.

Sheila got very excited indeed when she saw the bone. But when it came to actually taking it, there was some subtle snatching involved...

She had a good ol' chew as well. Oh, she loved it.

I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday present, pet.

While she was nibbling I tried some experimentation with the camera.

You see, when camera shake is done deliberately it can have a nice effect.

Happy Belated Birthday, Sheila!