Winter's on the way

Officially I guess we must actually be into winter as the clocks have changed, we have left British summer time behind, put our clocks forward an hour and are now finding it is dark by 5pm (earlier on a dark dreary day)

Colder weather has been rearing it's head, frosts to -7 have been recorded at Shep's house, frosty nights are often followed by sunny days so that is a great compensation for the cold, personally I love the dry cold that a frost brings. Sharp, bright days following on give you a boost, it also makes it drier underfoot which is a great help at this time of the year.

The grass held out really well this back end, up until lately it has been a huge bonus to have the grass still able to provide some feeding for the animals. If you recall I mentioned that the fertiliser on hay fields had been late to take a hold, really only coming into it's own when hay time was upon us, this has helped the fogs (new growth in hay fields) to last well and feed lambs for fattening, or even improving the store lambs (those to be fattened elsewhere). All in all nature it self has enabled the natural goodness to remain for mouths to eat for a long duration into the autumn which has been a god send as farmers haven't had too feed too soon on a year when their crops were light and their winter supplies may not be as much as they would have liked.

There is still some autumn colour to be found in more sheltered areas but by now many of the trees are bare. Frosts, winds, gales and heavy rain have all taken their toll on the autumn colours leaving trees looking bare and stark as winter draws in.

The burns have been a hive of activity as the fish have run up them to their spawning grounds. The fishing season didn't close until 31st October but the fish were on the move long before then, once the burns swell and water temperatures drop the fish are on the move. Both salmon, sea trout and brown trout run the burns in Tarset, a swell of fresh water is needed to get them over the many obstacles to be found in their way, especially the linns (waterfalls) which they encounter on their migration.

The fish will swim out of the main North Tyne river and up the Tarset or Tarret burns, even following sikes which are small off shoots often fed by open drains. Many years ago a sea trout was in fact found by Shep in a hill drain, this being an open sheep drain, a narrow affair but it did have water running in it and that is all the fish require. I did however wonder if this fish had got lost as they are supposed to always return to the spawning ground which they originated from. Was it actually hatched in a sheep drain? Who knows, although there is no reason why not I guess.

Hill grasses have taken on a very dead look, the strong greens of the hill ground have died away back, the purple heather is long since past, bracken is frizzled and brown and grasses too have an unpalatable look about them. Fields (in bye ground) are still green and in fact will be all winter but they too are losing their brightness, taking on a duller hue altogether.

Cattle are being fed, they soon let you know when they are discontent, fetching themselves closer to home and the occasional bellow as a reminder that you ought to be giving them a bite. It is a bit of a give away as in the above photo when cattle appear to be grazing in a line, silage or hay has been unwound from a big round bale and laid on the ground for them to pick at.

The above photo makes it far easier to draw the conclusion that the cattle are getting fed, for all the ring feeders appear empty there is in fact still a bite left in the bottom, out of our sight which the cattle will clean up before any more is offered.

Hill sheep aren't being fed, they are tough cookies and will still find something edible out on the hills, tup time may see feed blocks put out to the ewes to help hold them together and give them a little boost. By hold them together I mean bring the flock naturally together to a point where the shepherd will drove them into each morning to check that all is well and the tup is still with them, the blocks are an incentive for the sheep to head to the predestined spot which makes tup time easier all round.

Autumn can't quite be officially over as there is still a slight hint of autumn colour, despite the fact we have experienced rain, gales, snow, sleet, hail and frost in the past few days I still like to think we're not quite into winter - totally psychological I have to say, it shortens the winter if you wont admit to its arrival, the nights will continue to cut in, getting darker earlier right through December until we reach the shortest day on the 21st December. Once January arrives it is amazing how they pull out, getting lighter and lighter at night as each week goes by, thus winter can become a short season if you'll let it!

Okay! what a load of twaddle..... should we have the weather we endured last winter and spring then winter can indeed be long, too long, however, forever an optimist I like to look on the bright side - humour me!!

And so.......... looking on the bright side I'll leave you all with this pretty picture of winter flowering jasmine, just to show there can be some bright colour throughout the winter.