British Summer Time.

The clocks have gone forward, thanks to that strange phenomena known as British Summer Time, we suddenly find we have to get up an hour earlier than usual. At least in October when the clocks go back we get an extra hour in bed!

Sunday 25th March saw the days get longer, except they don't really, there are the same number of hours in the day only difference is it is an hour lighter at night and we get up an hour earlier in the morning so that makes the days seem longer, if you get my jist.

Shep had sheep to feed before heading elsewhere for the day, a sharp start was required to get on and move on so to speak. Sheep are accustomed to being fed at a set time and suddenly Shep turns up an hour earlier and on a misty morning........

It has to be said it was a beautiful morning, one which didn't see a soul astir anywhere, probably due to it being a Sunday morning with many adjusting their body clocks at their leisure, we don't all have that opportunity however.

This pheasant was awake if not somewhat dozy, trying to catch the weak sunshine which was valiantly attempting to burn off the morning mist.

The spider was no where to be seen, having a lie in, saving it's energy for whatever unsuspecting fly which might buzz it's way into the web once the day warmed up.

Sheep were taken by surprise, as was I, due to the fact I was struggling to see them. An hour earlier than they would normally expect to be fed they hadn't quite got themselves roused ready for breakfast and with visibility poor it was difficult to track them all down, 'twas just as well I knew how many sheep were in each group, a quick head count enabled me to drive further into the gloom looking for the few which were napping.

Sheep were eventually fed, taking longer than usual due to the visibility and early hour of the morning, then onwards Shep went to spend a day dosing sheep further down the valley. British Summer Time it indeed was, as mist burnt off the sun blazed down on us - this is the 25th March and the thermometer at Sheps back door recorded 23 degrees celsius!!! Can you believe that???

Young Kale wasn't too impressed to find himself locked in a livestock trailer, Moss was in there with him too but Kale thought he was missing out on something exciting and seemed to spend a great deal of time with his head stuck out of one of the ventilation slits, I would guess he had actually considered escaping from his captivity by this route and found his body was bigger than his head. The car was far too hot to leave the pair of them in and with bitches on heat on the farm it was far easier to have them barred up somewhere until they were needed or had cause to be released.

The buzz of bumble bees and singing of birds were drowned out by the roar of motorbikes, one of Tarset's downsides. We have roads which it would seem every motorcyclist in the North wishes to drive, once the weather picks up they are like midges, swarming upon us and shattering the peace of the countryside. Today was no exception. Fortunately for once the wail of sirens were not an accompaniment, there will be many sirens though over the summer months as blue flashing lights pick up the pieces of those unable to negotiate the roads - today we were fortunate.

Due to the farm Shep was working on being right on a busy motorbike highway it was necessary to fetch sheep under the road and into the pens,

they are able to walk along the edge of the Tarset burn below a bridge to reach the pens in safety. I was told today that the burn always has a dapply reflection on the underside of the bridge when the weather is really bright, I couldn't help but look up

Indeed the water was reflecting on the underside of the bridge.

 

The ewes managed to negotiate the busy road without too much bother, the burn was low and co operative.

Now one of these here swaledale ewes caused Shep some grief, I have no idea which one, I may write about the incident yet but I'll just say for now that I sustained a 'knock' in the pens, one which has had me pondering all afternoon as to how it happened and hoping that no one makes me laugh and definitely praying that I don't sneeze, cough or in fact perform any movement which may involve my ribs....

There was unexpected company in the sheep pens........

A new born lamb !

 

Then there were two!!!

She stopped at three - thank goodness!!

For all she found herself moved into a 'personal' pen I couldn't help but think that it must be like giving birth in the middle of a shopping precinct or such likes. Fortunate for her though that she hadn't been left back in the field as the first lamb came arse first (breech), with just a tail dangling out of the ewes backside. Lambs can be difficult to give birth to in this position and are apt to die due to drowning so both ewe and lamb were very lucky, especially as they aren't officially due to lamb until later in the week. Help was on hand and Shep lambed her first lamb of the season, the other two followed on at their leisure, with all three on the ground within ten minutes - not bad going! The ewe and her family then found themselves in a nice pen full of straw away from the hustle and bustle of the sheep pens.

As said, the days are getting longer, it was indeed a long day. To round it off a shot of the setting sun. Darkness didn't fall until 8pm. It is still incredible to believe we could be experiencing such weather so early in the year, enjoy it whilst it lasts is what I say!

looking skywards

Tues 9th August saw Shep stuck in a shed all day. Unfortunate, as it was one of those rare dry days, with sunshine as well, but the shed beckoned.

It was a long day, needlessly long really. Shep entered the shed at 8.30am and didn't exit until early evening. Shearing was the task in hand, late in the season but there are still sheep needing shorn and I was available to give a local shearer a hand out with 300 odd sheep which needed their wool off.

A pleasurable day it was and probably too relaxed, working for a really pleasant family shearing the last of their 1400 hexham blackfaced sheep. Everyone was smiling when we left the shed in the early evening. The farm was clipped out, our job was finally done and the sun was still shining.

The farm sat up on a hillside looking away across both the North Tyne and Rede valleys, a beautiful, clear and sunny evening the low light was accentuating all the rig and furrows on the hillsides. I loaded my gear into the car and just sat and soaked up the view. Pressure off it was a pleasure to enjoy the last sunshine of the day and soak up a view I was unaccustomed to, working out which farms I was looking upon from a different angle I was used too. Eventually a final crack with those I'd been working for and with, farewells were given and I went my way.

As I headed the car towards home I was aware of beginning to feel stiff, tired and hungry too. The final hours clipping had caught me out. Occasionally this season and invariably towards the end of the day I have taken the 'shakes'. A frustrating position to be in but one to be dealt with. The problem will arise from the fact that I don't always feel hungry and so when we stop for our tea time bait a cuppa will suffice, however and hour later and the body complains. The ideal solution is to devour a banana, high in potassium and energy it is a miracle cure and will set you on the way. Foolishly I had no banana on hand but a Mars Bar did as a substitute.

And so it was, my banana substitute was wearing off and dinner was beckoning as I drove home. But then I noticed an unusual sight in the sky and ended up pulling over and trying to get a photo.

The weather forecast for the following day was for heavy rain, we had all been discussing the fact prior to leaving the farm, unbelievable on such a bright and cheerful night, not a sign of rain clouds anywhere. This tiny spot of a rainbow caught my fascination (top right hand corner of photo). I had been watching this multi coloured little spot for a number of miles worth of driving, probably to the detriment of my road handling abilities, I'm not aware of having seen such a sight before. Eventually I just had to stop, sit and enjoy.I also mused, trying to work out why no proper rainbow, why just a beautiful, minuscule spot of colour? (I have since been informed that this phenomena is known as a sundog)

The spot didn't fade or grow any bigger and eventually my desire to lie in a hot bath, don clean clothes and fill my belly with food had me on the road home again. Until I got even closer to home when once again I ground to a halt.

This point of the road is a sure sign I'm nearly home, a descent of a mile or two will see me in the house, not far to go now, but once again the sky got the better of me and stop I did. I stiffly clambered out of the driving seat and wandered forward to photograph the setting sun before looking skywards in all directions. Behind the sky was fairly none descript but to south (I think) the cloud formations caught my eye

not just cloud but the moon as well, almost glowing like a sun in the sky. South westerly saw an equally fascinating cloud formation

Whilst north easterly saw yet another variation

Wherever I seemed to look the sky was different and changing by the minute. There wasn't a soul around, sheep grazing on the hillsides were my only company as I stood and soaked up the spectacle transforming by the minute in front of my eyes. The sunset finally caught my attention one last time, one last time which I may add probably lasted a good quarter of an hour.

Eventually the light became poor, the sun had almost set and the light show I had been appreciating had gone out, faded with the light of the day. I shivered. The air was cool now. I realised that the feelings of hunger and tiredness were still present, they had just been overlooked during my enthralment of nature and her beauty. Once again I climbed into the car, turning on my headlights this time and didn't stop until I arrived home. The other half greeted me with "long day?" "Umm, needlessly tho'" was my reply.

The following day it did indeed rain, in fact it came just an hour or two after the beautiful sight I had revelled in, the weather forecasters did not disappoint. I found myself in the company of the elderly cumbrian farmer whom I work for, an opportunity for him to visit my area and view the stock and farms he hears much about. A modest and humble gentleman prone to philosiphising we lightly covered the subject of the problems some of our cities were facing at that point in time. He quietly said "It's a bad job when people have to have, when they can't just appreciate the simple things around them" The memories of the past evening came to the fore and I appreciated how lucky we are compared to many.

An update - July

Shep bought some milk yesterday, the sell by date was the 2nd of August. August! where the hell did July go?? It appears I have managed to overlook the fact that July has been and is about to leave for another year, how could I possibly miss a month? - a summer month at that!

I guess it boils down to having been busy, the last 30 something days has seen Shep just having two off from working, they were described in my diary as 'piss wet' with the added word 'housework' - my god, the weather must have been bad!

The summer hasn't been tremendous although we have had windows allowing a few days good weather followed by showery days or even wet ones. Invariably on the days when the conditions were poorer the evenings would get out good and sheep would get dried and housed in sheds overnight ready to clip the following day, thus allowing Shep to be kept busy.

I recall a few extremely hot days at the beginning of July, hot and humid, so hot in fact that sweat was dripping off every part of my anatomy that gravity would allow it to drip off. Now there is a saying that men sweat, pigs perspire and women glow - umm.......... Shep was definitely sweating, no doubt I was probably glowing also but sweat was the order of the day. Much to my dismay and utter disbelief it doesn't seem to matter how many sheep I clip or how much sweat is lost the bathroom scales refuse to tell me I have lost any weight. This phenomenon is not just bothering me but also the shepherd from out bye whom I have clipped alongside on a number of days. Between us we have concluded that muscle weighs heavier than fat, therefore we are burning off our fat during the day and producing more muscle and so our bodies are refusing to 'melt away'. This conclusion suits us and we will be sticking to it!

July has been a very busy month, not only shearing and gathering but also my 16 year old nephew came to stop for three weeks. Having just sat his GCSE exams he found himself idle and decided to escape and stop with us.

He has learnt much during his 'vacation'. His Aunty doesn't possess a great deal of patience,'I've told you once, I'll tell you twice but god help you if I have to tell you three times' also you have to get up in the mornings, work hard and return home tired. He has also learnt that if you don't work hard you may get chastised. But most of all he has learnt how to cook frozen pizza, how to find food when you're hungry and how to throw back as good as you get (verbally not food fights).

In many ways he deserved a medal for coping for three weeks, he did however earn a fair bit of money wrapping wool which would probably take some of the 'pain' out of the situations he found himself in. A great learning curve which I'm sure will set him onto greater things in life as he will have learnt what happens to you if you don't stick in at school and get a 'good' job!

Shep had a birthday sometime during the month of July, I would have missed it had I not recieved cards and goodies. My birthday morning dawned and saw me up at 5am and away by 5.30, heading off to gather out bye. What a cracking morning it was. What a great way to spend your birthday. I could almost imagine there wasn't another soul on the planet as dogs and I headed out to gather sheep out on the hills, mist burning off as we set away and the sun warming our backs as the morning drew on. I felt so fortunate to be able to enjoy the occasion. Mid morning saw me heading back down the valley and being reunited with the nephew to clip sheep on another farm. Those sheep were flying clipping, a pleasure to clip and once again I found myself thankful of such a pleasant way to spend my birthday.

There has been much hard work and much busying during the month of July but it has been a very sociable month, moving from farm to farm and getting fresh crack (conversation), much banter and quite a few jovial moments. There has been leg pulling and laughter which always helps the time to pass.

I bought myself one of those little cameras, the sort that fits into your back pocket with no view finder, you have to hold it at arms length an look at the screen at the back of the camera, it has taken a bit of getting used to but I have been playing with it this clipping season and received some strange looks from those I've been working alongside, especially when taking the following two pictures.

 

I took these to give you an insight into what I see for most of the day, a self portrait of me ready to clip a sheep. I am on that picture honest! You can just make out my legs and my feet are under the sheeps wool.

 

Then you have the finished article - a wool less and apparently headless sheep! A view I know only too well as day in day out I have been bending over surveying this scene - fascinating!

There is much to report on if I could find the time and energy, hopefully I'll get there and share it with you eventually. I have actually finished my clipping for the season but am now shearing alongside another shearer, someone who hasn't been as fortunate as myself and has found themselves held up with the weather. That magical figure of 3,000 sheep is history and where the total will end up I don't know. I do know that I enjoyed some peace and quiet last night. It was a cracking summers evening and I had to head away out bye to feed the shepherds dogs and the likes as he was away for a couple of days.

I let his dogs out of their kennels and along with mine we strolled down to the burn, it was 7.30pm and there was still heat in the sun preventing the midges from spoiling the occasion. I found myself sitting on the waters edge just enjoying the peace and quiet, the gentle bubbling of the water, birdsong and dragonflies flying by

 

After the hubbub of a shearing shed, noisy machines, sheep blaaring, people talking, gates clattering it was sheer bliss, time to myself to sit and enjoy a summers evening.

 

I wasn't the only one enjoying the experience the pack of dogs which were in my company also enjoyed the water but in a different manner to myself.

Tropical Tarset

One minute it was blowing a hooley, the next we are getting frizzled to a frazzle. A welcome change in the weather I must say, will it stop all those farmers from wingeing? For the time being yes, other than those poor souls (like myself) who struggle with very hot conditions. However, long term it could pose real problems, natural watercourses could dry up meaning water would need transporting to the livestock, also this is the growing season; for the meantime there is sufficient moisture in the ground but rain is needed to get the hay fields growing ready for the crop to be harvested in a months time.

The hill ground around here takes very little hurt in dry conditions, Tarset is renowned for being a wet boggy hole and the well covered hill ground flourishes in warm dry weather, it's the enclosed ground which can be heavier stocked which may suffer eventually.

A pleasant change though to be browned with the sun, not rusted with the rain and there is no doubt about it - the rain will return.