S.O.S Tuesday and f**king snow! (30/11/10)

A phone call from the shepherd out bye last night saw me mount the quad this morning and head away out there. For all his sheep are in fields there are some which are inaccesible. The quad will no longer travel with only the tractor to use on some ground which is totally unsuitable for a tractor it was deemed necessary to get sheep closer to home, or at least closer to access.

How many shepherds do you know who know the length of their leg up to the knee?? Well this one does! He measured his leg yesterday in an attempt to ascertain how deep the snow was. Level snow is 22 inches away out bye apparently (although I doubt after the snowfall today and tonight that is history and he will have to measure to a different part of his anatomy now!)

The farmer in the Rede was still optomistic that I may get over there, I wasn't and to be fair this was a far more important task. The man in the Rede had all his sheep accesible, this man didn't. So onto the quad and off I went, the shepherd ploughed hs farm road out for me to gain access as the snow is too deep for the bike now.

It seems like no time at all since I took a similar photograph, same man, same place, same year, different month. http://blog.tarset.co.uk/2010/01/snow-bound-sheep.html We walked out cutting a track with our feet as we went, a track we hoped the sheep would follow back.

I would be lying if I said we had the sheep gathered up in no time. It took a good while to get walked out there, barely a single footstep sank in below knee level and one or two sank in to the nether regions. We did get out there though, these are the self same sheep we rescued in January, this time though they couldn't get into the planting, the fence had been patched and they could not escape, we had them, all we had to do was turn them for home and they'd follow the track we'd made as we walked out to them

Grand weather? Don't be fooled, we'd battled through blizzards on the way out, we'd soon be battling again.

This felt like the daddy of them all. The direction we wanted the sheep to head into meant they were going to have to face the blizzard - there is no way sheep will head into weather like that. We all stopped, turned our backs to the weather and waited patiently.

Even Moss waited patiently, I eventually called him into me and let him snuggle infront of me in the hope he'd gain some shelter from my body. Fortunately he was the only dog I had out. The day was going to be too heavy for Glen and Kale would have been an absolute hinderance.

Finally the weather blew over for the time being and the journey resumed. Unfortunately the track we had so laboriously cut out with our feet on the way to the sheep had completely blown in. The shepherd headed out in front to cut yet another track whilst I waffled about with the camera! I did actually head out and help him, leaving Moss back with the sheep although they weren't likely to be going anywhere.

The weather picked up once again and we were back in business, sheep on track and heading away in, shepherd still away out in front cutting a track through but we were getting there, albeit slowly.

Finally and on darkening we reached our destination. It had been a hard slog and I was grateful of the chocolate bar (x2) which I had had sense to drop into my pocket. Both the shepherd and I 'took five' and tried to break our teeth on rock hard chocolate but it hit the spot and fired us up again. The journey down the road back to the farm was in total darkness, other than the headlights cutting through yet another blizzard!

What about tomorrow? D'y know, I really don't know! A phone call tonight to ask for assistance to find, count and feed some sheep which a farmer can't access from where he lives but which I ought to be able to. The forecast is absolutely atrocious and I feel like I'll hardly dare open my eyes in the morning and look out of the window. The two of us desperately need to get into town. This visa does need applying for or else a great deal of money may well have been wasted. Will we get there? Dunno. Mebbes I'll be able to tell you in the next posting.

Snow - again! This time on a Monday!! (29/11/10)

Monday morning dawned to even more bloody snow! Will it ever stop??

Not a cat in hells chance of getting back into the Rede today, doubt the farmer will just have to muddle along on his own, after all his sheep are all gathered in, held into fields around the steading, fairly easily accessible, plus a bike with tracks on to enable travel through the snow. Hopefully all will be well without Sheps assistance.

 

Shep trotted off to look at a neighbours sheep, all balled up with snow and legless with it! I needed cheering up and there is something about these little favourites of mine which somehow manage to do the job, these little feisty blighters with their bright eyes really are a pleasure to view even in the snow. Cheviots of course - what else??

 

Tarset has a very white look about it, again with a fore boding sky, heavy showers all day. Yes! that's correct, more of that bloody snow.........

 

There is no doubt about it,it can indeed look very beautiful. I do keep trying to remind myself of this fact. In actual fact it is quite magical stuff, it falls so silently and leaves everything looking all white and crisp and even. Huh!! Am actually just getting a tad pissed off with the stuff to be honest with you. Pretty or not, it's time it stopped. It seems like only a month or two since last winter and here we are again! Huh!

Snowy Sunday (28/11/10)

The road over the tops, again a passenger in a four wheel drive. We pulled over to left the blizzard blow out and found ourselves having a very sociable 20 minutes with a neighbouring farmer who was out along the road to check his fences. Vehicles slide off roads and through fences and walls but they don't always consider letting the farmer know that they have damaged his property. Holes in fences and walls can be a great problem with stock managing to get out onto those roads. In this weather stock are happy to hold together and not fight through deep snow but farmers still like to know how their boundary fences are doing, they may also be the first upon an accident especially in weather such as we are experiencing at the moment. Anyhow a good crack was had before we resumed our journey.

Further snowfall has resulted in the inevitable, quad bikes will no longer travel, the depth of snow is too great.

A fair bit of time was spent fitting tracks to the quad, time well spent as now it will travel anywhere although it is difficult to steer but that is a small price to pay. http://blog.tarset.co.uk/2010/01/tracks-and-tracking.html

Finally the 600 or so sheep which had been gathered the day previous were rounded up and found themselves heading towards the sheep pens.

Once in the pens they were shed. Ewe hoggs went in one direction and ewes in another direction. Not quite your traditional type shedding race, these sheep find when they round the corner of the wall they will be drafted of into one of two directions, the system works well and the sheep always run around the corner of the wall very well.

The snow showers weren't as heavy as the previous day but still managed to stick to the hair on these swaledale ewes faces and wool.

It isn't just the sheep which find themselves with snow clinging to them. Glen the sheepdog found himself wearing a mask of snow too!

Once again the day draws to a close. Back tomorrow to try and get the boys out to the girls. Time to let the tups out!

A snowier Saturday (27/11/10)

 

Yet more of the same, just getting more difficult that's all. Further snowfall overnight meant I failed to travel to this farm over in the next valley. I did try but negotiating the first steep incline saw me getting to the top by the skin of my teeth, I had higher and less travelled roads to negotiate and knew it would be an impossible fete. A four wheel drive pick up was sent out to fetch me and believe you me there was absolutely no way my car would have made the journey, t'was dodgy enough in the pick up.

 

Sheep were merrily trotting away in front of me, following quad bike tracks which had been laid out specially to direct the sheep. Sheep will not willing wander through deep snow, it is far too difficult for them and results in them becoming exhausted. A track is a necessity.

The sky in the above photo is looking ominous, and sure enough it did not disappoint.

 

Conditions worsened but the sheep were pushed on

 

The day was getting on, daylight was becoming a premium and no time was to be lost

 

Finally all the sheep were gathered, into fields closer to home ready to be dealt with in the morning

 

The day had come to an end. Temperatures dip rapidly once we get into the afternoon and a frost was kicking in. The snow level however has been rising rapidly, further East than Tarset this farm has been catching the snow before us and is getting close to reaching the two foot level, the forecast isn't too promising, there almost seems to be a hype about snow with more forecast to fall, I've tried looking on different channels but they all say the same! Tomorrow is another day dawning, we'll wait and see what dawns.

A snowy Friday (26/11/10)

 

Beautiful isn't it? Best place for it is on photos that's for sure.

It is tup time out on Northumberlands hills, but only just. Some were lucky to get their hill sheep gathered before the snow arrived, some weren't. Last week ( was it only last week?) I was gathering out bye. Monday it rained cats and dogs, Tuesday it was so cold you could almost cry. Wednesday it thought it might like to try and snow. By Thursday it was snowing. Friday saw me having to head into the Rede to help another farmer gather his ewes for tup time. Roads were poor but I took my time and arrived in one piece.

 

The farmer and I would normally split up to gather these sheep, meeting at a set point with the 'mob', however, due to quad bikes getting stuck we went out together. Sheep were held in spots all over the hill, they had all gathered together on their cuts and were just waiting to be found and gathered. One quad would go in front to cut tracks through the snow whilst I would follow on the other quad. It was a bright cheerful morning,the sort that makes your cheeks glow, it had registered -10 at Sheps house when I'd left so that gives you some idea of the conditions.

 

Sheep were rounded up and set on their journey away in towards the farm, Shep turned around to collect a handful more that could just be seen. The weather can change quickly, there was no doubt about it that further East they were getting their fair share of snow by the look of the sky, it finally came our way.

 

Moss was fighting with this bunch of swaledale ewes to try and steer them onto the bike track and out of the deeper snow which they were in, the weather was turning decidedly wintry. Finally everything got gathered in and down towards the farm, nearer at hand and waiting for the day the tups would finally be released.

 

The tups are waiting patiently, (probably an understatement, they will be desperate to be released to the ewes)in a field in front of the farmhouse. Their day will come once the sheep all get gathered. There is a lot more ground to be covered yet. Back tomorrow to gather yet more sheep off the hill.

Snow, snow and yet more snow!

The snow fell with a purpose in Tarset on Thurs 25th November and it hasn't let up. Today is only Tuesday 30th November, a total of five days from the begin of the onslaught, in many ways it feels like 50 days.

The snow keeps falling, it is unrelenting. There are one or two beautiful interludes between ever increasing blizzards. Sheps house must be surrounded by a very good foot of snow . Shep lives mid way down the valley, when you climb further out there is a great deal more of the white stuff.

Away out bye it has reached two feet deep on the level, crotch deep in other places.

A shepherd in the coquet has reported the snow is three feet deep, up to his house windows. There will be worse reports too.

Today the wind has wiped up, drifts are appearing all over, roads are rapidly filling in, farmers and shepherds are concerned about stock getting happed up (covered with snow).

We are fortunate in that all sheep are in bye at the moment, not in nice lowland ground but held into pastures and fields for tup time. Even away out bye we had just managed to gather the hill when the onslaught commenced, the out bye shepherd knows where his sheep are, they are all in enclosures if he can find them.

Shep had to head over to the Rede over the weekend to gather hill sheep in, it is no longer possible for my car to get there but they are at least all gathered in to the place, the farmer knows where they are.

Today I headed out bye with the bike, no way a car will get out there. Sheep were fetched closer to home, out lying fields were no longer viable and so many hours have been spent cutting tracks through on foot and walking the beasts closer to home where they are slightly more accessible. Bikes will no longer travel on these high lying farms, the snow is too deep. Dogs struggle to travel too, I'm sure they sleep well at night.

Life is bearable, farmers are fortunate that they live on the job. Although having said that there are more and more of them that have attempted to expand their businesses by getting extra ground away from home. One such farmer has been on the phone tonight asking me to head out and find his sheep which are closer to me than they are to him. We are fortunate in that the plough will pass our house and we can usually head out on the quad, even on the untreated roads a quad is fairly easily dug out of deep snow.

There is huge concern tonight with the wind blowing that even tractors may not travel tomorrow for depth of snow. Who knows? Time will tell. Shep has an even greater concern, a necessity to get to town, tooth ache with the other half and passport photos needed for a visa application, the clock is ticking as we aim to depart on 31st December and leave these wintry conditions behind. The visa application desperately needs to be sent. The weather wasn't considered when the trip and flight was booked over the weekend. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

In the meantime there will be some postings from Shep with some 'pretty pictures' to give you an idea of what is going on. This is just a brief update.