Saturday saw the arrival of our first lambs - lambed by our Zwartbles x Jacob Camilla and assisted by me. As a new owner, this was my first experience with my hand up the back of a sheep. And those lambs are very slippery - which is good for birthing but not great for trying to grab hold of something to pull. Still, the first lamb was born quickly and easily and then I was told to go dive for the second one. That one kept pulling its legs out of my slippery fingers, and needed some extra assistance due to a big head. Two lovely healthy tip lambs, and a very proud mama. For my first time, this couldn't have gone better.
Saturday also saw frantic preparations to get the orchard in order - new trees had been waiting to be planted for weeks (let's hope they aren't all dead sticks by now), and the imminent arrival of those lambs plus mum in the orchard meant the job finally got done. We planted a new apple tree, a colourful crab apple for some autumn colour, a Mirabelle plum and another quince - attempt number 3! We protected the new trees with some palette fencing, and then built a short length of stock fence around the bee yard, to keep the bees in (or the sheep out). And finally, a temporary gate was erected where the previous one had been unceremoniously removed by Storm Arwen in November 2021. All in, the orchard is now good and ready to act as the nursery field.
I was chatting to our weekend guests about life in the Lake District- while we have undoubtedly spent more time than before up a mountain or round a lake or woodland, it's certainly not every weekend as there are always chores to be done (some entirely self inflicted!). Living where others holiday isn't the same as holidaying here. But, we wouldn't change a bit of it.
We do take the opportunity to walk during the lunch hour at times, for instance following the snow and frost in late January. The sun was shining brightly after an overnight snow storm, it was a perfect winter wonderland. So we swapped sandwiches for walking boots and set off on a familiar round over to Loweswater - just to enjoy the scenery, the bright clean snow topped mountain views and the cold crisp air. Living where other people holiday does have its perks...at least we manage to catch the fabulous weather whenever it presents itself.
For anyone fancying meeting the sheep, the bees or checking on the progress of the orchard, why not book yourself a little stay with us? We have good availability all through April, including the Easter holiday weeks, and into mid-May. Go on, treat yourself to a slice of rural idyll (minus the chores).
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