Hard times

 23.8.2020

 

It is going to be hard to write a cheerful diary this week.  The none stop rain has continued and it has become really cold.  The sheep and lambs are having a terrible time.  I have had to rescue two that were near deaths door and put them in the shed for bottle feeding.  We have moved the sheep into the crofts by the shed and made an indoor space available for them to shelter in.  Not every sheep wants to go inside, and several lambs are sleeping rough outside with their mothers.  We have only lost one so far, but it will be more if these conditions continue.

 

Simon gave us two huge plastic bins from the brewery, and we have set them up to provide the lambs with a shelter and windbreak if they can work out how to use them.  Three goats have kidded so we now have five kids also in the shed. They are still with their mothers at night, so they are doing OK.  There will be more kids in a week or so, but we are hoping that the weather will change by next Wednesday.

 

Spring is coming too.  The large oak tree by the dairy has started to break bud and my one of my orchids has three flowering shoots.  The paddocks are too wet and cold top grow. They are flooded even though they slope downhill as the ground id like a wet sponge.  Everywhere the animals or people put down a foot a new puddle forms.  Our driveways have become creeks with gurgling water eroding them and the usually dry creeks in the gullies are raging torrents.  It is altogether nicer indoors.  No one in our valley remembers a time quite like it!

 

Being in stage four lock down is not helping.  My gumboots leak, the iron has broken, and I accidently boiled the kettle to death.  We are not allowed to travel more than 5k from home or, in our case to the nearest shop, so replacing stuff is hard.   Ordering on-line is difficult because it is hard to gauge the quality of stuff you do not usually get.    I am getting pretty sick of my own cooking too.  Luckily both Simon and our tenant CB, have delivered cooked food to us today so I. will get a bit of a change and have more time in the evening to concentrate on animal care.

 

Bo dropped some of her fruit and vegetables off yesterday and I have spoken to Al and his kids with face time this morning.  Al has had an even worse time because a scammer hacked into his systems and got all his money out of his bank.  They have all his details, so he now has to change everything and try and reclaim his identity.  He looked surprisingly happy despite this.  He says the house is cold because there are still some windows that need putting in but hopefully Stevo will do that next week.

 

Wayne sounds the happiest.  His work has stopped so he is home helping with the kids whilst his wife works.  He sounds as if he is enjoying the break and the chance to sort out the garden for his new house.  They have so much indoor space now. It is a miracle that they managed to move in between the two lock down periods.

 

Indi and Alice