The Housemartins

While Gaia has been singing 'I've got a brand new combine harvester' (The Wurzels, 1976), courtesy of an afternoon in the shop with Barry's music selection, I have had that well known Housemartins track, 'Sheep', running round my head. The lambs are now out in the fields, by Kidbrooke, eating the Bluebells (which are poisonous) and they are wonderful to watch. Everyone who comes into the barn and holds the sweet little things in their hands or bottle feeds one (only 6 left to lamb) asks tentatively, 'so, how old are they when you.., y'know, when they go off for..., y'know'. At least they are there, asking the question. Not enough clean grass or fencing for the autumn lambs or replacement ewes so they are now in the barn. Another exercise in escaping sheep. David has created a timetable of tasks (probably a first for Tablehurst) which is efficient and means we all know where we should be if we aren't doing emergency fence repairs, sheep collecting (from A22, Forest Row, Emerson etc), essential deliveries (eg. straw to circus) or leaning on pitchforks deep in the finer points of Nietzsche and Mill with Terry and Stewart. Pigs...huh, in the same way that man has to try and stop sheep killing themselves, so he must save piglets from tyrannical (or careless) mothers. Either the sow rolls over and sleeps on them, suffocating or squashing the poor things or she eats the neighbouring sow's. One benefit of having the pigs run in with the cows (deliberate) and sheep (a fencing deficiency) is that they eat all the afterbirth, which saves me a job (clearing up, not eating). One of the stirring sticks broke yesterday, extra chaotic vigour by Jors. I am proud of my replacement, coppiced by the chicken sheds and hung early afternoon. Now if it will just stop raining so we can do some spraying.... Generally, its great fun and I am really enjoying it, although its extremely hard work. I love reading everyone's comments, keep it up. And, yes, Robin, you should go into politics, although I was under the impression you already had.