won 1st prize with two cups, one to keep, the
other to be returned next year, and a very
happy girl.
A huge thank-you to all my show team for all
your hard work and support, not only on the
day but all the hours of preparation before,
you are all great.
The rest of July passed by with just three
new calves, catching up on paperwork,
taking fat cattle and store pigs to Salisbury
Livestock Market, hay/silage cut and cart
plus the start of the straw and preparing the
show cattle for Alresford, Romsey and
Newbury shows, September looking busy!
Late July - early August, having posted all
the show entries, I thought it would be nice
to have a few days to recharge my batteries
and just carry out all the basic tasks of
feeding/bedding all the housed livestock
which includes the pigs, store bulls, fattening
cattle and any cattle temporarily housed
while received medical treatment or near
calving. Then do my rounds, checking all the
outlying cattle, which can take up to four
hours and if all ok, I can watch the Olympics
while carrying out any paperwork or
domestics, a good plan. I should have kept
the plan to myself because two of the sows
decided as the weather had improved it
would be a good time to farrow. The first sow
started at 10pm, so I did have time to cook
and eat a meal, finally getting to bed about
4am. The second sow started at 5.30am and
finished at 10am, so a late breakfast that
day. Oh, I nearly forgot the arrival of two new
calves as well.
A pre-birthday meal with my great friend
Gilly, who being slightly older by four days is
very wise, and suggested I have a day off
and go to London and absorb the Olympic
fever on my birthday, the last Friday. Hubby
and Stan were brilliant and offered to take
care of the farm while carrying out some
maintenance work plus they surprised me by
installing a new footpath between the two
barns, no more slipping on the mud with my
arms full, thank you boys.
Harriet and I, after feeding of course, armed
with Gilly’s itinerary written on the back of
my birthday card envelope, train from Alton,
walk to the London Eye, boat trip up the
Thames (or is that down?) to the O2 Arena,
cable car back across the Thames, bus to
the Olympic stadium, underground back to
Tower Bridge and a lovely walk including a
pub meal along the South Bank, a
wonderful, happy day and very different from
my usual.
August summary - three litters of piglets, five
calves with one imminent (before Saturday
please) 1000 plus bales of silage/hay stored
and the same of straw so far. More store
pigs taken to market.
Must mention my birthday present from
Stan, Downton Abbey box set, first time I
have watched it and loved the comment by
Violet Crawley (The Earl’s mother) ‘What’s a
weekend?’, I can relate to that, brilliant.
Sarah Jackson
[email protected]
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