UPDATES
August 2008
What a busy time we have had lately,
Dog shows, cow shows, and not forgetting the sheep .
Getting all the animals trained for the show ring takes some doing but we all pull together to get it done. Also trying to get Rhia going under saddle good job she soooo chilled with this stiff old women trying to teach her stuff.
We have managed to get 2 crops of silage in thanks to Viv reading the weather better then the weather men!!!
but of cause one lot of nice weather had to come the Royal Welsh show week,
so the boys where left to get on with it (with Gramps' and their Nan's help) for couple of days so we could get on with the silage making.
Rhys at the Royal Welsh with the prize
winning yearling ram.
The boys did a good job getting the sheep ready
for showing Tueday morning, we got there
to help get them into the ring.
Which is a laugh trying to get them into the ring
as most Blueface Leicester are not lead trained cuss when they go
into the ring they are freed to walk around the ring.
So all the family come to help sisters cousins even one from England for his 2nd yr to
visit the show ( well good welsh beer, girls, bands, tractors had more to do with it than helping us lot with show animals)
Cousin Tom (in Green) getting ready to help!!
The ewes being judged free, so in theory the judge should not know who's sheep is who's......
God how i wish you could let that happen at dog show!!!
June 2008
2nd yr of the website,where the time as gone, I don't know!
Lots of new babies have arrived with us in
the last couple of mths, from little um's to
bigger um's
March 5-03-2008
Happy New Year, better late than never!!
Crufts on Friday, so bath time for Aur today so
she will look at her best
for her day out at Crufts,around 420 Cocker entered so we will not hold are breath
for a prize, but she won her right to be seen and we will enjoy the day.
Chicken have given us lovely golden eggs all year round
And we do know that they only have
a brain the size of a pea ...
or so they say.. But when Rhys comes
home from school
they always jump in to the apple tree
to say come on corn time.....
This is the new girl on the block,
Her names babble and
I think she great.
We always had pigs when I was a kid as Viv did to,Has a true family farm it was somethink that was missing
and I have always had a soft spot for them
The boys had never been around one and
such lovely misunderstood animals I have been nagging for one
for years and now she here. Babble the saddleback sow, she inpig (pregnant) has her on lovely paddack with a little stream running throw it,
She really frendly as she as come from a farm that shows them so had lots of handling.
And no you will not be seeing me
in the ring showing pigs thank you very much.
But then never say never..........
27th April 2007 at 23.30 hours
this little man come to join us.
Has you can see all the family
was their to welcome the new member to
the family.
Meet Spirit our little colt foal
out the very next morning with Mum Lucy.
February 2007
A veiw looking down onto
pandy It's shows you how high
up our fields are.
At last we have started to come out
of hibernation.
January over at last not 1 of our favourite
mth's on the
farm, as usual grey wet and windy.
But things our brighting up a little
the birds are in full song in the morning, so hopefully spring is not to far away.
On the farm at the moment it's still a case
of feeding and bedding up the stock.
We have started lambing the suffolk ewes and some of the singles (1 lamb per ewe) have now gone
out to the fields, as the weather is dry for the week, Wet weather is no friend to the shepherd,
cold weather lamb's will cope, wet and windy can be a killer.
The Bluefaced Leicesters are out in the field being fed twice a day,
but will be coming into the shed's in the next week as lambing should start at the end of Feb.
We have now managed to get out onto the fields
to put the muck out, the pits where at braking point
with all the rain it was just not possible to get safely on to the ground with the tractors.
The dogs all seem pleased that is as stop raining to,
the Cocker's can get into a rigth old mess
around the farm, I have to say that some walk around it and some just love splashing
rigth through it and at high speed to !!.
We have not been too many shows lately but will start to go now to get ready for Crufts.
We have had some nice feed back on our dog which have gone to their new families and I
have had lots of new pic's
to put onto the puppy page once again THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.
Horses looking woolly but well. Counting the days down to lucy,s foaling date, she due in April so now we are on the look out for a handsome stallion for her
will let you know the outcome.
Rhys lovely Chickens
not many boys asked for
chickens this christmas I bet, Was he chuffed
you bet, when the little darlings
laid a egg for him on boxing day, you could not have wished for better for the lad,
So we started with 3 now we have 5,
and I can tell you there eggs are so yummy.
The Blues waiting for their feed
all looking well as they should be
coming into the lambing time.
Rhia taking a drink 2yrs old now . well her brithdays not till April but all horses
brithdays are 1st jan.
April 2007
Well...........Fantastic weather,quite hard to come in
and sit at the computer, with all the sunshine it's been great
to get out with the dogs and horses.
But can we have some rain now please........
Well you know farmers are never happy with the weather,
one thing for one field and something different for the next field.
Lambing over for another year, did not go to bad,
hopefully we will have some nice tups (boys) for the autumn sales.
One of the main jobs over March has been to get the
muck and fertiliser out onto the fields so we can
get the grass growing and get the stock out......
But as we have had no rain for weeks things are not to good
has the grass has just stopped growing.
We have put the dairy cows out in the day time,
but the girls are coming in at nigth as the
grass would be gone if they were out all the time, but they are happy to have the sun on their
backs and seem to be really enjoying them self's.
Meet Nan one of are senior cows
at 12yrs young still looking happy and well,
due to calve soon hopefully with a heifer calf, it will be
a sad sad day when all the small family
run farms are squeezed out by the
drive in this country for the big intensive boys,
I will not get onto the big super stores and the make up on the milk price.
We have two new members to our household a
Quarter horse mare she been there done that
and got the T shirt.... really enjoying riding her,
she is learning me a lot about western riding
(just about stopped aching in places that I had forget about!!)
Hope to do some western clinics with her and
also some trail rides.
And theirs Aur are little golden cocker puppy, such a little madam you would not believe it.
Yea thats her.... chilling with Gareth, Photo a bit dark but then hey.. any good film
worth veiwing has to be done with the
lights down low...........
Happy out going, not a care in the world, we have just started to take her out and about, not that
she to happy with the lead.....much nicer not to have to go where we would like her to go.
but she will be starting ring craft this week
so watch this space........
Rhia and Blackie glad to have the rugs off.
Rhys is really starting to enjoy his western lessons on Dakota, and a lot of thanks have to go to
Amy down at Syamores Ranch for making it a
fun time.
Solo saying hello to the dog next door at Crufts.
We did ok got down to the last 10 in a class of 24, he loved his time out on the green
mat, but 8 hours later and we where all
feeling a bit like this.( pic below).
June 2007
Its been a year now that our website has been up and running,
and the one thing that we have learned is
that it's never finished...........
Alway new things to put on or things to say.
We cannot believe how many people have visited the site and how people have really enjoy looking at it and seeing us going
about our life on the farm with all the
animals, its sure has make us stop and think
about how lucky we our to be living out in wild west Wales We have emails from all around the world asking about life on the farm,
or quite often
from an worried dog owner needing a little help and reasurance which we our only to happy to do if we can.
In this next year I will try to get the
updates out a little more often.
And just keep taking the photo that you
seem to love so much thank you
and I hope you keep calling back.
Well we have had 2 good mths. All the 1st cut of
silage in. Nice drop of rain to get the grass
growing for the next cut of silage.
The bales quickly get wrapped which makes the grass sort of cook, the weather was nice so the job
went well this photo was taken later in
the evening, we where just coming to the
end of the day.
So it was a good time to bring some of the dogs up
to the field to have a good old run around
now the grass was short.
Lovely shot of Tina running to meet Gareth.
Tina so pleased to meet Gareth and
gets a good old hug from him.
WELL WELL..........this is a beagle doing what
a beagle as to do...........she just loveing it.
No more hugs for her today!!.
She even tryed to get Finn to
have a go...(No he did not)
Sparks and I have gone on 3 sponsored trail rides.
I must say she well up for it,
we did 17 miles on one (was suppose to be 10 miles...let's just say our map reading has got to improve....)
A group of us all meet at the start and just chit chat all the way around.
Its nice just to enjoy the horses the lovely
views, and not to be in a compaction,
which at some dog shows can really put a damper on things.
Sometime you wonder if the person at the end of the lead really cares
about the dog or just the winning. yes a lot can be said about the Judges
BUT 'hey it's my hobby not my life'
Enjoy the day out is are motto but most of all enjoy your DOGS.
Anyway getting back to the ride after 17 miles I was
How can I put this 'knackered' but Sparks was well up for going on, Well
it did take a bit of thinking how the hell
was I going to get off.....
would my legs buckle on landing you know....
end up sitting on my ass has a group
of fit teenagers come galloping by fresh as daisy after the 25 mile ride,
Thinking that,that lot of old women should have stayed
at home, to tell the truth I may have been thinking that at that point....
well old Sparks stood like a lamb till the blood got back to my feet...
We have had 2 very welcome visitors in the last few weeks this is Rosie and the Photo below
is of Fern both girls now all grow up and
happy to bring there owners on holiday down to Wales.
A big thank you for letting us meet our girls again.
JULY 2007
Well, I cannot believe that in April we where wishing for rain,
maybe it's a case of "beware of what you wish for"......
But if the rain could stop for a bit now please............
Gareth as been busy helping his Granddad to get the cows,
ready for the Royal Walsh show (big high ligth of the year for many
farmers in wales and the nearest most farmers wifes get to what the husband calls a holiday, believe me on this one.....)
As you can see the little madam
will not walk on tidy,
Lots of time will be spent pushing
and pulling quietly and calmly getting
her to understand what she needs to do.
The one thing which you should not let
happen is for her to get away from
you. As it will not take her long to learn
that she is stronger than you.
Its the one thing a stockmen has nigthmares about
letting one go, O dear the shame of it,
and if its at a show....and if its the Royal Welsh it would be sooooo bad, you never live it down.
Mair will be at the
show this year again, I'm sure she will be
the one of the oldest cows there, but she loves her holiday at the Welsh as much as anybody.
Aur playing with her new mate.
The ginger tom who turn up here
about a mth ago, anybody fancey given a home to a really mad kitten.
Aur is getting on nicely with her show ring training
taken , all we ask of her in her stride, she
is such a happy go lucky little girl
she a joy to have around.
Gareth as a new dog named Roddie a black Cocker he was
nearly a yr old when he come to live with us
about 6 weeks ago.
At the moment his coat is not up to going to the shows,
which is ok because he has time to get more
training for the show ring and get to know Gareth,
but to be honest looking at the photo below
Gareth got him eatting out of his hands already,
what do you think....
