DIFFERENT WASHERS

 Taking a break from the hills yesterday,to go to go to the bank,  but before human needs the daft dog needed have some fun, so we stopped off at Pen-y-fan pond, which is a place where he can have a good run around, as long as he does not disturb the fishermen, almost up to their waists in very cold water.  Both men and mutt had no problems with getting themselves soaked and washed. Nutters!!

Having got said dog wonderfully soaked and happy, we headed off again and passed an interesting sight ... that had me at least intrigued, so we went and explored a little more.

The Chartist Bridge in Blackwood. It is really quite simple but stunning in the apparent simplicity of it's design. We parked and walked across on the convenient foot path in the sunlight that shone down highlighting not just the bridge but the monument on the roundabout on the other side.

This 8mtr tall chartist, commemorates the 1839 march made the Chartists from all over the Welsh Valleys to Newport. Designed by Sebastian Boysen it is said to contain one million washers. The details of this can be clearly seen in the whole structure from the head to the legs. Meanwhile ... the bright skies had turned to sullen darkness and gave a different dark light as a backdrop, he seemed quite menacing from this angle with the rain clouds behind.

as we headed back to the car, the heavens opened with not just rain, but hail stones ...

Yeowch!!

A NUMBERS GAME

  It has been great to catch up with my local farmers over the last week, finding out how lambing and calving has gone in the months that I've been away and the good news seems to be that there is no sign of the dreaded midge born virus that has swept through Europe and much of the south of Britain. It would hit hard to the well established farmers, but for a son and his wife restocking their fathers farm and now in their second lambing year, it has been great to hear that all bar one has lambed, all the rest have delivered ...

they are all numbered and accounted for ... from a small starter flock of 24, they have increased from pure bred Welsh last year to adding a Texel ram this year. 

Unfortunately some walkers left the gates open and so the result was unknown until now ...  but it seems that the result has not been so bad ... Some Welsh match up per the numbers (i.e 29) but others are prone to a mismatch ...Meanwhile ... the gorse is in full bloom early this year, sadly too early for foraging bees ... who still, like me ...

find it too cold to be out and about. Sometimes I wish I was a hardy welsh born sheep!

WESTERLY MONDAY

Yep, westerly, wet & windy Easter Monday. So out we headed in the mizzle, out of which appeared Ffin's rather adorable female friend, who has just come out of season. Last year on of all days, St Davids's Day they had a grand get together and we really thought there might have been pups but sadly she had a phantom pregnancy. Today Ffin definitely seemed interested, but she was having none of it ... so the pair of them just went splodging about getting happily muddy as the rain came down in style. We returned to her home and dropped her off before heading back to dry off ourselves. A drizzmally dank, bank holiday Moanday!!

EASTERLY SUNDAY

Today dawned bright but breezy, ideal for getting washing out on the line before trogging the dog from the pub, up the road to see the latest in our farming world ...

This ewe seemed to want to attract my attention, she was coming close to the fence and stamping her foot.

As I approached her, she just put her head down and as I got close to the fence I realised she had a dead lamb, no obvious deformities, but a sad sight to see. I was able to inform the farmer, but luckily catching up with the lambing rates amongst our farmers, the loss rate is fairly normal and no obvious sign of Schmallenburg affected lambs. Most of the flocks are coming to the end of lambing, so it seems that this side of the border we have been lucky to escape the midge born virus.

These three lambs were playing on an old, grass overgrown harrow, having fun

Whilst other ewes were being suckled by energetically  tail wagging twins. The whole scene was just one of farming harmony (with the exception of a few losses) which can be expected in such large flocks for this area of Wales. All in all the lambing here seems to be going well as is the calving for the cattle farmers. It's an amazing time of year to be a witness to.

I love the large vistas of farming land here, with their rolling slopes and wonderful, atmospheric skies to highlight the land beneath that seem so peaceful when the light is right. But, believe me when the weather changes (as it is due to very soon) it can seem bleak. Even so, in the worst of the weather I love the changing moods of the skies.

Meanwhile the pub chickens and roosters were making the most of an opportunity to attend church on Easter Sunday whilst the wood burner in the pub won't run short of fuel for a while ... loads of logs delivered and stacked ready for whatever the weather ... It's getting cold here!

I shall leave you with one last image from today ... daisies or days eyes?

 I wish you all ... a good Easter wherever you are in the world!

UNUSUAL COLOURATION

Today was a quiet sort of a day, when the clouds that promised rain hung low overhead and everything seemed hushed, even the skylark song seemed muted as we went for a short trog. Watched wherever we went by sheep curious to see if we were a threat.

Luckily the dog is trained to take little notice of sheep and just glides quietly by my side so they do not panic and tun away. I don't want lots of photo's of retreating rear ends!! The beech trees look so bare, but there are tiny buds waiting to burst forth with that lovely fresh green of early summer foliage and with our native welsh bluebells to add extra colour.

Driving back home over the commons, a treat in store was to see this unusually coloured ewe, one of my favourites and I named her (very unoriginally) Tearface. I first saw her as a fresh born lamb back in 2009 born to a white mam ...

and have watched her become a mother for the last three years, this time with just a single lamb. I have also at shearing time kept her fleeces in the hope that one day I can get the wool spun to do something with. I just love the natural colouration that will come from her unusual colouration. What's in her genes? Maybe some Black Welsh Mountain throw back just like the badger faces.

though this is also a throw back not a pure badger face as for showing.

Yes ... I admit I'm a softy for more unusual sheep!

A GOODLY FRIDAY

  Today, was someone's birthday, funnily enough he was born on Good Friday 5 years ago 

  and what better way to celebrate than pulling a great chunk of heather out of the ground and bouncing around all over the moorland like a loony!  He had a grand time of it, exploring the freshly created puddles that look like mountain ale due to the peaty colouration of the water.
Don't ask me what it tastes like but he drinks it happily. enough and likes nothing better than getting muddily soaked. Meanwhile I was seeing signs of grouse but no birds either red or black, though plenty of skylarks in full song. Finally too cold to stay out any longer, across the valley some snow was still visible on the tops, Brrr!

But it seemed that what looks (almost) like a birthday cake was not for the mad mutt but the sheep and newborn lambs.

Worry ye not ... he had a special meal tonight with a whole tin of tuna. One happy dog!

GREENING & GROANING

  Today was an odd sort of a day, sorting out the mouse problem but there were breaks in the day .... when we went up into a local forest area and the larch tree s were starting to don their spring foliage and looking lovely ... 

but ... not all stumps enjoy such regrowth, some will never recover from being harshly cut back, I just love the lichens on this one, that has never recovered in the years I've been here ... 

However, along the brooks burbling water, other species of plants are thriving ... 

and also the wild water cress is starting to get it's new shoots and I look forward to water cress soup again later this year. But even here the water sources are suffering from a strange winter time and this normally overflowing pipe seems to be running almost dry ... but ... we are lucky here in that unlike the south-east of England we have not yet had a hosepipe ban which where Dad lives started today!! Arable farmers there are desperate for water after a very dry winter. Be it livestock or arable ... we are our nations food producers, yet the government seems more worried about external threats to our well being and welcome imports from other countries! Why? 

We as a country could be more self sufficient if ... we didn't accept imports of produce that we rear and grow here in U.K! When will our government & super market chains back our local providers of food? It's about time  they stood up for us a nation!

TINY MINERS

   The day started chilly with milk cloudy skies and the promise of much needed rain and ... snow, which we had today! The tracks across the commons  are dry, dusty and hard and need rain to get the new shoots of grazing growing and it will be easier on horses legs (mine too). The grouse on the moors are obviously coping with old dry heather, judging by the only other signs of them for now>>>

This tractor had broken down, so no muck spreading getting done in this field. 
And just to continue the theme of  animal droppings, I got home to find that mice had been having a bit of a party in my absence, and had been in the kitchen munching through my cappuccino sachets and a soap bar by the sink and in the in the cleaning products under the  sink. 

Then ... having bought a large bag of dog food, I went to put it in the under-stairs cupboard where I realised that I had a severe mouse problem, which I was able to start tackling today, all this is rubble >>>

which the mining mice have extracted from two small holes in the corners at the bottom of the stairs! I started clearing up the mess ... which weighed in at over 13 pounds in weight!!

They had been everywhere including my spice drawer ... 

Now ... as a joke someone gave me this to hang here, because of the saying that everyone has a skeleton in their cupboard.

but even he ... seems visibly shocked by the major re-arrangement of my pantry by under-stairs visitors or perhaps he has rodent phobia. There is now an alternative blue food source for the meeces. Soooo sorry Mus (mining) musticus but for you, the party is over!

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

  Today was meant to be a quiet, settling back in day, but everyone I met wanted to know how Dad was and it was great to be able to tell them how well he is doing at the moment. Then of course the catching up on local news as seen from different angles. The villagers talk about other villagers and the farmers talk about how their flocks are doing. Luckily mostly well at the moment and no signs of Schmallenburg Virus effecting either our lambs or our calves, thank goodness. But it seems even the sheep are curious about our return ...

"Who are those strangers walking past?"

Last night taking Ffin for a walk under a starlit sky with young Rhiannon telling me how she wants to be a vet, she told me I was meant to be home because "X marks the spot." She pointed up into the night sky where two contrials crossed. I couldn't take a photo then but I could today by The Singing Gate. Looking out over fields full of new born life as well as everywhere I've been today is just wonderful and if you think I am just interested in sheep, then look at this peaceful scene captured with the zoom facility on my camera ... six new born calves.

  And for those yet to give birth, peaceful pastoral scenes ...  with the gentle rolling hillsides in the background ... with new spring shoots rising up for summer grazing.
But ... the weather is turning with possibly ... even snow due to reach us on the high ground ... we shall see as the weeks progress. Meanwhile I shall leave you with this from a hedgerow down the road ... 

To quote Monty Python ... "Always look on the bright side of life!"

HOMEWARD BOUND

  This morning I was packing for the journey home and sorting out bits before I left but, taking the trio out in the garden, I was in for a big surprise and a lovely one too ...
The female robin had left the nest, so I took a peek and ... to my delighted surprise, five newly hatched robin chicks! It was such a wonderful sight, and having watched her over the weeks staring at me over the edge of the nest, to see these five was brilliant,

Well done that Mum!

It has been a beautiful sunny, summery day with a few stops along the way including this place ... Lickey End ...?

I'm not sure about licking the end of a water vole! We had stopped for a break due to an accident on the M5 & were trying to find a route to avoid the motorway, which we did and ended up detouring via Ross on Wye ... a more scenic route, better than monotonous M5 anyway ...  but another stop for Ffin to have a rest break was this ... a welcoming sign post, we were almost back in Wales!

Not a spot that Ffin recognised, that is until we hit the old familiar area of Abergavenny then he really got excited ... head out of the windows, sniffing the scents ... and inhaling deeply, we were almost home and ... home means hill farmed sheep ...

On the left Ryeland and Jacobs and on the right a Welsh ewe with twins. We were home. A catch up with news circulating in the pub,  a walk uder the stars with a happy collie, then home for a bath and bed!