A cup of ambition
It was very sad that this month the world lost Dolly Parton, the foremost lady of country music. Since we couldn't name one of our sheep directly after Dolly because the name was already taken, I chose to name sheep number 001 as Iris in Dolly's honour. Our sheep names are inspired by the diverse flora and fauna, and Iris, the official state cultivated flower of Tennessee, represents wisdom and faith—a lot to live up to! Iris, previously known as 001, was the first sheep to lose an ear tag, which meant she received the first replacement 'earing' I have ever arranged and attached.
Back home, the summer has been characterized by hot, dry weather, making our flock of sheep on the hillside resemble the Brebis on the arid fields of Provence, France, rather than the Romney Lacaune crosses on the usually green pastures of Sussex. We were very fortunate and immensely thankful to rent the beautiful Busi Jacobson fields nearby. Despite the dryness and heat, strolling down the hill each day to enjoy the stunning views and blue skies while checking and feeding the sheep has been a delightful and much cherished part of the year.
During the last weeks of July and the beginning of August, we had the sheep return to our fields. This allowed the hillside summer fields to rest, and we were also able to complete essential tasks to safeguard our sheep. To minimize the risk of fly strike, we applied Moelecto blue spray and provided a garlic lick. Next year, we plan to seek a homeopathic or alternative solution, as this spray and the garlic lick cannot be used when milking sheep due to the risk of tainting the milk.
With news of Blue Tongue rapidly spreading across the West Country and Wales, everyone is on high alert. We were fortunate to have Brooke advise us to proceed with vaccinating our sheep early. We found a local vet, Cliffe Farm Vets, who had some of the vaccine and came the same day we called. It was a busy Friday, administering the vaccine to 42 sheep, meeting the new vet, delivering our vegetables to Cuckoo Line Stores, and receiving our winter barley straw. Fortunately, our good friends Lizzy and Julia were visiting and helped us store everything in the right place. Many hands and machines make light work!
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As well as looking after the sheep, it has been peak season for caring for our vegetables and bees. Happily we had considerable success with bumper crops of tomatoes, juicy home grown melons and our first batch of expertly crafted Whitehouse farm Oast honey.
The month concluded with a relocation to Groombridge, and we are grateful to Andrew for allowing us to rent his beautiful pasture at Hollambys for September. With assistance from Brooke, Matt, Fergus, and Monty, and equipped with two trailers and a few cups of ambition before beginning, we successfully transported the sheep and had them off the trucks in less than 2 hours!
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