Girl Friday
Girl Friday : First lamb of 2018 – and mum.
Jonathan >
Today’s Good Friday : we have, all of a sudden, arrived at Easter. Our first lamb of 2018 was born this afternoon : she will have to be nick-named Girl Friday !
I found her resting on a dry patch of ground, sheltered from the cold east wind, and basking in warm spring sunshine. Her mum was grazing close-by guarding her jealously … and judging from the umbilical cord still trailing from her back end – but as yet no placenta, I suspect the little girl might yet be joined by a twin. I shall see tomorrow morning.
Here’s a look back over the past week and more.
I’ve been working on the croft most of every day, making a final push to get the croft fencing completed before the end of the financial year, before lambing, before work in the walled garden has to take precedence.
Down near the shore, our gaggle of six Embden geese have come through the winter in good health, thanks largely to their finely-honed sense of timing : they know my routine better than I do, managing to be wherever and whenever food is being put down for sheep or hens or whoever : for heaven’s sake, they’ll even fly from one thieving expedition to another!
Anything for elevenses?
A week or more ago, one of the girls was missing from the raiding party : three mornings in a row. I found her on a neighbouring derelict croft, within – the ruins of an old stone cottage or byre, and the gaggle’s favourite nesting site. This particular ruin had, at some time, been used as a dump for waste buidling materials, which seemed to me a very unsavory choice for nesting. Not so, presumably, to the first goose to set up camp there, ten years ago : one corner seemed to have already be in use as a goose nest : surely those white round things just below the encroaching grass were goose eggs, weren’t they? Investigating, D and I discovered a heap of discarded white rainwater down-pipes : the radius of which approximated to that of a goose egg! Over the years since, the grass has been defeated by trampling, and the absurdity is all the more apparent.
This year, one of the younger geese, together with her gander, was first of the three couples to set up in the old ruin. Of course she chose on top of the pipes – even though two other good nesting sites in other corners were available. A few days later, Mr & Mrs Jackson thought, too, that it was time to get on with the work of life, Mr Jackson shooed off the nesting goose and established his good lady on the premium nest site – she also took possession of the four warm eggs already in it! Over the following there was a constant argy-bargy between the two couples , but at last peace has settled , with the two girls sitting side-by-side on the nest – and the unknown number of eggs layed between them. Mr Jackson stays nearby, on higher ground, watching over both.
The Big Garden Croft – The Sound of Eriskay – South Uist
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Such lovely pics – I adore those geese!
They are SUCH characters – and so friendly, too!
Love that first pic of the geese.. perfect! And what a place they have to roam about in.
Such an exciting time of year at your place! Great photos of all the fuzzy and feathered friends!
Girl Friday is perfect! Those geese are a busy bunch.
Love these pictures! Especially the one of the two geese!
Great life you have! Best of luck with lambing season. We took a year off from breeding this season. It seems the gals are thankful…and so am I! No middle of the night checks! Hopefully this means that I will work through last spring and this springs fleeces and have a clean slate! How is your weather at the moment?
J + D > Spring sunshine , Winter Winds. Nice to look at, but not good for growing things, especially our outdoors-born lambs!
The geese are trying to be good parents!
J > They’re wonderful parents!
I have to say, your sheep are very handsome. Those wonderful curving horns and that beautiful black wool are just gorgeous!
J > They have lovely intelligent faces.
D > Thankfully we don’t have Texels : sorry to say it , but they are such ugly brutes!
Babies and almost babies everywhere. Lets hope there are twins and both doing well. Glad to hear the gees settled their living arrangements.
D > Couple of days later : no twin, but another single born today, and more expected soon!
More babies. Yay!