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Spring Newsletter
Find out what's been happening at Shallow
Grange...
Our Winter Newsletter began with us bemoaning the wet weather conditions of last
season, & unfortunately our Spring Newsletter for 2008 begins on the same note!
We all knew how early Easter was this year, but none of us was expecting it to
be quite so Arctic! In fact, we saw a whole range of weather, barring the
tropical of course. Those who managed to survive the awful wind & hail of the
Thursday & Friday were rewarded with Alpine weather on Easter Sunday - beautiful
crystal clear blue skies & plenty of snow. It's the first time the camping field
has played host to a company of snowmen, several giant snowballs & 1 marvelous
igloo which you could actually crawl into!
The weather proved problematical for the first couple of weeks of lambing too.
The cold, sunless conditions meant the grass refused to grow when it should.
Extra (& increasingly expensive) feed had to be bought in to supplement the diet
of the nursing mothers.
We had a very anxious time mid April when we had to put some of the lambs out
because of pressure on space, & it snowed yet again! However, they all survived
& we now have about 300 young lambs springing about the fields providing an
endless source of entertainment. There are also about 10 being bottle fed, so
come & lend a hand with feeding when you come to stay with us.
We were surprised by the number of triplets we had. It seems many of the farmers
in the area have also had a high incidence of triplets this year. Conditions
back at tupping time must have been just right!
The new shed is well on the way to completion. Unfortunately, due to contractor
delays & bad weather (yet again), we didn't make our April 1st deadline. In
fact, the doors were actually being put on as the expectant mothers were being
herded in - a somewhat hastily completed maternity ward!
We're looking forward to it being completely finished & the whole area being
smartened up before the end of the season.
Despite the disappointing weather, the first skylarks have been singing their
hearts out over our back fields & the first cowslips are out in Back Dale.
Here's looking forward to more benevolent weather to come!
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