Farmyard Tails(!)

It was freezing at the garden today. We went to collect some vegetables....leeks and a Romanesque cauliflower. We enjoyed them with our dinner this evening. As we drove home the car was filled with the smell of the fresh leeks. Lovely.

I noticed the few left-over lettuces had been nibbled by rabbits, probably during the recent snow. They will eat anything that is above the snow.

 The grass was wet and boggy, dotted with hoof prints. I think the sheep had been for a visit. 

I saw their droppings.

I had a good look around and noticed the lichen on the bordering trees was an incredible green colour.

I like to wear this shade of green.

I saw another job waiting to be done but it is dependent on another huge load of chipped bark. I`m hoping for a free load soon. 

 The bark layer is decomposing very rapidly, probably due to all the fungi that grew in the autumn. What gets left is a lovely friable mix which will eventually go on the beds. The paths are clearly deliniated and fairly solid now except where the moles have been busy. We want to enlarge some of the beds this year 

to give more growing space.

The pond ice was broken. I mistakenly thought someone had broken it to allow 

the pond creatures to breathe. We walked round to the yard to find the piglets.

We found William grinding corn for the cows in one of the barns. I had wondered what the rumbling was.

He told us that little Ivy, the orphan lamb had gone into the garden with him. She skittered across the ice on the pond, the ice cracked and she skidded to a halt, the ice sheets parted and she fell in!! She ran around the yard to get dry. I expect she had plenty of lanolin in her short wool coat.

Emma and Tracy were grooming their horses. I hope they didn`t get too cold using cold water.

Tracy had had a heart shape cut into her horse`s flanks (and a star on the other side)

so they are all ready for Valentine`s Day.

Not sure where the pigs were though.

Here is Ivy, enjoying herself in the sun and getting dry at the same time.