Down on the Farm with Jacqui, Chris & Becky

It was such fun sharing a lambing morning with our friends from Keld village.

Turning twins out into Lowside this morning.  Chris had plenty of willing helpers.

 One of a pair of twins needed a bit of 'topping up' ....

 

Never in all my days have I ever seen such happiness and enthusiasm.

The Good, The Bemused and A Small Miracle!

Wednesday 12th April and at Pry House Farm we officially start lambing today 

however we already have a mixed bag of early birds!

Pry House Farm's first lamb and what a good start.  

A fine, strong, single gimmer - exactly what we hope for.

A shearling with her first off-spring looking a little be-mused (I remember the feeling well!)

This ewe had a very tiny lamb born about week too early but hey! what a little trier she is.

She is the sort of lamb that Chris shakes his head at and calls a 'bad little bu**er' 

but I call her Scraplet!  And motherly devotion? Its mother is besotted with it.  A joy to witness.

Turned out at only a couple of days old the young, sweet grass on home field will help the ewe to produce plenty milk and the dry stone walls & deep ghyll in the field provide shelter & safety.

Golden Plover

 

Golden Plover

So lucky to spot this beautiful little bird, so well camoflauged in the grasses & reeds

 up in Harkers hay meadow.

Hillcrest Cottage in Bloom

Spring comes a bit later in Swaledale.  In April the daffodils are at their best.

South facing and well drained most things do well in Hillcrest's garden.  I particularly love the purple pom-poms and the fritillias.

 

 

And the white ones too!

There is a profusion of primroses in the garden but look how these have seeded themselves in the wall.

The Old Stone Buildings Still Have Their Uses

The land behind Lower Greendale Cow House drops down to the river for water 

and the walls provide shelter from the wind.

The hay mew end of the cowus makes a good sheep house for our 

White Spots twins.  They get hay and sugar beet every day.

The Big Spring Clean for the New Season

As spring approaches Bed & Breakfast establishments and holiday cottage owners go into overdrive getting their properties spick and span for the beginning of the holiday season.

Pry House Farm B&B and Hillcrest Holiday Cottage are no exception. 

In January we started by refitting my 'working kitchen' with new units and tiles. The cooker was repositioned onto the outside wall so that extraction is directed outside.

 

 Love my new kitchen.  

Lots more worktop space for dishing up delicious breakfasts, light, bright and spacious.

 Last week David the decorator arrived to paint the lounge, twin bedroom, little kitchen ....

 

then a visit from Ian from Ecodry Carpet Car to clean the carpets.

In addition there is a multitude of smaller tasks to tick off the list such as boiler service, fire risk assessments, chimney sweep but finally just as the clocks go forward we are ready to go.

Counting Cow Houses

Counting Cow Houses

As part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park project, Every Barn Tells a Story, 

I have been asked to look into the possibility of creating a children's guided walk leaflet 

to highlight the cowus'es in Muker Parish. 

 

I walked the path out of Muker towards Kisdon.  It was the most perfect March day imaginable; 

wall to wall sunshine, the bluest of skies and not a breathe of wind. 

I soon realised there was far too many Cow Houses to comfortably count.  There are dozens and dozens of them, as far as the eye can see and in every direction.  So I decided to concentrate on the ones closest to the path.

At Kisdon Houses instead of walking forward and over the hill to Keld ....

...... turn left and follow the Pennine Way to Thwaite.

The Cowus'es come in every shape and size and some like this one 

really take your breath away.

Whilst taking a break from exploring I noticed someone else taking in the view!

 In parts the path is rough and here the water crosses, possibly deliberately damned 

to form a water place for sheep and cattle.

 After negotiating the steep, rough and narrow sheep track through the heather moor, 

drop down into Thwaite, turn left .......

...... and follow Straw Beck along the valley bottom crossing over 

the prettiest little bridge you have ever seen.

 And still more Cow Houses! 

 This was one of my favourites - 

such a sweet little building complete with shelter wall.

And finally back to Muker village.  

Is this a cowus attached to the cottage or some other type of farm building?  

Something for me to find out.  And how many Cow Houses were there?

Come and find out for yourself.  You'll need more than ten fingers and ten toes!!