March
After an unusually mild and wet winter (we would have welcomed a ‘proper’ winter for a few weeks!), the 70 early lambing Scottish Mule Ewes lambed in February producing over 120 lambs; mostly Suffolk X but some Texel X, which are being prepared for the Spring market. As has been farm policy for some years, the in-calf heifers calve in February, to give them a few weeks to get used to ‘motherhood’ before the main calving starts in March – this is now underway.
2006 went out with a serious “bang” when, just half an hour before it gave way to 2007, we had a short but violent storm. Winds over 80mph blew for just 20 – 30 minutes, with trees falling all over the farm and limbs flying in all directions. Mercifully no one and no animals were hurt, but one tree landed neatly on one of the cottages – fortunately the inhabitants were away at the time. Repairs have been completed, but it will take years to clear up all the fallen and leaning trees. We may be able to land on the moon, or even produce an eye catching calf, but nature does remind us, from time to time, who really calls the shots.
We hope that spring and then summer are just around the corner, and though the prophets of doom tell us that global warming will turn us into Mediterranean Perthshire within 100 years, we will concentrate, for the moment, on what the weather-god has in store for us for the next few months.
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