15

Last year we had the  pregnant sheep scanned, to see how many were prgnant and to identify those carrying more than one lamb.  And its scanning time this year.

The scanner comes in a trailer

and we need to sort out pens and access.

And then you need to round up your sheep

and then they get scanned

And a blue blob on their rear end = twins
A green blob = singleton

And once scanned they are led back to the field friom whence they came

So its 9 singletons and 3 twins . 15 in total.

To be born at the start of May

another repair job

We've had some big  machinery around , building a new shed.

Just like last time, inevitably there are some casualties. 

The machines have knocked down some of the drystone wall over the burn, 

so I'll need to retrieve the stones from the burn .

But it will wait until all the heavy machinery is gone. 

Just in case 

skating

its been a bit cold  - not as bad as elsewhre in hte UK, but enough to freeze things .
including the pond

So the geese can have a walk  on the ice if they wish

and the water coming off the hill has frozen as well

A delivery

Grass needs a soil temperature of  about  5 degrees to grow .

its not going to get there for a while yet

 so we've had some haylage delivered .

They are a bit heavy to move by hand

 Good job Billy brought it with the tractor and put the bales in place to store .

The hay Store

So polycrubbing has been delayed since before Christmas .
We needed somewhere to store the bales, as building  the bigger shed  to take them has been delayed.
So its the east end of the polycrub. We are fortunate that strong easterly winds dont bring much rain with them  so they are OK uncovered.

Weve been awaiting a delivery of hay to  feed the sheep throufghthe rest of the winter.
It comes in a big bale,  brought by one of the neighbours with his tractor

But I can't put the ends on the polycrub because we wouldnt get the bale in .

As soon as we are sure we wont need any more hay deliver , or the new shed to store it in get ererected, it will be back to polycrubbing.

buying some eggs

After the theft from our box , reported on facebook and to the Police , we have reduced the float that we put in the box. So potnetail buys need to have the right change. Or, theia being Orkney,   if they dont have quite the right amount, they will leave any shortfall next time they are passing . 

But someone has come up with a solution 

£1.40 in coppers 

thank you ,customer ( I think) 

The sun is back

at about this time of the year the sun comes just above the hill and hits the house.
And at 12.00 today , the sun came back, just catching the edge of the room 

and turning round and looking the other way , the sun is just high enough to come above the  ridge of the hill. So things can only get  better from now on .

• In  2014 it was  25th January  (with no snow around) 
• in 2016 is was the 20th January

There is quite a bit of snow around this time .

and the hens dont like the snow. They havent moved much  today