Winter has definitely announced its arrival to the Great Orme. With the timely delivery of my eBay purchase, an all-weather combating Swanndri coat, the strong winds and horizontal rain have also arrived.
While the summer felt like a constant game of chess, moving the ewes and chasing grass, an unnaturally mild autumn has produced more grazing than weve seen since spring.
The ewes have come through well and are looking good, with 95 per cent taking to the ram in their first cycle.
Tupping always throws up challenges, particularly for the rams. I lost my best Bluefaced Leicester a week before he was due to see his ladies, a couple of the Welsh rams were pulled out lame, and another picked-up an eye infection.
It was therefore time to bring Big Bryncynhadledd out of retirement. Turning 12 years old in the spring, this Welsh Mountain ram seems to be enjoying his new lease of life.
Ironically, the first lambs are due on April Fools Day and while this gives advantages of improved weather, undoubtedly it is the rams which take on the additional stress of the challenging November conditions.
One wet and windy morning last week I had a call to say there was a dead sheep on the open mountain. I drove over the headland and found one of the Lleyn ewe lambs dead but still warm, with teeth marks to her face and neck. Clearly a dog attack.
Since moving here sheep worrying no longer surprises me. During the first few years of tenancy these senseless attacks would shock and upset me.
But on this occasion, what really got to me was realising that I am so used to this happening and to other peoples irresponsible behaviour that I have accepted it as the norm. This is wrong on so many levels, so this time Ive decided to take a stand.
Rather than clear up the carnage right away I firstly made a short video and shared it on social media in a bid to highlight the issue. The response has been met with overwhelming support and while it didnt help to find those responsible, it is encouraging to know that the general public are definitely on our side.
Sadly, incidents of sheep-worrying and dog attacks are familiar to many farmers. Current legislation states that a dog must be under close control, but theres little clarification on what close control means.
Ive had a lively discussion with a walker who thought his dog was under close control while 50 metres in front of him running through my sheep. Having everyone put their dogs on a lead around livestock would solve the problem, but this seems unfair to the 99 per cent of responsible dog walkers.
Another solution would be a DNA database of all dogs, but would only the responsible owners register their dogs? All I know is that sheep worrying needs to stop.
While I give this issue some more thought, I need to get on with the practical problem of an ongoing slow puncture in the Polaris truck. My current solution is to use a bike pump. Do ebay sell air compressors?
