New arrival Sebastian is quite a coo

who the milky ewes are, we call them the ram raiders –stealthily ducking underneath, only to be kicked off by the worldlywise ewes.

A month is a long time in the world of a smallholder. This time last month we were waiting for our last arrivals, the last of the twin lambs. They arrived on time with a splash bringing an end to this year’s lambing. They are huge now, in four weeks they have gone from little timid things to monsters that pummel their mums’ udders for milk, relentlessly after the very last drop before somebody else gets it.

Some of the ewes have more milk than others and the lambs have been quick to identify

In a few weeks we will wean them away from their mothers, already they are chewing grass and stealing pieces of sheep mix when they can get it, as well as drinking water from the troughs. It is fair to say that they are ready to go it alone. We cut the flock size down considerably this month by selling on last year’s shearlings to a local farmer, who was himself increasing his breeding stock.

We had an idea that if we reduced the numbers down, we would have more time to do other things at weekends and evenings other than sheep maintenance.

So it was that we had a weekend where what was left of the flock had been pampered with a pedicure, treated for flystrike, trimmed, and given treats and we were free to walk through the yellow fields and not have to worry about them. My partner even found the time to sit down and read the Farmers Guardian as well as trawling through the pages of ‘farmer stuff’ on social media. That was where it all took a different turn… We saw an advertisement for an addition to our flock. Having always wanted one, we contacted the seller and arranged a viewing. The weather was foul on the drive down to the coast, visibility on what were probably lovely views, was zero and it was very wet. Arriving at a boggy field in the wet and mud all seemed to disappear into insignificance as we viewed the new boy, and we very quickly decided that he was ‘the one’. We left a deposit and returned home to research what we needed to do to bring him home. After several phonecalls and more agricultural paperwork, we were ready.

He was delivered yesterday, and we have named him Sebastian, only some of you will understand why. We also have a Pyrenean mountain dog, and when we get a partner for the new boy, she will be called Belle. His arrival was without any stress or anxious moments, and he has settled in well with his new friends King and Hero, our quieter rams.

Welcome Sebastian the Highland calf, otherwise known as a Highland Coo. What a stunning addition to our herd.