Horned beasts

As well as the usual range of cattle in the fields, spring saw some new arrivals. These were brown and white, with horns. Ten mothers with ten calves, although the calves were of various ages.

The dry weather of early summer resulted in a poor hay and silage crop and the on-going near drought caused grazing problems on the farm. At the end of June the original suckling herd were suddenly sold and since the buyer only wanted the calves, the mother cows were sent to the slaughterhouse.

The horned herd have returned to the field and have now been joined by a bull so they should be staying through the winter.

There has been a noticeable decline in the number of cattle in the area. Dairy herds have been sold and the fields turned arable or given over to sheep or horses, so we will have to get used to a different looking landscape.

Gambolling free

Cowcam has not been broadcasting for a few days whilst I was away taking the Londonderry Air. The weather here sounded much the same as I experienced in the North of Ireland, windy with sunshine and sporadic showers, and today has been no different. The cows and calves trotted across the field to take shelter under the trees during the heaviest downpour, but for most of the day they have been idling in the sun. Every so often a bunch of calves start running about, which seems to irritate the mothers somewhat. The older cows lower their heads to butt the calves back but they just skip aside and continue on their playful way. It's quite a sight to see the calves buck and gambol as they change direction and speed on a whim.

April Snow

The forecasted snow arrived! Only a light dusting but enough to muffle the sounds and to interest the calves for a while. The strong north-easterly wind created a blizzard and the herd moved across the field to shelter in the lee of the copse. Once the wind had died down a bit the snow eased off and as I write has almost stopped, leaving about an inch lying. Snow puts a different perspective on the landscape so I'll try and take some pictures before the thaw sets in.

Full of the joys of spring

April 1st saw the arrival of mothers and calves in the home field. To start with there were just four, but on Wednesday afternoon there was some excited mooing and a large bunch moved in from the farmyard. They careered around the field before settling down. This morning the sun is out and the mini-herd are enjoying themselves in the green grass.

Misty morning

After a mild, damp weekend the temperature dipped again last night and we awoke to a light frost and a clear sky. There was some early morning mist and the silent, ghostly outlines of the herd appeared through it as they slowly made their way across the field.

Springtime for Heifers?

One sure sign of the arrival of Spring is the flowering of the first daffodil.  The buds had formed a while back but with a noticeable rise in temperature over the past couple of days, the yellow blooms arrived today.

There are about forty cows in the mini-herd and they are roaming the large field opposite the house.  They are always on the move, (except when they lie down) so it wasn't a surprise to be greeted by a deserted field this morning as they had all moved behind the buildings where they can't be seen from the house.  They emerged mid-way through the morning and continued to chomp their way around the field.  I turned the Cowcam on for a while but they seemed reluctant to move within range of its lens.  It is much better for Cowcam when they are in the field that surrounds the House of Cows.

No Trespassing!

Cows have appeared in the field opposite the house. They weren't there yesterday morning so arrived sometime during the day. They look like the cows from up the track, but will need closer inspection to be sure and it was a bit foggy first thing this morning. Whilst I was scraping the car I noticed some tell-tale hoof prints in the grass (I hesitate to say lawn!) so the migration of the mini-herd wasn't without incident. When they are driven along the road, all the other gates are normally closed so that the cows can't get off the road, but that didn't happen yesterday as the cows were expected to turn through the first gate they came to. At least a couple of them decided to pass by and came into our garden instead. It doesn't look like they caused any real damage. It's good to see cows from the windows again.