Farming 2010

I had a bit of excitement one day when feeding the cattle. The tractor handbrake had developed a fault and to overcome this I had to lock the steering hard round one way to prevent it running away when on a slope. It had just got dark and I thought I had parked the tractor ready to go through a gateway. I must not have locked the steering round enough because as I was opening the gate, a gentle rumble could be heard. On looking up I was amazed to see the tractor and trailer heading towards me at ever increasing speed. After jumping quickly out of its path I just stood there in open- mouthed horror as it hurtled into the darkness. All I could do was wait for the inevitable crash which eventually came. I walked down the field to inspect the damage, fearing the worst. The tractor had smashed through a railed fence and luckily had suffered no damage whatsoever – two feet further down and it would have smashed head on into a large beech tree.

The lambing last year was fair. The highlight of the occasion was when I tried to lamb a ewe and found that it had ringwomb which is when the cervix fails to open enough. Sometimes the cervix can be stretched by inserting the fingers into it and spreading them for some time. In this case there was very little room and I decided veterinary assistance was needed. The vet asked me to take the ewe into the surgery, so with some help she was bundled into the car and taken to Chipping Norton. The vet examined her and decided she needed a caesarean.

Althoug h I have seen this done several times I still found it very interesting, and two strong lambs were delivered.

The nurses were soon busy with their towels, cleaning them up and chattering lovingly to them.After this was done and the lambs were on their feet then out came the cameras and the photographic session began. Eventually a happy mum and two hungry babies were loaded up and taken back home.

The following day my sister happened to be in the surgery. She said that everyone was talking about the events of the previous day. The ewe recovered from her operation and the lambs grew up into healthy adults.

Last year’s haymaking was just as bad if not worse than the previous year, finishing in October yet again. The arrival of the shearing contractor in early haymaking proved to be a blessing in disguise. The day before he came I had started mowing some grass and had been twelve times round the field with the intention of finishing it the next day. The plan had to be abandoned and rescheduled for the following day. However, that also proved impossible as wet weather set in. The grass that I had cut was out in the field for five weeks before it was baled and carted. The rest of the field was saved and got in good condition. One very hot humid day I was looking at the sheep for signs of maggots. The sheep were gathered under a hedge out of the sun. As I walked down the hedge looking to my right I failed to notice a rabbit hole eighteen inches deep and my left foot went straight down. It left my leg completely numb and feeling like a piece of wood. After a while I managed to drag myself out of the hole and shuffle down to the pond to clean out the mouth of it where the cattle drink. This involves having to actually stand in the water and I am thankful that I didn’t trip and fall in. It was a bit of a problem driving the car back home because my foot just flopped about. However I managed to push the clutch down with my heel. I later discovered that I had damaged my Achilles tendon, but that is another story . .

The Caesarean in pictures . . .

All photos by courtesy of Chipping Norton Veterinary Hospital