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Despite the inclement weather that's continuing seeminly endlessly at the moment, The Crofter still has his animals to keep in order. So that means a trudge up the road some days in the howling rain and wind to give some supplementary feed to his ever-hungry coows. I'm sure they appreciate his efforts

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The Crofter makes his weary way home.

 

It's all about Esme; Esme was found lurking in the next door croft to the one she was meant to be in and I found The Crofter trying to coax her back through a gate to the right croft. Of course Esme was having none of it. I joined in the fun trying to help The Crofter to herd the beastess through the gate. After a while of running hither and thither, I decided to have a look to see where Esme had got through the fence. I toddled off to the bottom of the croft in question with The Crofter coming along too. Just as we arrived near the bottom field, the sound of galloping hooves caught us up and soon Esme was clambering back over the old drooping fence of her own accord. No doubt she had enough fun for the day. The Crofter and I dragged ouselves back up the croft making good the gate and going home exhausted.

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The Crofter

The Crofter has been a happy chappie of late - despite being on his own for two weeks while his parents were living it up in England. I shot this snap with new restored to health Kowa 6 [it's an old film camera is photography is not your thing :-) ] .

The guinea pigs now have new winter quarters after some fortuitous ferreting about in the village skip revealed a suitable donor piece of furniture.

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Sometimes The Crofter looks better in profile.

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Late sunshine

Apologies for the overload of colour but I found The Crofter in unseasonably good fettle on my visit today. The sun was shining and a part-disassembled digger thing littered the 'lawn'. A couple of wary-looking turkeys appeared particularly shiny as they strutted about the place - pre-basted as it happens with escaped hydraulic oil that blasted uncontrollably from a hose when The Crofter undid the wrong thing. There seemed to be a lot of the oil everywhere now I think back! Still, The Crofter was happy.

Many thanks to Mr Windy for using his up-market scanning device for getting rid of the sheep-dip marks on the negs.

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 You see, the Chinese tractor does work!

Eh? Down the field and up. How's that for reliability?

Although it's hard to believe at the moment, the sun did shine earlier in the year. Can't remember exactly which day it was but I captured it on film. The Crofter and his Dad mowing the grass to feed to the cooows;

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 Awaiting

Mr Heath

Meet Mr Heath. AKA Teddy. The new ram actually may not be named Teddy but since The Crofter told me about him before i went on holiday I've clean forgotten. And if you think I'm popping off down the road to ask him again in this weather, you have got to be joking!

Teddy - or whoever he is, was on The Croft last year too meeting the lovely Hebridean girls and producing some right odd looking mongrels. The sheeps are bigger than before though - which may please The Crofter and the abattoir but less so their mums.