When I arrived this evening the sheep were all on the big field and they were racing around having little stampedes which Elisa seems to initiate. It's quite frightening when they all rush over the pile of rocks. It seems like they are having fun, and there is no reason why they would be stressed. It has been raining today, possibly a storm, in fact there must've been a strong wind as I found the big inner tube that used to be on the beach right up against the sheep fence near the gate: it had blown across the whole field!
After their stampedes they were jostling each other, head butting and jumping on each other. We didn't have any of these displays of hierarchy last year but this lot are definitely more spirited (at last they are when it cools down in the evening). They are really putting on weight now and they all have lovely thick, shaggy wool. Our "beach" on the lake is now officially unfit for sunbathing: we have squatters. Twenty-one "beach-bum" sheep. Oh, if only we had a webcam down there because we can't really see what they are up to from the cabin. I have seen footprints (and poop) on the sun-loungers and various items have been moved... In the middle of the day they all sit in the shade behind the canoe and the kayak, occasionally wandering down to the lake to drink. They barely move when Zelda goes down to go for a swim. At this rate they won't keep up with the grass growing in the field... not good! Back to work!!! In the evening they have got used to wandering up to the gate to wait for fresh birch leaves which we cut down from the forest. They go crazy for fresh birch and will climb over each other to get the best. Here is #211 saying, "Can I have some more, please?"
We think they are starting to look nice and round, they are a good size and they all appear to be healthy and their feet are good. They are quite active, often racing from our field over to the neighbours when they see they have visitors. Very social. But I think they would be happier with a bit more rain and some cooler temperatures (I know I would be). The midday max has been over 30C for as long as we can remember (about 2-3 weeks). We got up at about 8:30 this morning and it was already 27C outside. The sheep were down by the lake nibbling leaves and keeping cool in the shade. Thay have done a great job clearing the raspberries and birch that were obscuring our view from the sauna. I put some fresh bedding on the ground in their shed because they go there during the day to doze and keep out of the sun,
#210 escaped again and I found her in the neighbour's garden, nibbling an oak tree. The others were all bleating like crazy: it's easy to tell when something unusual is happening. I suppose it's a case of, "What grows together, goes together" and so I thinned out the sprawling herb garden and fed some mint to the sheep. Elisa was the first to spot me waving a bunch of fresh leaves over the gate and she came running over for a sniff. She had probably not tasted mint before and, being a very conservative eater, she walked away. But the lambs are more adventurous and several of them decided it was yummy and tore the stalks out of my hands. At which point Elisa decided she might be missing out on something so pushed her way to the front and had a taste. Hmmm, it's OK.
The idea came from a website where I had been researching toxic plants for sheep. There was also a list of plants that can have beneficial (ie medicinal) effects on sheep and mint was recommended (for weaning ewes). Anyway, it ain't toxic and most of them love it. Am now researching garlic supplements. They seem to be very beneficial to sheep (and humans!) and are totally organic so I'm looking for some Finnish suppliers. Beautiful weather the past few days and the sheep love being in the new field. They move around all day: we often watch them grazing amongst the apple trees while we are having breakfast. Later in the day they move down to the lake to chew the cud (lots of burping noises, quite disgusting) - but when I try to sit on a deckchair and read a book there are always a nosey few who come over to nibble the pages or even try to jump up on my lap! When it gets really hot they go back into the sheep shed for a couple of hours. In the evening they spread out in the field, jumping up to get hold on the hay hanging on the hay poles. They might even stampede once or twice as the sun goes down.
The flock loves being in the big field now and are exploring everywhere. They've been down to the lake, into the apple trees and walked around the sauna. They immediately found the rocks we have in the field near the cabin and all 20 lambs were, at one point, jostling for space on the pile. I'm the king of the castle...!
Then we had an "episode" down by the lake. I had taken a bucket of stale bread down there (it's a good idea to train the flock to follow a bucket) and Zelda had wanted to come too. I threw a stick for her to swim after and then started handing out the bread. Zelda swam back and some of the ewes surrounded her. She got angry and bit #258 on the nose. I threw the almost empty bucket on the ground so I could see if the bite was serious (it wasn't) and meanwhile one of the brown ewes had managed to get the empty bucket on its head and was running around bleeting inside the bucket!!! So funny. I was tempted to reach for my camera but scared that the ewe would run into the lake. So, I did the Right Thing and ran to the rescue of the ewe/bucket! She ended up in the reeds anyway and managed to shake off the bucket herself. A missed video gag opportunity! We've been away for the weekend, having fun in the archipelago, but before we left we had a big Hay Day and then let the sheep into the big field. It took them a while to figure out that the fence had been removed but once Elisa had realised what was going on, she was off and they followed her.
We have taken most of the hay up to the Rosendal barn, some is in an old horse-drawn charabanc which has been converted for tractor towing. The rest is stuffed into massive drawstring bags. And we still have quite a lot of it on haypoles in the field. (If you click on a photo, you can view it on a full screen.) Spent this morning wrapping cellulose tubes back around the birch trees. These are the tubes that we used to plant the visakoivu saplings nearly 13 years ago. We removed them from the saplings as soon as the birch trees were able to withstand deer attacks but fortunately we stored them - for once I approve of Peter's these-might-come-in-useful-one-day approach to asset management. This year we seem to have sheep that like birch bark. Once the bark has been removed the trees will die, so we have no choice but to wrap them up (the trees, not the sheep...). Not very aesthetic but functional.
We heard nothing from them all day as they were sitting in the shade down by the lake trying to keep call. this evening they wandered up to the cabin to graze and I took a few photos.
We have had quite a few visitors over the weekend and the sheep have loved it. Lots of attention. But they don't like the hot weather at all and stay in the shade most of the day, occasionally going down to the lakeside in the reeds and the long grass.
We are getting the big field ready for them now which means repairing the fence and building Fort Knox reinforcements around the apple trees (they have already decimated the buckthorn bushes which are supposedly toxic...). The nice old wooden gate we had last year is replaced with a nasty metal thing which is easier to open and shut (for us) and harder to circumnavigate (for them). We'll let them through as soon as we have finished stacking the hay but we are temporarily short of poles. #210 has already figured out the route into the big field (see below). When she gets lonely she starts screaming her head off until one of us goes and lifts her back in. The new clippers are really good. Nice to hold, sharp and not too heavy. Peter caught the little white lamb this afternoon, her hoofs were in pretty good shape so I just clipped the tips and a small amount of the outer wall.
I also managed to catch #200 which is a HUGE brown lamb with a white face. We also gave her rear-end a wash as she seems to have some digestive problems. We are keeping an eye on her but it is almost impossible for us to isolate individuals and give them a different diet. #258 also had a wash, she is one of the smallest lambs and most tame. She seemed to enjoy being made a fuss of. #256, one of the black ewes has worked out how to get under the fence (but not how to get back inside). Then in the evening while we were making hay we found two of them in the main field. So, I have now piled birch branches against the fence to stop the sheep from crawling underneath. Once they've figured out an escape route, they don't forget it. It's very unlikely that they would wander off, but they get upset and noisy) when they can't get back in with the others. Today was a sunny day and the forecast is bad so we decided, rather hesitantly, to make hay. We have all we need: tractor, tools, the hayrake, long grass, sunshine, help (Tom and Stef), poles, pitchforks etc Ideally, we would mow the field and then leave it for a day or two before raking and stacking the hay. The weather this year has messed up our system and, according to the forecasts, we are not going to have any rain-free days next week but we can't wait too much longer before we release the sheep into the big field. Today the field is warm and dry and there has been some breezy weather so the grass is actually quite dry and the grasses are just right for haymaking (e.g. not too "stalky"). Peter and Stefan took turns mowing with the tractor but one of us had to walk ahead looking for rocks, branches, dog bones and anything else that could damage the machine. Later on, Peter and Thomas used the new raker to make "windows" (long mounds of piled up hay) ready for stacking. It works brillantly: a great (second-hand) buy. In the evening, just before the boys were due to leave, we set up the poles and started stacking the hay. By midnight we had stacked about half the field but then we ran out of poles. We have 10 small haystacks but enough hay to make as many again. Here is a nice list of wild plants, herbs and some cultivated crops that are toxic to sheep and, lower down, there is a list of plants that they loooove. We have some of both around our field. Lupins are in bloom at the moment so we need to make sure they don't spread into the sheep's field and I think I will move the philodendron that I planted near the sauna a couple of years ago. It's surrounded by chicken wire to keep the sheep off but I might just as well put it up near the cabin where we enjoy the smell. Buckthorn are also toxic to sheep but we have a fence around ours and they seem to be dying anyway - not sure why but it could be due to the weed situation which is difficult to manage when there is chicken wire everywhere!
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July 2020
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