And they are leaving us messages (spraint)
We've got the wildlife camera setup, but so far have not captured anything as good as this (from a couple of years ago).
A
Friday, 20 May 2016
Otters
When we were working on the bridge repairs we put in an otter holt. And we have footprints!
A
A
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Summer is edging nearer
On Friday night (6th) the cows went back outside after milking, and looking at the forecast (and the grass) a lot of young stock will be going out this week.
Tuesday, 19 April 2016
Summer is edging nearer
This morning all the cows went out - lows just across the yard and into Wellbank, but the highs hopped, skipped and jumped down the track to Plucker (and over the fence of course).
And they're off! Operation #grasstomilk is a-go-go! #turnout16 #happycows pic.twitter.com/gPoAT0upAq— James Robinson (@JRfromStrickley) April 19, 2016
Thursday, 14 April 2016
Aide memoir
Yesterday (13th April) we saw our first swallow.
Photo by James
Photo by James
P.S. For all the latest news follow James on Twitter.
Sunday, 3 January 2016
Four weeks ago today
A short film (taken when the water had gone down enough to make it safe to get out and about).
I'm sorry about the poor quality, Blogger doesn't like hi-res. It's probably better NOT to watch in full screen. I know I'm a shakey camera woman - but not that bad!
The Power of Water
About four weeks ago today we were experiencing unprecedented rainfall. The previous night we went up to Hackthorpe to the NW Dairy Shorthorn annual do (see a previous post), and the wind and rain were beginning to take hold. We drove back down the M6 (thinking rightly or wrongly that it would be less exposed to the elements than the A6 over Shap), passing several overturned lorries. We left all the cups etc in the car and dashed inside, hoping the rain would have stopped by next morning. But by then it was worse. We are on a hillside, and the stock are all inside, so we just battened down the hatches and waited for the rain to ease. Over the Sunday it did ease off and we could go down the fields to see if there was any damage. Becks had overflowed of course and only the road we had made was solid enough to travel on. But when we got down to the "indestructible" bridge we built in 2013 we found the full effect of the force of the water.
The foundations had been washed away and the bridge twisted round.
This meant that there was no way to access about 45 acres of land.
Meanwhile we returned home, across our older bridge over the other beck.
The water had come up and over it, but at first we thought it was unscathed. But, when the flood went down a bit we could see the precarious state of it's foundations.
So now there was no way to access another section of the farm.
Meanwhile the slurry pit was filling up, with the extra rain and run off pouring into it, and we needed to get some muck out, but most fields were too steep, too wet, or cut off. So we took the tractor and tanker down the lane, along the road (B6254), over St Sundays bridge and down Over Bleaze lane and through a gate onto our fields. A small manageable diversion.
But, a couple of days later "road closed" signs appeared on the bridge. It had been inspected and declared unsafe (along with 20/30 other bridges in Cumbria). The water was still high, so there was no way of assessing the extent of the damage. The council erected some temporary barriers and signs, but these didn't stop motorists (and drivers of large articulated lorries) moving them and driving over. James rang the council and asked if we should use some big bales to block the road, and was told OK.
So, by now the only way round to our lower fields is a 20 mile round trip. But we are luckier than some - we are on the Kendal side of the closure. People the other side have to travel and extra 8 or 10 miles to get into town.
Divers have been to inspect the bridge (and we have looked as best we can) and there are large cracks in the structure which may be growing. Definitely not safe to cross! No one knows how long it will be closed, probably weeks or even months. Or how it will be fixed. Here's a couple of photographs of it unscathed.
And finally - a bit of irony and spooky coincidence.
On New Year's Eve we were without water, to the houses and buildings. We rang United Utilities and they worked until about 02:30 next morning to find and fix the burst on the road. The funny thing was it was 3 years and a day since the same thing happened.
Meanwhile we returned home, across our older bridge over the other beck.
The water had come up and over it, but at first we thought it was unscathed. But, when the flood went down a bit we could see the precarious state of it's foundations.
So now there was no way to access another section of the farm.
Meanwhile the slurry pit was filling up, with the extra rain and run off pouring into it, and we needed to get some muck out, but most fields were too steep, too wet, or cut off. So we took the tractor and tanker down the lane, along the road (B6254), over St Sundays bridge and down Over Bleaze lane and through a gate onto our fields. A small manageable diversion.
But, a couple of days later "road closed" signs appeared on the bridge. It had been inspected and declared unsafe (along with 20/30 other bridges in Cumbria). The water was still high, so there was no way of assessing the extent of the damage. The council erected some temporary barriers and signs, but these didn't stop motorists (and drivers of large articulated lorries) moving them and driving over. James rang the council and asked if we should use some big bales to block the road, and was told OK.
So, by now the only way round to our lower fields is a 20 mile round trip. But we are luckier than some - we are on the Kendal side of the closure. People the other side have to travel and extra 8 or 10 miles to get into town.
Divers have been to inspect the bridge (and we have looked as best we can) and there are large cracks in the structure which may be growing. Definitely not safe to cross! No one knows how long it will be closed, probably weeks or even months. Or how it will be fixed. Here's a couple of photographs of it unscathed.
And a few random photographs showing water and wet fields, things we have lost down the beck (bales) and things we have found washed down (the horse's head, not the boys).
And finally - a bit of irony and spooky coincidence.
On New Year's Eve we were without water, to the houses and buildings. We rang United Utilities and they worked until about 02:30 next morning to find and fix the burst on the road. The funny thing was it was 3 years and a day since the same thing happened.
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Where to see all our news . . .
I know that this Blog has been neglected lately - but it's been rather superseded by up to the minute news on Twitter.
Twitter is not all celebrities' soundbites - but a glimpse into the myriad and different lives of people all over the world. I was the first at Strickley to use it (as an exercise to see if I could get the Weather Software to Tweet automatically - yes), and occasionally post things that are of no real interest to anyone.
But, then James took it up and has never looked back. So log onto Twitter, search for James Robinson (Twitter ID is @JRfromStrickley), and click on Follow. or just click on this link. But this week is special. All year a Twitter account has been used by a different farm each week. They Tweet as many times a day as they can, about their particular farm. And this week the baton has been taken up by James - so his user name this week is @FarmersOfTheUK. Click here and follow him. He promises it will be informative and interactive (and fun).
Twitter is not all celebrities' soundbites - but a glimpse into the myriad and different lives of people all over the world. I was the first at Strickley to use it (as an exercise to see if I could get the Weather Software to Tweet automatically - yes), and occasionally post things that are of no real interest to anyone.
But, then James took it up and has never looked back. So log onto Twitter, search for James Robinson (Twitter ID is @JRfromStrickley), and click on Follow. or just click on this link. But this week is special. All year a Twitter account has been used by a different farm each week. They Tweet as many times a day as they can, about their particular farm. And this week the baton has been taken up by James - so his user name this week is @FarmersOfTheUK. Click here and follow him. He promises it will be informative and interactive (and fun).
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