Strickley's Best Triathlete

I know he doesn't live at Strickley now, but even living in Belper Rob will alway be a Strickley Robinson. For some reason he's very much into physical activity, and yesterday did his first Triathlon (Derby Trialthlon). He came in well into the top half and is already planning to do more.

He's come a long way since his bike had three wheels and he wore woolly mittens.

And now he doesn't need to wear a sack to run.

I think photography has improved as well!

WELL DONE ROB!

A Grand Day Out

Last Thursday was Westmorland County Show. We've been showing there since the family took on the farm in 1875. In those days it was just sheep and produce, but for a long time cow it's just been in the Dairy Shorthorn Classes.

It was a good day for the Strickley Herd; the judge, Ian Collins from Yorkshire must have liked our cows.

Heifer in Calf      
1st    Strickley Starlet 133rd

Heifer in Milk, having calved under 3 years  
2nd    Strickley Lady Hermione 22nd

Cow in Milk, having calved twice
1st   Strickley Barrington Dot 21st

Cow in Milk, having calved three times or more
1st   Strickley Starbud 48th
3rd   Strickley Starbud 49th

and also first in -

Group of Three
Pair of Females

and

Reserve Junior Champion (Strickley Lady Hermione 22nd)

and finally!

Champion Dairy Shorthorn (Strickley Starbud 48th)
Reserve Champion (Strickley Barrington 21st)

And now a few photographs (some from The Dairy Shorthorn Facebook page).

The day before - washed and clipped

A final wash at the showground

Heading back to the cattle tent

Lady Hermione 22nd

 Barrington Dot 21st

Brrington Dot 22nd and Starbud 48th

Two happy farmers with the judge

and back to the day job for the Champion

You know you're getting old . . .

. . . when the youngest grandchild starts school.

Good Luck Quinn!

and a belated 

Good Luck to Robert

who started secondary school last week.

It's not often we can all get together now - and even rarer that we get all the children together in one photograph with no one pulling silly faces, so this one is from 2011.

A few images from 45 years ago.

Will I ever learn?

Three years ago I bought tickets to see Bellowhead at Harrogate (see Blog post in July 2012). I knew the risks - we could be silaging. But as the weather was appalling and more rain forecast I thought the gamble had paid off. But, the day before the gig the weather changed and there was a small window to get our Second Cut. I could have dug my heels in and said "no", but I am a Farmer before I am a Folkie.
I shouldn't have done it, but later in the week I searched the Internet for reviews and found this rather blurred photo - spot the two empty seats in the front row. The review is here

Fast forward three years and we've seen Bellowhead many times, but there's always room for one more. So in March I booked tickets for their gig at Stoke tonight. Lightening couldn't strike twice could it? We finished picking up the grass last night, but by this morning it was obvious there was far too much to do to let us get away (and Stoke is not exactly just down the road, especially on the last Friday of term). So reluctantly but knowing it had to be done, I cancelled the hotel and put it out of my mind.

Will I look for reviews of what I missed? Shaky footage on YouTube? Probably.

But there is a light - or rather lights - at the end of the tunnel, as we have three more Bellowhead gigs booked (November and April - when we can't possibly be silaging). Fingers crossed.

And it was a case of third time unlucky, as I managed to do it five years ago for a Leonard Cohen concert. And no jokes please.

It's silage time, but different

Twenty Seven years ago we were the proud owners of a JF Forage Harvester and we managed all the silaging ourselves. It seemed to take forever as we fitted it in between milkings and breakdowns. For the next twenty six (and a half) years we used a contractor. A bigger more reliable machine, and extra work force meant it was all done a bit quicker. But the contractor had to be booked (and everyone round about wanted him at more or less the same time), and extra help found for carting. But nonetheless it worked for us. But this year didn't go quite as smoothly and after much deliberation we took the plunge and bought a Forage Wagon. For those not in the know this is a machine (the size of a large trailer), that picks up the grass, chops it and then when you drive it to the pit, shoves it out. So, in theory we can manage with three people. Henry milking/doing up then scaling and rowing up, David buckraking and James in his new toy.

So far, so good (and I only had to make up three lunchboxes.)
Now - will this video work? It's a low resolution version - and any shakiness or wobbling is the fault of the camera woman.

Royal Highland Show

Way back in early Spring we discussed taking some cows to The Royal Highland Show. It's a big commitment both in time and preparation. The cows have to be in their stalls by 4pm on Wednesday, and exhibitors cannot leave until 5pm on Sunday. We put off the decision until James was back from New Zealand, and then almost on the day that entries closed we clicked on the website and entered online.

During weeks of Spring Work and silaging it was always at the back of our minds. We picked out the cows we wanted to take and began to get them ready. Scotland is committed to eradicating BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea) so the cows had to have blood tests and the results sent off before the end of June. And of course they had to have a pre-movement test for TB. During the week before the show the chosen ones were clipped and trimmed and given practise in walking with a leather halter. Then on Wednesday morning James headed north with four of Strickley's finest and all the supplies they would need for five days at the show.

By mid afternoon they were settled in their new temporary home.

The show opened to the public on Thursday, but the Dairy classes were not until yesterday (Friday). James was up before 5 am getting the cows ready and judging started at 10 am. In these days of social media we didn't need to wait for a phone call to find out how they were doing - The Dairy Shorthorn Society posted regular updates and photos on their Facebook page. If you follow the link you'll see where most of these photos come from. And a few from James's Twitter - why not follow him?

The first update we saw had Strickley Goldie 223rd standing first in the Heifer in Calf class.

Then Strickley Lily 13th second in the Cow in Calf class. After that there was a long period with no updates. Then all at once Strickley Barrington Dot 21st was first in the cow in milk class.

And Strickley Lily 12th won the older cow in milk class.

And hot on the heels of that update was a photo of James and Strickley Barrington Dot 21st winning the Overall Dairy Shorthorn Championship.

So a good day out all round (including Reserve Junior Champion and Best Exhibitor Bred). Pus two cups that are far too valuable to bring home.

Well done to all the exhibitors for such a good turnout, to especially to James and the Strickley Shorthorns.

And finally, a few more photos from the Shorthorn Facebook page taken when everyone seemed to be a bit more relaxed,

And has Damian travelled the farthest? Look at his jacket logo.