Monday 9 September 2013

Planning to get sheep!

You may have read earlier that we acquired a field. And not just any field, but the one in front of the eponymous Coombe Cottages. The process isn't quite as simple as that, so in fact at the moment the field belongs in its entirety to our immediate neighbours Pat and Richard, and they bought it with the pooled funds of us, them and Bob and Maureen across the other side of the field. When the legal stuff is sorted, it will be in joint ownership. So far, PRBM say that they don't want anything for the field other than that it should stay as meadow, so it will need grazing, and we're the people to organise that!

This morning, A and I went up the hill to prospect. Actually I have been prospecting for a while when out on my runs. I have seen:

Jacobs



Too horny.


Cheviots
 


  Too twee.


 Dorset Downs



   Too hairy faced.

And on two of the farms up the hill I had seen some lovely sheep that I didn't recognise.
We arrived at Quarry Farm just as David Caple was going out to look at the lambs in the field in front of the house. Lovely lambs! They'd do very nicely. They are Charolais

 crossed onto Mule




which is itself a cross of Blue Faced Leicester








onto Swaledale



No pictures available on-line, so A will have to take her camera up next time, and meanwhile you'll have to imagine what a combination of the above four is like.
The Caples couldn't have been more encouraging and friendly about the whole thing, inviting us in and chatting for over an hour about sheep, what different sorts are like and where to find some, and feeding us some very good shortbread with tea.
We felt very encouraged.
David said 5 ewes with lambs at foot, and we will top the field mid summer to take off what they can't eat at that time of year.
Exciting!



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