January it’s a long month isn’t it?
This year started off with a bang, we had 8 days of snowstorms. Proper light, drifting snow, that gets in everywhere, blocks roads as fast as they are opened and makes outside work a lot harder.
Schools were closed, we could go nowhere, and once everything was done outside I found lots to do in the office. I've been working on a few new products, printables, My Wee Croftie Community. I am opening the doors to it on the 17th February. Which is exciting.
January is a time I start making plans for the coming year. I’ve calendars up, goals lists filled in and plenty of ideas, with no rush to act on them yet.
Once the snow stopped, the thaw came, with it came lots and lots of water… then it rained, heavily. Everything was just wet, sheds, fields and more. On the plus side, we can see where we need to plug some leaks in shed roofs.
It's been a long month already.
We are in a good routine outside, fed, bed, muck out, on repeat. It’s like Groundhog Day, but in a good way.
It doesn’t take any extra thought, it gives me time to plan and think. Normally, January gives us bit of a chance to do extra work outside, but the bad weather has put paid to that, so the repairs can wait.
We had Helga in to scan ewes last week. I’m chuffed, we got 172%, with only 3 empties out of 58. The ewes are in great condition, the good summer last year has done them well.
We do have 7 sets of triplets, mainly in the Blue Faced Leicester’s and Cheviot Mules. And Ebony. Ebony is my neighbour's 10 -12-year-old pet sheep, who had a not-so-secret liaison with my tup. She looks mighty proud of herself. We’ll see how she is once they are all here, it’s a shock to any first-time mum, but at 10-12 it might be a bigger shock. Thankfully, she is a super healthy ewe and very well looked after.
Im away south next week to collect the final of last season’s lamb boxes and this year’s mutton boxes. I try to keep everything very seasonal here; mutton boxes first in January, beef in summer and lamb in late autumn early winter.
Our last batch of lamb was delayed due to factors outside of my control, so it’s rolled over to January.
Looking forward, we will be getting ready for The Scottish Crofting Federations Crofting for the Future, in person training days in early February. I am looking forward to their visit, the sheds will get a much needed a bed out, I’ll get to meet more new folk and hopefully learn something new too.
And that’s it for this month croft wise, started with lots of snow, lots of hiding from the weather in the middle, lots of office work and a day trip away delivering lamb to end it.
Not a bad month, really.