tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192056042024-03-13T02:49:51.569+00:00Wandering GeckoThe life and times of Jenny Holden: Wildlife Consultant, freelance writer, wilderness addict and novice shepherd.Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-54213221859288848852013-04-05T10:03:00.001+01:002013-04-05T10:03:18.990+01:00So I decided to blog...You never know, I might even make a habit of it again!<br />
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It's lambing time again. Gosh how the years tick by. This year we are lambing alongside our friends Tracy and Tony on their land. The have 16 North Country Cheviots and Black Welsh Mountains to lamb, half of which went to our Shetland tup Smali Bramble who sadly died mysteriously this winter.<br />
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We have 16 Shetland ewes to lamb, including our friend Danielle's ewe Ecclesmachan Gloria who produced twins yesterday to Smali Bramble; his legacy lives on :-)<br />
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Gloria's lambs are chalk and cheese! Sorry I don't have a better photo of them yet. She has a very bold inquisitive grey blettet ewe lamb with a furry lamb coat, and a quiet fine fleeced fawn katmoget tup lamb. We even suspect that Arran may have jumped in and fathered the male lamb! Unless twins are identical then it is perfectly possible for them to be fathered by different tups. We shall study the pedigrees.<br />
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So far, of my own ewes, there are five lambs to four ewes.<br />
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First Smali Kate lambed very early but produced a cracking tup lamb who we named Derwent after the lake, Derwent Water, here in the Lake District. Derwent is very bold, fit and active. He has the "look at me" quality of his father Arran.<br />
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Two weeks later, Ruthwell Nisbet, who I bought at the sales in September, produced this stunning tup lamb Smali Dominic. He is our "dressage lamb" because he struts about the field with his four white socks and looks stunning. His fleece is a different type to that I've had before in the flock. I get plenty of "tight skinned" fine fleeced lambs, but his has more luster, like his dam; like little twists of silk. I'm hoping that he will combine Nisbet's luster and length with Arran's density and crimp... well I'm allowed to dream!<br />
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Next came Bartistown Rosie's grey katmoget twins Dot and Dalton. Dot has a spot on the back of her neck while Dalton has a very slight krunet marking (which will disappear as he grows up) and a dorsal stripe. They are naughty and always up to mischief already.<br />
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Smali Bryony presented me with little Daffodil in the early hours of yesterday morning. She is a striking little lady and beautifully put together.<br />
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Now we could do with a few more girls and a few more twins!Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-36329458937202475362012-06-14T20:27:00.000+01:002012-06-14T20:27:00.135+01:00Lambs of 2012Time has moved on and this blog is missing lamb photos. So here are some to keep you all occupied until I sit down to write... which may well be in the next couple of days since the forecast is terrible!<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-88727626658021282312012-02-07T17:54:00.002+00:002012-02-07T17:54:28.069+00:00Poor Cuthbert: a sheep with an abscessMy poor tup Cuthbert has been in the wars these last few months and on Sunday I found that he has a big abscess on his jaw.<br />
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When I fetched him home from his wanderings, he had a puncture wound on his jaw which was infected but I treated it and it healed over... or so it appeared. On Sunday it was suddenly huge and hot to touch. Poor Cuthbert had rubbed all of the wool off it.<br />
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Luckily with some help from my friend Elle and some Animalintex, I was able to put a poultice on it and bandage him up. Now I just have to keep replacing with clean dressings and wait for the poultice to work its magic. In the meantime, I'm not sure that Cuthbert is convinced about his new look!<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-60912596674682926212012-02-05T19:52:00.001+00:002012-02-05T19:52:32.556+00:00A Fleecy ExperimentSince these February days are cold and dark still, I decided that I would use my indoor time productively by doing something with my fleeces which have been safely stashed away but rather neglected.<br />
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I decided to use Sheilhope Girlsta's beautiful moorit fleece and took it home from the stables to process it. It looked lovely spread out on the driveway and I started by taking a quarter of it, washing and drying it before sitting down to decide how to use it.<br />
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I was about to card Girlsta's fleece when my mam, who was sitting nearby said, "won't you loose all of those lovely sun bleached twizzly bits if you card it?"<br />
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I stopped and looked at the wool. Shetland wool naturally forms little spiraled tips at the end of each "staple" which is the name given to a lock of fleece. It was really beautiful varying from rich chocolate brown at the root to bleached blond at the tips, but the staple formation is also very technical and is key to the Shetland sheep being able to survive on those wet windswept islands. Rain falling on a Shetland sheep is wicked to the ends of the staples and drips off the twizzly tips and in this way is kept away from the sheep's skin, leaving it warm and dry. It would be a shame to loose such a characteristic feature of my sheep's wool.<br />
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"Could you spin your wool so that those little twizzly bits stick out?" Asked mam. I could try this but I'm not the greatest spinner nor knitter sadly. Much more practicing to do.For now I decided to stick with what I know: needle-felting jewellery.<br />
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First I had to pull out all of the nicest twizzly staples.<br />
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Then I carded the remainder.<br />
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I made a bracelet as usual but then needle-felted the twizzly staples around the outside. I'm rather pleased with the result, perhaps I'll make a load more and sell them!<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com2Ulverston, Cumbria LA12, UK54.195138 -3.0926754.176559 -3.132152 54.213717 -3.053188tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-72558468293722318812012-01-19T17:15:00.001+00:002012-01-19T18:55:00.680+00:00EquinePsychoIn the last year, I've made a very special friend and in a short space of time we've had some excellent adventures together and really enjoyed feeding off each other's knowledge and passion for the great outdoors, animals generally and horses in particular.<br />
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Danni (Elle) Metcalf is an equine psychologist who is about to open her own riding centre at Bowkerstead, Grizedale, where Chris and I had our wedding reception last year. Elle has been travelling around finding horses for her riding school. Being without a bottomless pit of money to purchase her trusty herd of steeds, Elle has been rather canny in her methods of selecting horses and has had to draw on her experience, knowledge and ability to pick out a diamond in the rough and turn it into a safe and reliable trekking horse.<br />
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I wanted to share with you Tizzy's story because the transformation in this animal has been so rapid and it makes me so proud and happy to see Elle's talent so evident.<br />
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Tizzy's background is little known to us; there are a lot of previous owners on her passport. She is a 20 yr old Hanovarian x TB. Her shape suggests that she has had a few foals and she has had a big injury in the past. Elle was asked to take her on because the young man who had her could no longer afford to look after her.<br />
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She did not look great when we went to visit her but we put her in the horse box along with her pal Teeto, a little unbroken Section A Welsh.<br />
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The first time I rode her she was quiet and felt like a bag of bones. We didn't go far but we wanted to bring her back into work to pick her up, get her muscles developing and give her some interest in life.<br />
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After just a week she was beginning to look better, but Elle there was still a lot to do.<br />
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Three months on and Tizzy is a different horse. She is far more positive in her outlook (despite being a very stroppy mare in the stable) and is really becoming quite forward.<br />
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When I rode her a couple of days ago for Elle's new website photo shoot, she was really quite strong and excitable and at times I struggled to settle her down! Ignore the dropped rein please, I'd just ducked under a low branch when she shot off!<br />
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She is clearly feeling good and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better as we build up her stamina and give her some more experience of longer trails. Well done Elle!<br />
<a href="http://www.cumbriahorseridingadventures.co.uk/">http://www.cumbriahorseridingadventures.co.uk/</a>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-45041533770869979692011-12-29T19:47:00.000+00:002011-12-29T20:58:47.007+00:00Something old, something new...I should imagine that anyone who has pondered over my lack of blogging will have come up with three options: either I am too lazy to blog, I have nothing happening in my life, or life is so busy that I don't have a lot of time to blog. I'm blaming mobile technology mostly. My old phone used to send posts direct to my blog. I liked this and bought a Blackberry thinking that this would be an even more slick way to blog on the move. However, it has not worked like that. My Blackberry and my Blog are not good friends, not in the way that Blackberry, Fackbook and Twitter are at least!<br />
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Now that the days are dark I seem to get up, do the animals, do some work, do the animals, have some food and go to sleep! I haven't even wished you all many Yuletide Greetings! But I hope that you all know that they were beaming out all over the world to you all wherever you are.<br />
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The good news is that Cuthbert, my wayward tup, has turned up again. Goodness knows where he was but he was gone for almost a month!<br />
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He is hat-rack thin, had an abscess on his jaw, has a lesion around his foot as though he has had wire wrapped around it and bald patches (intriguingly as though he has been wearing a raddle!) but he is alive and bright and improving slowly.<br />
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The fields on the other hand are doing the opposite of improving. The mud is horrendous! We have had nothing but mild weather and rain for weeks. It's horrible! If you look at the photo of the new fence in the previous post, you will see grass. No longer!! That area is now all deep sloppy mud where sheep and horses have been puddling up and down to the stables.<br />
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The horses managed to break into the haylage bales twice so that they are now ae big tubs that I was initially using to stop the girls from trampling their hay into the mud!<br />
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As well as the usual suspects, we have some new arrivals to keep us busy, but at least they pay their way! We're getting three or four eggs per day!<br61_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/388364_10150419241505738_521205737_8821347_541948461_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This seems to be working better than the big tubs that I was initially using to stop the girls from trampling their hay into the mud!<br />
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As well as the usual suspects, we have some new arrivals to keep us busy, but at least they pay their way! We're getting three or four eggs per day!<br />
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George and his five girls arrived a few weeks ago and are lovely to watch, and listen to, as they forage around the field. George likes to stand on top of the muck heap and crow loudly in the morning. He competes with the neighbour's cockerel... boy are we going to be popular in the summer!!Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-13347780059633842102011-11-21T18:03:00.001+00:002011-11-21T20:04:13.185+00:00They're not sheep...They are Mountain Goats!!!<br />
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I have been thoroughly given the run-around by my flock in the last week.<br />
First the boys, who I thought were secure and safely out of the way down on a nature reserve, found a gap in a fence after our neighbouring farmer moved his flock of commercial ewes in next door. So they were returned to me by the (thankfully laid back) farmer in a quad bike trailer.<br />
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I couldn't put them back on the nature reserve without doing some fencing there, so I took them to my new fields where the girls are... and they created havoc by finding a way around any fence put in their way. Shetlands don't see boundaries; they merely see obstacles to be overcome!<br />
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At last Chris and I, with some help from my friend Elle, got the little bleaters contained... for a while...<br />
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In the meantime, Rivendell Cuthbert, my new tup, decided that he'd covered all of his new girls and that he would move on to pastures new. Previously he was working a much bigger flock and clearly he thought himself short-changed with his 13 ewes at my spot and gone off on the pull in neighbouring fields.We're now been looking for him for three days, following tufts of ginger wool along the hedgerows, but as yet we have not located him. The neighbouring farmers and the police are all on the look-out.<br />
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Today, after another fruitless Cuthbert search, we got back to sorting out the unruly younger tups, who were blocked into one of our horse paddocks which unfortunately had very little graze.<br />
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It was dark before we left the field and we'll have to be back first thing again to see whether we have won the battle... or not!<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-76136667423199056002011-11-10T20:31:00.001+00:002011-11-10T21:16:06.277+00:00Belated UpdateI am a slack blogger. Sorry folks, there is no excuse for it. However, things have been moving apace in the Holden-Wilde household.<br />
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Chris and I have our business off the ground and our website can be found <a href="http://wildeecology.wordpress.com/">HERE</a>. This is a temporary site while the main one is being built by Chris's wonderful cousin Karen. Thanks Karen, you're a star xx<br />
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Chris's photography is coming on in leaps and bounds and very soon there will be a gallery to admire on the website.<br />
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My horse Danny and the sheep have moved house again and are now in a village I know very well from my childhood: a little place called Gleaston on the Furness Peninsula.<br />
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The girls have a new boyfriend called Rivendell Cuthbert! He's a handsome moorit lad originally from David and Joy Trotter's flock.<br />
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Down the road, the boys are chilling out down at Ireleth on the the salt marsh still. With no girls close by they are a proper lazy bachelor group, not a scrappy bunch as they were last year with the girls the other side of the fence!<br />
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Since the summer shows we have had an awful lot of calls about the flock and could have easily sold all of the girls three times over. Smali Archie, Smali Buttons and Smali Arrow have all gone off to new homes to work as flock sires and Galtress Ptolemy has a new home too with my friend Philip. Philip and his brother run the Wadley flock in Northumberland where Arrow, Tolly and ten of our girls are now living. Seven of the girls are out on loan and will come back to us probably next year once they have added some new members to the Wadley flock.<br />
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Smali Arran is growing into a very handsome lad. I took him along to a Shetland Sheep Society Ram Inspection day last weekend and I am proud to say that he has passed his assessment and is now an Approved Ram! I was so chuffed to get such positive feedback about him and his fleece in particular. I'll be very interested to see how his first lambs turn out next year!<br />
<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-33135291024802053152011-09-15T10:11:00.002+01:002011-09-15T10:11:49.475+01:00Trotting Along NicelyIt's great being self-employed (even if the winter is seeming a little scary and uncertain at the moment!). I can organise my own time and do the boring desk stuff when it's raining or in the evening leaving the daylight and sunny weather for doing the surveying and doing the things that I enjoy, like going out with the dogs, spending time with the flock and riding Danny.<br />
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Luckily I have friends who are also self-employed or work funny hours and can usually squeeze in a ride.<br />
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My friend Danni (very confusing having a horse and a horsey friend with the same name!!) has moved her horse Blade into the same field as Danny for a little while and we ride out together most days. Danny and Blade are great pals and very evenly paced which makes hacking out easy and fun.<br />
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Our boys are a constant source of amusement to us as we explore, often at speed, the forest tracks. Both are sure footed and fit enough to enjoy the challenging tracks and love to leap ridiculously high over small fallen logs! However, they are also both thoroughbred crossed and a bit highly strung and spooky. They find all kinds of things to be terrified of.<br />
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When excited Danny tends to turn into a giraffe with his ears pricked right forward and nostrils flared, while Blade arches his neck low, takes hold of the bit and prances along pretending to be very grand but refusing to accept the bit and work properly. They perfectly demonstrate "above" and "below" the bit! Danni and I are working on improving their outlines!<br />
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I've bought Danny a convertible head collar/bridle for hacking out in. It's great to be able to give him a proper break on a day ride by un-clipping the bit and letting him graze while I eat a snack. I don't worry about it getting damaged if we get a drenching either. He looks rather smart in it too!Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-2203395636506767852011-09-14T09:31:00.000+01:002011-10-04T10:16:34.527+01:00Westmorland Show Success!What a busy time we've been having. There's so much that I ought to be blogging about, but I had to post about how proud I am of Arran.<br />
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My little fawn krunet brandet sokket katmoget tup lamb got more and more handsome as he got older.<br />
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Boy did he grow? His mother Sheilhope Gletness looked after him extremely well and he was king of the castle in the boys field last winter.</div>
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Unlike hi father, Arran has never shown signs of agression. He is a nice lad.</div>
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His first show outing was the local North Lonsdale a few weeks ago where he was placed second in Primitive Breed Ram (see post below).</div>
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Last week I took him to the Westmorland County Show which was a whole different ball game because it is a much bigger show with specialist Shetland Classes and plenty of respected breeders attending. </div>
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These show photos are from Dominic McEwen-King's <a href="https://plus.google.com/117166187504044870477/buzz#117166187504044870477/buzz">Web Album</a>. Dom has been taking great photos of their super Galtress flock at the shows.</div>
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Smali Arran was placed first in Shearling Ram!!</div>
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He went on to take the Reserve Champion Shetland!!</div>
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I'm so proud of him. Champion Shetland went to Robin and Margaret McEwen-King's lovely white ewe.</div>
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Arran's dad is Galtress Ptolomy, so Robin and Margaret (who are Tolly's breeders) were very happy to see their bloodlines passed down and doing well.</div>
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Todhill Robina and Smali Bryony both took fourth in their classes and my group of three (one tup and two ewes: Arran, Robin and Bryony) were placed first. In the group of three the judge looks for uniformity of a group of good Shetlands. I think it was brought in to allow breeders to show that good type and health is consistent in their flock.</div>
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What a good day for the Smali Flock!</div>
Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-71039319016030237702011-08-04T13:08:00.001+01:002011-08-04T13:08:57.011+01:00Surprise!Now who could this be?<br />
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A new arrival? In July? Smali Amber must have been cavorting with the tups in February! A very pretty, strong and healthy ewe lamb... but I shan't register her as I'm not in to line breeding! Amber is a very proud Mum though and won't let anyone near this little lady; including me!Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-83913843848984585792011-07-28T11:18:00.000+01:002011-07-28T11:18:10.914+01:00North Lonsdale ShowIt has been a while since I've done any showing with my Shetland Sheep, but I couldn't resist taking them along to our local agricultural show yesterday.<br />
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There was only one other Shetland breeder, Mr and Mrs Watson from Ravenglass, but they had very good animals and it was a pleasure chatting sheep with them. Because this is a small show, there were no separate breed classes for the rarer types and so in the classes I entered there were also North Ronaldsay, Manx Loughton, Wiltshire Horn and Wensleydale.<br />
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I took four sheep along this time; one for each class. I made things easy for myself by taking Smali Arran, who is reasonably quiet to handle; Todhill Robina and her twins Smali Byron and Bryony, so no separating ewes and lambs or having to take lots of extras!<br />
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First up was Arran in the Primitive Minority Breed Ram. The judge put Arran and Mr and Mrs Watson's Shetland ram side by side and deliberated for ages going through their fleeces right down their bodies. In the end he plumped for the Watson's animal, placing Arran second, but he said that it was a difficult decision and that there was not a lot in it. I'm not usually a fan of white Shetlands, but this was a nice little chap; very typical of the sheep you would find on the Shetland Islands, so I can't argue with that!<br />
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Robina was up next and horror or horrors, I realised as she walked into the ring her back foot looked over grown because she had split a hoof in the trailer. She wasn't lame (or I'd have noticed straight away) but there was a flake hanging off and I ought to have trimmed it off. The judge noticed of course and placed her third, telling me that she ought to have been first placed! Doh!! Well you live and learn: always give your stock a thorough going over BEFORE going into the show ring!<br />
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The Waton's ewe who was placed first was a lovely animal with a beautiful consistent fleece and looking in great condition. She went on to get Best of Breed.<br />
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The lambs were not keen on being shown at all. "Standing still while some stranger prods and pokes us? Are you kidding us?" However, despite my joke to the judge about points being knocked off for bad behaviour, Byron was placed first in Minority Ram Lamb and Bryony first in Minority Ewe Lamb. What clever little bleaters!<br />
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It was a very hot and sunny but happily successful day for the flock. Can't wait for the next show now, I must be getting the bug again.<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-73415335369134037942011-07-15T10:58:00.000+01:002011-07-15T10:58:07.516+01:00Mullein on the Railway LineUsually in hot weather we like to take the dogs to the beach, or along a river, or to a lake for their daily strolls. They love nothing better than splashing about and swimming. The other day however, I reapplied their Spot On after finding a few ticks attached to them, so swimming was out, much to their annoyance.<br />
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Instead we took them through the fields and along the disused railway close to Roudsea Wood, opposite Greenodd, just a few miles away from where we live in Ulverston.<br />
It was a scorching day and, in the absence of water to play in, the dogs found long grass to cool them off.<br />
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It didn't stop either of them from dashing about after a ball and playing at rounding each other up:<br />
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actually it is Whisper who is really into the stalking game!<br />
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Along what I think is an old disused railway track we found some fabulous big Mullein plants.<br />
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Their impressive spikes of yellow flowers are at their best at this time of year and the old stems from last year are still standing tall and are well dried out.<br />
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My good friend Hugh Woods tells me that the plant was known as "Poor Man's Torch" or "Candle-Wick" due to the fact that a dried stems of the flower spike burn extremely well. It has thick hairy leaves and apparently is known as "Cowboy's Toilet Paper" in the Western United States!<br />
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I know that Mullein has been an extremely useful plant in the past in medicine and also that the flowers can be used to make yellow and green dyes. I didn't know that the seeds have been used to produce a poison for fishing!<br />
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The Wikipedia entry says...<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Great Mullein has been used since ancient times as a remedy for skin, throat and breathing ailments. It has long had a medicinal reputation, especially as an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astringent" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Astringent">astringent</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emollient" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Emollient">emollient</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, as it contains </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucilage" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Mucilage">mucilage</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, several </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponin" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Saponin">saponins</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coumarin" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Coumarin">coumarin</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycoside" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Glycoside">glycosides</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorides" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Dioscorides">Dioscorides</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> recommended it for diseases of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Lung">lung</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> and it is now widely available in health and herbal stores. Non-medical uses have included </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Dye">dyeing</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> and making </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torch" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Torch">torches</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">.</span><br />
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So now we know where to go next time we have a cough! Hugh has given us one of these plants as a gift and we're hoping to harvest plenty of seeds from it. They only grow where the seeds can germinate on bare ground and so an old railway track suits them very well.<br />
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When we'd had enough of the baking heat of the open country, we retreated to the cooling depths of the woodland and enjoyed a little peace in the company of trees.<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-85042496968973701512011-07-11T17:25:00.000+01:002011-07-11T17:25:41.641+01:00Clicking Day for the FlockThe sheep were not impressed today.<br />
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They did not want to go into a pen on such a hot day,<br />
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They were far too happy grazing out on the salt marsh.<br />
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But it is now fly strike season and for their own protection they need to be treated against this.<br />
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So, after a fashion, we got (most) of them in and treated.<br />
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All apart from the boys who are due to go (because of the meat withdrawal period) and those who are still needing their fleeces off (I had dropped my sharpening stone at home, doh!). I only treat during the high risk period and after the fleeces have been removed so that there is almost a full year for it to wear out of the fleece. Arran, above, will be staying with me :o)<br />
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This year I used Click which protects for 16 weeks and will give me much needed peace of mind. The sheep do not seem to have been picking up any ticks so at least that it one worry less than in Argyll.<br />
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Another job done, the next thing will be to load up the boys. I can't imagine that they will cooperate...<br />
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but I don't really blame them!Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-78852666533313247242011-07-05T09:07:00.000+01:002011-07-05T09:07:04.222+01:00Trekking around GrizedaleToday was glorious sunshine and Chris's cousin Jane and her son Cameron brought their horse Harley up to visit Danny and have a long ride out around Grizedale.<br />
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Harley is only a youngster and hasn't yet done a lot of longer distance treks where he has to cope with lots of stony tracks, hills, streams and bogs, but you wouldn't know it as he coped admirably. Because we only had two horses between three of us, we took it in turns to use a mountain bike as a third mount! It was a very hot day and occasionally little lizards scuttled off the track in front of us.<br />
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We stopped for lunch overlooking Coniston Water where there was a breeze to keep some of the pesky flies at bay. A few sailing boats glided across the surface and I imagined what a blissful day it would be on the sparkling water. One thing missing from this ride was a cooling dip for both horses and riders; perhaps I could find a way to build this in next time!<br />
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The horses had a good munch on the lovely wild grasses and a drink from a stream while we enjoyed the view and some butties.<br />
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Then it was time to mount up again and follow the dusty tracks through the forest. The extremely dry weather this year means that the tracks are very hard and we had to limit ourselves to walking most of the time.<br />
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It was so hot that none of us felt overly speedy anyway and the horses stepped out smartly, covering the ground with ease despite our thinking that they might lack a bit of fitness, so that there was no need to push them on.<br />
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We were very pleasantly surprised at how fit Danny and Harley are. In the end we were out for five hours and they both looked fresh as little daisies on arriving back at the farm. Things are looking good for some more adventures this summer!<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-14841648623167576262011-06-24T11:19:00.000+01:002011-06-24T11:19:56.514+01:00Our Fairytale Handfasting CeremonyWe had a beautiful day for our wedding with wonderful friends. Thank you everyone for making it so special. Enjoy the photos, they are full of happiness :-)<br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-30882389078347007922011-06-17T09:42:00.000+01:002011-06-17T09:42:32.964+01:00Shearing TimeI had an aim...<br />
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The aim was to get all of the sheep sheared before the wedding...<br />
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But May was horrendous. Cold and wet and no one around here dared shear early. However, this week it has warmed up again and I decided to jump in and get those lovely fleeces off.<br />
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I make no secret about it, I am no great professional shearer. I hand shear my own animals every year and every year I get a little bit better (after initially seeming a little bit worse having had no experience since the previous season).<br />
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I like to roo the sheep where possible. Shetlands are an ancient breed and many of them will still naturally shed their fleeces: this is called rooing and their fleeces can often just be plucked off. People bred out this tendency to shed wool to stop this valuable fiber being lost in the fields and hedgerows. However, it takes ages and often seems rather uncomfortable for the animal if the fleece is still too well attached to just lift off. Even though I'm slow, hand shearing is still quicker.<br />
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Because the Shetland fleeces are valuable and are privately sold to hand spinners and felters, I try to be careful about the way I shear them. The fleece grows a certain amount each year, the length of this growth is called the "staple".<br />
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At the end of each growing season, there is usually a natural weak point in the fleece where it would break off. This weak point is called the "rise".</div>
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Here on Rosie's fleece, the rise can be seen clearly as a line where the fibres are thinner. I try to shear along this line in order to preserve the full natural staple length of the fleece.<br />
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Machine clipping is far more practical when there are many sheep to be sheared but it does scalp the sheep rather and goes under the rise so removing some of the next year's growth and leaving the tips of the wool fibres blunt ended. When wool that has been cut beneath the rise is carded, little lengths break off at that natural weak point and there can be rather a lot of wastage. The blunt ended fibres can end up looking slightly felted and may not form the natural points that are characteristic of Shetland fleeces and help them to shed water.<br />
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Shearing is a bit of an art. You get better at it as you become more confident that you know the shape of the sheep and are not going to snip anything but wool!<br />
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My shears are quite big and extremely sharp. Blunt shears are more likely to cause nicks because they do not cut the fleece cleanly and can slip. By keeping the blade parallel to the sheep's body you get a neat even job and are unlikely to injure the animal. The weight of the fleece falling away from the body opens up the next line of fleece to cut.<br />
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When shearing you must <b>never</b> pull the fleece up yourself even though at times it is tempting, because it causes wrinkles in the skin which then almost inevitably get nicked or sliced. Pulling the skin taught flat across the body (as you would when waxing your legs!) can be useful when doing the belly though.<br />
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For the most part I really enjoy shearing, but it is really physical work. Because Chris's headaches mean that he can't do a lot of bending down (it brings on an attack and causes him to go blind in one eye... not very helpful for shearing!) I'm pretty much on my own, although he is useful at handing stuff over and helping to catch the next animal.<br />
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Some of the girls were lovely to shear, but when I came to do my 8 shearling tups it was a different matter. They have been turned out on a nature reserve for months and virtually untouched. They are BIG, well muscled from climbing over walls and escaping, curly horned and very woolly. Although a few rooed, most were a nightmare to shear because it is their lamb fleece (very long and thick) and having had no trauma (such as raising a lamb) most had no natural break in their fleeces.</div>
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I was very sore and bruised after doing five of them!<br />
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It is now just a few days before my wedding and it is raining. No shearing today. The first guests will be arriving tomorrow and there is no way I'll get any more done now.<br />
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However, I've pretty much done it. All 14 girls done, five of the boys and Tolly. Just three boys left and they won't take any harm for another week. Tomorrow afternoon I will get the girls and lambs treated with blow fly preventative and moved to their new nature reserve pasture.<br />
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They look a little bald, but I'm sure Rosie and pals are happy with their new styles really!</div>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-19685856625266285492011-06-09T19:49:00.000+01:002011-06-09T19:49:25.414+01:00Handfasting CordI was in a real quandary over what to do about the cord for our handfasting. I looked on-line and found some lovely ones to buy, but they were quite expensive and somehow it didn't seem personal enough. So I sat down this evening with my felting, spinning and beading kit and just played about until an idea emerged.<br />
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Fleece from Tolly and Robina (both very pale grey) to represent our flock and love of animals; green for our way of life, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">finances, fertility, luck, success energy, charity, growth, rejuvenation, prosperity, nurturing, beauty, health, ambition, and to counteract greed and jealousy; red for Chris's beloved Liverpool FC but also </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">will, passion, strength, fertility, courage, health and vigour. The little charms are glass leaves and little paper rosebuds. Leaves for life and vitality, pink rosebuds for perfect happiness, and white for worthiness. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">I'm really happy with it :o) </span>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-38528891101397388382011-06-05T20:51:00.000+01:002011-06-05T20:51:45.698+01:00Wooden Wedding RingsSo what tokens do conservationists exchange at their handfasting ceremony? We thought that wooden rings would be gorgeous and managed to find these. They are handmade in Scotland by <a href="http://www.thewoodhut.co.uk/">The Wood Hut</a>, from windfall trees.<br />
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Mine will be made from <a href="http://www.thewoodhut.co.uk/collection.php?detail=398">Yew, Maple and Walnut</a>.<br />
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while Chris's will be fashioned from <a href="http://www.thewoodhut.co.uk/collection.php?detail=411">Oak and Yew</a>.<br />
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All of the trees that provided these woods have ancient symbolism associated with them.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The mystical Yew is a tree of transformation and new beginnings. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Maple tree meanings include balance, promise and practicality.</span><br />
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<a href="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/80/8048E24B-0D50-4966-9BC4-0FA49747BB10/Presentation.Medium/Ancient-sessile-oak-tree-covered-with-ferns-and-lichens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/80/8048E24B-0D50-4966-9BC4-0FA49747BB10/Presentation.Medium/Ancient-sessile-oak-tree-covered-with-ferns-and-lichens.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Oak is a tree representing strength and stability.</span><br />
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<a href="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/82/82CD06B5-887A-4A6F-9DA9-518D5B303A7C/Presentation.Medium/Walnut-tree-showing-autumn-colourings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/82/82CD06B5-887A-4A6F-9DA9-518D5B303A7C/Presentation.Medium/Walnut-tree-showing-autumn-colourings.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Walnut is a tree of passion, broad-horizons and spontanaety. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Let's hope that they bring these characteristics to our marriage!</span><br />
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<br />Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-38985079527931081742011-05-29T21:06:00.000+01:002011-05-29T21:06:08.659+01:00The Besom Broom<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">As part of our handfasting ceremony, Chris and I will be leaping over a broomstick!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">Many people will recognise this custom as being part of old wedding ceremonies performed by Gypsies and early American slaves, when couples “Jumped the Broom” to cross the threshold of their new homes ensuring fertility, domestic harmony and longevity.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">Jumping the broom continues today in modern hand-fasting rituals, when as part of the ceremony, the bridal couple will jump across a decorated besom as conformation of their commitment to each other.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">The couple jump the besom together, hand in hand to show that they are two parts of a whole, working together towards a bright new future and all it holds. This jumping of the besom becomes a leap of faith so to speak that they take together. Faith in each other to face what life has ahead for them both good and bad. The besom broom is taken home by the couple and hung over the bed or over the front door - bringing fertility and blessings to the relationship and their home.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">For Chris and I, jumping the broom will be the last stage in our ceremony before the popping of corks and general merriment commences.</span>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-20337966529960647842011-05-16T10:18:00.004+01:002011-05-16T20:21:11.462+01:00Jim Fowler<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday was a very sad day. On Saturday I learned that I, and many others, had lost a very dear friend: Dr J. A. Fowler.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjv986gvZ-41o6BO243Vf9FehPRBirjtKWRLZilOunlJs7zBzZ9JhfI8925AW-XJtl_S6V7EMmdpAaZA3L7fXLuP3zXrOHw4CZvmIoFk8rt0EYHpVNOBvs7rBFS948RTyRJqL_SA/s1600/Jim+Fowler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjv986gvZ-41o6BO243Vf9FehPRBirjtKWRLZilOunlJs7zBzZ9JhfI8925AW-XJtl_S6V7EMmdpAaZA3L7fXLuP3zXrOHw4CZvmIoFk8rt0EYHpVNOBvs7rBFS948RTyRJqL_SA/s1600/Jim+Fowler.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I received a phone call at midday from my friend Pete asking whether I had heard from Jim and telling me that the police had found his car, an empty kayak and fishing gear. They had also found a body which they were trying to identify. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">I called his mobile in desperation but knew the truth. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Pete showed the police where to find a photo and soon the unthinkable became reality.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">How could this have happened so suddenly? My last contact with him had been a message gleefully telling me that he was taking his kayak out in search of perch.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">The cause of the accident is not fully understood. I like to think that it was an epic adventure involving an enormous pike. That would be a great new tale for Jim to tell! </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Jim was a well known Ornithologist who has left his mark on hundreds of budding ecologists. His text books, Statistics for Field Ecologists and Statistics for Ornithologists are well thumbed volumes on my bookshelves. Having used these books to help me through my degree it was funny that I should meet and become friends with the man himself the year that I graduated.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I had taken up<a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/ringing-scheme"> bird-ringing</a> at university, and, on graduating in 2002, contacted the BTO to find a trainer back at home in Cumbria. They put me in touch with Jim. A few days later I found myself in a woodland in the very small hours being instructed in the art of putting up a mist net. Bird ringing trainers are extremely pedantic about the way in which their nets are erected, where each person stands, which knots are used... and Jim was no different... even though I had been putting up nets almost every weekend for two years! My first impressions of Jim were of a very earnest and slightly bonkers academic; he tried to do everything too quickly, frequently dropping items, losing them and tripping over branches. However, when handling the birds he was a master showing me how to confidently manipulate these tiny animals in order to take them safely from the mist nets. He was an excellent trainer, strict but fair and honest. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Soon I had a job with the World Owl Trust at Muncaster, and Jim was delighted to be able to train me in ringing Barn, Little, Tawny Owls and Kestrels. He also took great delight in stepping to one side while I crawled into gaps between hay bales or up rickety ladders in order to retrieve owlets.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Since my stint working in Scotland, I have done very little birding. But Jim has stayed a close friend and, with his love of <a href="http://maalie1.blogspot.com/">blogging</a> and communication, we were in almost daily contact one way or another. His friendly jibes have been an almost constant presence and I can't believe that every time I mention my lambs on Facebook there will be no quip about mint sauce from Jim. In the words of his close friends, Jim was a truly Runcible Character!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">One of our last times out together was when I was in the depths of the worst time of my life some months ago now. The comforting familiarity of Jim's company and conversation (and scolding as a wriggling wren managed to escape me before its ring was fixed on) was a great help and a break from everything that was going on outside the woods.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">He was a most excellent and intelligent man; friend and mentor. I miss his daily mickey-taking and am deeply saddened that he will not be at my wedding next month: he was so enthusiastic about the opportunity to attend a pagan ceremony. Readers of his blog will know how he celebrated the pagan festivals. He wished to have some druid robes made up by "a<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> little woman in Barrow market that does things for desperate gentlemen</span>."</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Farewell on your new travels Jim. Another "well earned break."</span></span></div>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-2012548978219201072011-05-09T21:13:00.000+01:002011-05-09T21:13:25.166+01:00Bram Lamb in the garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-wpYXnSutfK8t9XrkDtsdR5LIDdlPvPnCL4_GNT-Z1slWG8T6geG1VHJzqk4_rntCGu2QNq44rga73VGIq7xVYN62oWgMAguwetKypCxe0cDowa8LE6h1CHUbmHg-fC0VMajcg/s1600/P1040234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-wpYXnSutfK8t9XrkDtsdR5LIDdlPvPnCL4_GNT-Z1slWG8T6geG1VHJzqk4_rntCGu2QNq44rga73VGIq7xVYN62oWgMAguwetKypCxe0cDowa8LE6h1CHUbmHg-fC0VMajcg/s320/P1040234.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Goodness me! Look at all that exciting stuff to explore!</div>
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That smells interesting...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVVKO6PwiAHMT1T-D8YpCxvRIslkWJ38YIVgG2VGLTHgZL6Hwor22nPOYzjRem55ojNr3JBnDsrCAOOilIMtqRWiOKb-K_X5XpGcDvgmDAHkhw2jVsenL5efygw3E2fCkfjmdHA/s1600/P1040239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVVKO6PwiAHMT1T-D8YpCxvRIslkWJ38YIVgG2VGLTHgZL6Hwor22nPOYzjRem55ojNr3JBnDsrCAOOilIMtqRWiOKb-K_X5XpGcDvgmDAHkhw2jVsenL5efygw3E2fCkfjmdHA/s320/P1040239.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'll bet those taste good...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vyQ0iZUENGR_XKYp8Ux9_IhUP282fzwetkZ7HgtAyATa8Dbn6wUychxMMyr2LN0EKlr5PqJ0C_UVEnYTwVX0Rhdah19SyzzcSA1bpTwkBp9l3Gso8QTbCtXMS4tTicySFDEQkQ/s1600/P1040238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vyQ0iZUENGR_XKYp8Ux9_IhUP282fzwetkZ7HgtAyATa8Dbn6wUychxMMyr2LN0EKlr5PqJ0C_UVEnYTwVX0Rhdah19SyzzcSA1bpTwkBp9l3Gso8QTbCtXMS4tTicySFDEQkQ/s320/P1040238.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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and this looks as though it might be a good rolling toy...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJcxnGZ6vo34teKkw2ocp8fGgfPFsFbnlgFYONzWjzblDHoRec5GARpqSF-xnxA9qAFFs1yfqVZGu6rSzqgGyir8c2v32IU4c-TWyKtUBMfc6rox1o8aXa28wUi8GzSNV4fkcFw/s1600/P1040252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJcxnGZ6vo34teKkw2ocp8fGgfPFsFbnlgFYONzWjzblDHoRec5GARpqSF-xnxA9qAFFs1yfqVZGu6rSzqgGyir8c2v32IU4c-TWyKtUBMfc6rox1o8aXa28wUi8GzSNV4fkcFw/s320/P1040252.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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But what on earth is that?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-WSJKHzn6eE0Jusgadwu7rCygwh9rCVv85fjV5ahkah-lSFpOHhCbTCtZR50xXWoCyeWv1FS_pKGkZlGEn5qtSlh4psi4uFkV3J8uJ0VIrgzm877otoLggpTHI7PBMywwDbkYw/s1600/P1040256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-WSJKHzn6eE0Jusgadwu7rCygwh9rCVv85fjV5ahkah-lSFpOHhCbTCtZR50xXWoCyeWv1FS_pKGkZlGEn5qtSlh4psi4uFkV3J8uJ0VIrgzm877otoLggpTHI7PBMywwDbkYw/s320/P1040256.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's big...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ02gdH_JJMuf-gqWOM9qWiVopfdvAbA2aZYGe9GKCmglcyLVoVZHC1eRUQos5WC3WoirEE41jwFN2XQQkQz8v7fd8NRqDhfnkH7i17sDM29ZdAnvfrSLaKa8-6dVryJ7SrLwIQ/s1600/P1040255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ02gdH_JJMuf-gqWOM9qWiVopfdvAbA2aZYGe9GKCmglcyLVoVZHC1eRUQos5WC3WoirEE41jwFN2XQQkQz8v7fd8NRqDhfnkH7i17sDM29ZdAnvfrSLaKa8-6dVryJ7SrLwIQ/s320/P1040255.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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it's pink...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_T9a0AbxxFMIIVwPJN6n9qdWgpy2bypKMMAgjouBOW7pn-xRCjqvQic1SWXV0EfEPCopDkl1QTS2V1qHs2GyEwot36n7xCrSjhdPAidqpRwMfUJEgB0aHYTwgVfKF2bY72cPHg/s1600/P1040251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_T9a0AbxxFMIIVwPJN6n9qdWgpy2bypKMMAgjouBOW7pn-xRCjqvQic1SWXV0EfEPCopDkl1QTS2V1qHs2GyEwot36n7xCrSjhdPAidqpRwMfUJEgB0aHYTwgVfKF2bY72cPHg/s320/P1040251.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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and if I head-butt it, it moves!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM99h8mV9R-bCgmVIukvNPfPMJj1f867NEcHN8MGJ0iCxKclZ71NS5IAIZowOLNv6jarmvn7dDt3JdiP3x8DcUfjC3THofdicfwdorFW0WNbXfWpA3123pYCbIk9s018X1YBS_gQ/s1600/P1040254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM99h8mV9R-bCgmVIukvNPfPMJj1f867NEcHN8MGJ0iCxKclZ71NS5IAIZowOLNv6jarmvn7dDt3JdiP3x8DcUfjC3THofdicfwdorFW0WNbXfWpA3123pYCbIk9s018X1YBS_gQ/s320/P1040254.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Not a good idea to chase it into that big puddle though!</div>
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It's enough to make a lamb very tired!</div>
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Time for a snooze I think.</div>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-14115826266060533372011-04-15T21:46:00.001+01:002011-04-15T21:46:41.960+01:00Bed-lamb in the Smali Flock!Lambing is done! 17 lambs, 9 tups (rams), 8 ewes, 4 singles, 7 sets of twins. 1 still born (big handsome black, non-ag HST tup lamb :o( ) an one very healthy and noisy pet called Bram. More of the story coming up... in the meantime enjoy the photos! That's my little brother Joe asleep with Bramble the pet lamb.<br />
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Hope all of you with livestock are having a good spring and that everyone is getting out and enjoying the new life that is budding and blossoming all around.Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-2955457530460730702011-04-05T20:19:00.000+01:002011-04-05T20:19:48.648+01:00Lambing LiveUnlike the program of the same name on the BBC at present, lambing for us is a rather quieter, if still rather all consuming affair. Lambing is such a funny time when you have a small flock of sheep. It tends to be a bit on the dragged out side and the majority of the time there is nothing going on... but you feel that you have to be there just in case! Sometimes it seems a bit daft considering that (touch wood!) I have never yet had to help a Shetland to give birth, but I just couldn't risk anything happening to one of my lovely ewes or their little ones and we drag ourselves out of bed in the small hours to check them, spend a fortune in fuel and sometimes have to camp in the stable.<br />
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So as a result, I have plenty of time to sit and write, at least for as long as my laptop battery lasts, and after this time for...<br />
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getting to know Danny better...<br />
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catching up with Rosie and hearing all about what being mother of twins again is like...<br />
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and for swooning over her fleece!<br />
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Chris enjoys watching the lambs as they become braver and their characters develop...<br />
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and he is always impressed with how good the girls are at caring for the lambs, and how tolerant many of them are. Blitzen is NOT Girlsta's lamb!<br />
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The texels next door are just SO different from our dainty little Shetlands that they always make us laugh and Chris couldn't resist getting a photo for the blog.<br />
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His photography is really coming along now and the resident tree sparrows make excellent and obliging subjects.<br />
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Tolly doesn't understand why the little springy things are getting all of the attention when HE is clearly still top of the flock!</div>Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19205604.post-57501161582079118632011-04-03T18:35:00.000+01:002011-04-03T18:35:57.118+01:00Why Handfasting?I have spent a good chunk of today, between lambing checks, writing our wedding ceremony. It is quite a difficult thing for me in some ways because my beliefs and spirituality have always been very private, and because I want the ceremony to be understood and enjoyed by everyone, without anyone feeling uncomfortable. I would never try to persuade another person to take on my beliefs because it doesn't matter what rules each person privately lives by so long as they are happy and good: define these as you see fit!<br />
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I suppose that my understanding of the world fits most closely with that of Druids. My soul has been deeply touched by the natural world that I spend so much time exploring and trying to understand; to me the stars speak their graceful silent poetry, the grasses and the deep woods are as cathedrals. I love to meditate and feel the energy that flows through all living things. For me there are no idols to worship so there are no mentions of gods or goddesses in the ceremony, just the ancient mysteries of nature itself. A church wedding would therefore have been inappropriate, even though I do find churches beautiful and peaceful places, and a registry office or hotel too impersonal.<br />
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We have chosen to have our ceremony at one of my favourite nature reserves, in a meadow beside an ancient hazel wood. This place has been special to me ever since I was a child and Chris has grown to love it too.<br />
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Handfasting is often described as being an agreement between two people for a year and a day. However, for us this will be as permanent as any other ceremony and the year and a day idea appears to have come from one reference: Sir Walter Scott's The Monastery. It is an ancient celtic tradition and the origin of the phrase "tying the knot".<br />
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During the ceremony our hands will be bound together with ribbon as we travel the circle to each compass point. Each point represents an element and has associated objects or qualities. North is Earth and stability, fertility, experience and inner wisdom; South is Fire and passion, power, change and energy; East is Air and communication, travel, new beginnings and music; West is Water and emotion, imagination, compassion and intuition.<br />
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After visiting each of the compass points, the ribbon will be removed with the knot intact ready to be put in some special place and kept safe.Jenny Holdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.com6