It seems our two sheep (Ryland breed, designed to feed off acres of Rye grass. Dense and cuddly fleece and an easy keep for newbies like us) have made some new acquaintances. The three ewes on the other side of the fence belong to the tenant farmer of the surrounding fields.
They are Speckled faced (so-called because?) variety which hales from eons ago and are a Welsh heritage breed. They are hardy to the point of lambing outside, which if they are still here at that point in their lives, will be a novelty for us. They are “due to go to the tup” a euphemism, towards the end of the month, then add 147 days (5 months) for the lambkins to appear.
Any road up, back to the plot. The sheep do not have water in the fields so they troll down to the river to drink and gossip and do a bit of washing. The river is the other side of the fence, thirty foot below. The sheep climb up to eat dried brash which we place there to discourage the sheep to climb the bank and erode it.
I think we may need to examine the effectiveness of that strategy.
