Allotment update

And a couple of photos of Jon (and Will)riding Bob bareback!



And this is what the allotment looked like after Jon and I had spent an hour or two there on Friday. Jonathan did the major digging, and I used the trowel to get a few of the stubborn weed roots out of the clumps of earth and picked up as many weeds as I could see behind him. We took two bags of roots etc away and feel we have really made some good progress. We intend to tackle another bit this week so we can put some manure down before clearing the bit at the end by the compost heap. Jonathan is really good at the digging. He has muscles in the right places and the stamina to keep going to finish what he has started. We have the same mentality: I just lack the muscle power!
This was after we popped down the field to see Bob and let the chap's chickens out. On our arrival we noticed a sheep in an odd position and my heart sunk. It was one of this years lambs, lying dead on a gate that had previously been leaning up against the fence. It must have been reaching through the bars to get to the grass behind it, when it fell. Why it didn't just walk around it, I don't know. Although it is a sheep and not best known for it's brains. It managed to get it's head back up through the gate, but the weight of it's own body must have been too much and it died through strangulation. It was still warm when we got there and I wish we had left the house an hour or so earlier as we had originally planned. We might have been in time to save it. Instead, we were left with the task of lifting the gate, and propping it up on a wooden block, so that we could both lift the animal to get it free. It took us both to carry it in to the barn. It was so very sad. Obviously the animal was bred with slaughter in mind, but this was an undignified and cruel death which served no purpose. Very sad indeed.
I feel that I should end this post on a high of which there are many...Tom's Off Roading weekend last weekend, Star Trek with Explorers this weekend, the many craft projects that have been produced and Jonathans afternoon helping the local Farm shop to name but a few. Rob's Fire Service Training is going well, and the website is taking shape slowly. I have a new craft that I am very excited about and am waiting for book and supplies to arrive in the post in the next few days. All exciting stuff, and never a dull moment here. So, consequently I am exhausted and off for some quiet knitting by the fire, instead of waiting for blogger to upload photos....I'll do them tomorrow.