Whether the sun shines or the snow falls, there’s always farm work to do around the country and while we didn’t get much snow to speak of in comparison to the south, the frozen roads made travel rather tricky for a time. Though I rather enjoyed the morning slide to the shed in my wellies. In difficult times like that, it was heartwarming to see the time and effort many farmers put in to help others who were stranded in the snow. A modern day meitheal came to pass, ensuring medicines and groceries made their way to each door, not to mention the heroic effort by the farmers rescuing sheep from snowdrifts in the mountains.
Whether the sun shines or the snow falls, there’s always farm work to do around the country and while we didn’t get much snow to speak of in comparison to the south, the frozen roads made travel rather tricky for a time. Though I rather enjoyed the morning slide to the shed in my wellies.
In difficult times like that, it was heartwarming to see the time and effort many farmers put in to help others who were stranded in the snow. A modern day meitheal came to pass, ensuring medicines and groceries made their way to each door, not to mention the heroic effort by the farmers rescuing sheep from snowdrifts in the mountains.
Bar a couple of frozen drinkers in the shed at the latter end of the freeze, we weren’t adversely affected, apart from all of us catching the flu that’s doing the rounds at the moment, though fortunately flu seemed to avoid me and I only got a cold.
Unfortunately though, I expect the prolonged minus temperatures may have been to the detriment of the two swallows, which were spotted attempting to overwinter in Co Down at Christmas.
Nature has a habit of showing us two sides of the same coin at times and while we curled frozen hands around mugs of hot tea, LA was beginning to burn. Two completely opposite aspects of nature, yet both can be just as destructive if there’s a lack of preparation for these events. Granted, it would make little sense for Ireland to prepare for lengthy periods of sub-zero temperatures each year, but as California has a propensity for wildfires, it’s bewildering to see how it could take hold and destroy entire swathes so fast and nature doesn’t care how many millions you spent on a beach view. Give me my little stone wall cottage overlooking fields and cattle any day of the week.
Christmas antics
Our cattle always seem to be open to a bit of needless hooliganism when they get a chance. Christmas morning, no better day to choose, my father found our calved heifer in the feed passage upon entering the shed.
One of the bars on the feed barrier had been pushed through, allowing her to make an escape to eat her fill at the bales, while the older cows with a bit more girth to their frames could only look on enviously.
The barriers are 25 years old and have earned their keep, but they’ve nothing close to the longevity which the forged iron ones had from years ago which were featured in the Irish
Farmers Journal last month.
My father is fascinated by these old gates and was intrigued to see that few of the latches were in an upturned position, which is common around here. Local history states that when demanding the rent, the bailiff was able to unlatch the gate with his boot, thus avoiding the need to dismount from his horse and get his boots muddy. If anyone can enlarge on this he’d be interested to hear.
So as we head into mid-January, the only flashing lights remaining are beacons on top of the tractor, while the chocolates passed over at Christmas in preference for tastier ones are finally being eaten wistfully as farm plans are being laid for the year ahead. Be they goals to aim for, items to purchase, buildings to construct, or new ventures to pursue.
I reckon we all have high hopes for better weather and for the beef trade to remain steady at current prices, with the latter hopefully unaffected by the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany, but knowing their talent for efficiency, it will be handled skillfully.
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