There has been a steady trickle of new subscribers here, including one or two who have been so generous as to join as Founding Members, for which I am most grateful. I also recognise some who have previously supported my farm and flock by buying my sheep’s wool rugs and that really lights me up. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
In my last connection letter, I told the story of how we came to buy this land, the dream, fortune, sacrifice and sheer determination that got us here. I know from the messages you send me that for many of my subscribers it’s the sense of connection to the land, and to Ireland, that you enjoy, and also reading about day to day life on the farm. So in this and future letters I’m going to get into the daily going ons, what’s happening now around the farm, starting with the fine young Prince, pictured above.
Isn’t he pretty? Ango Nubian. There aren’t many of the breed to be found down here in the southwest of Ireland, so we travelled far and wide for this chap and his beautiful but very shy twin sister. I’d been searching for a suitable suitor for my princess Molly, who is three parts Ango Nubian and the finest, most beautiful goat in all the world, for a while, so obviously when I found such a rare and royal buckling, I had to call him Prince. Those princely ears, and that noble nose. He's only a young kid, but what a fine beast he will be. He caught a little cold when he arrived, hence the watery eyes, but we cleared that right up with a dose of garlic. He’s settling in well, growing tall and fast, learning how to woo the ladies, and will be ready to breed this autumn. We will breed him this year, and see how he does. Bucks mature young, he’s soon (urgently) going to need a companion and his own house well away from the ladies until we’re ready to breed them, so we still need to get a second (castrated) buckling, a comrade for our Prince, and build them a bachelor pad away down the far end of the land, where their rutting buck stink will bother no-one.
Some people have asked how I get on with keeping dairy goats on our ground, and I am often asked specifically about feeding goats, so I will write an in depth essay going into details of how I keep my goats, and why I’ve chosen possibly the least hardy breed for our rough land and wet conditions (hint: it’s in the milk), down the line. For now, while the weather is warm and still relatively dry, the goats are fit and eager for their work clearing gorse scrub and moor grass and helping to improve our pastures for their future delectation.
Just this week I sheared the last two sheep. Shearing is my main task of summer, working through the flock a few at a time as weather and timing permits, and I am glad to have that job out of the way so I can now focus on other pressing things before the season turns, like building more winter housing and a hay store, fixing and putting up new fences, seeding pastures, digging drains and our long awaited quad track...
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