Gwion & Louise Llwyd Byrdir, Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd. LL44 2EA Web. http://www.byrdir.co.uk Email. louise@byrdir.co.uk Tel. 01341 247 200 Fax. 07092 20 30 20
May It’s been quite a quiet month on the farm. This is a welcome change after the busy lambing season. All the cows are out in the fields now and enjoying the fresh pasture which is in plentiful supply. All the fresh grass has one side affect however. The glut of food means the sheep’s bums get a bit mucky, the sheep bidet not having been invented yet. Left unchecked this can be a problem for the suckling lambs. So the sheep were brought into the shed and their tails were shorn and cleaned up. This also naturally helps prevent any infection from flies over the summer. Whilst indoors the sheep were also given an oral anti worming agent commonly used at this time of year. Our very friendly bull was tranquilised for a short period for some treatment two weeks ago. As mentioned last month, our welsh black bull ‘Jonesie’ has been having problems with his feet. We called the vet to have a closer look and he decided some medication and a quick manicure was needed. He seems much happier now and is out with the rest of the heard. The hedgerows are in their full glory now. The Whitethorn has come into bloom as has the Rowan and Elderflower. The Foxglove is also coming into flower. Celtic legend describes how the Fox was given this flower by fairies to silence it’s footsteps as he crept about by night. Giving it the name fox – glove. Although poisonous extracts from the plant (digitalis) is still used today as an important ingredient in heart medication The cuckoo left us for a short time during a period of wet weather. But they are back now and making more noise than ever. The swallows have also returned, but again a little later than usual due to the inclement weather. Also this week we’ve closed some of the hay fields off ready for harvesting in a few weeks time. And hopefully the saying ‘A cold wet May fills the barn full of hay’ will be proved right. So we will sit and watch the grass grow and enjoy this quiet spell while we can. Finally there are some new contributions have been added to our ‘Gallery’ page. http://www.byrdir.co.uk/gallery.htm
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