Monday 6 November 2017

Oooops! Brrrrrrr!

Ooooppp!!!
 
Friend John reminded us a few days ago that we had asked him to help us to give the sheep their worming medicine, a job which had got forgotten in the busyness of the last few weeks and which needed to be done if we are start to harvesting the lambs born at the beginning of the year. This, too, is a job which should have been started in October but we can't start that job until the worming is done. It is our least favourite job to do, so perhaps that is why we have been neglectful in regards to the worming job.
 
Anyway, John reminded us that we had asked him, so the medicine was bought (100 euros!) and yesterday Lester and John headed off to the sheep paddock to do the job.
 
The sheep were done, but so was John. It was not a bad injury as injuries go, but it was still sufficient to need a mopping up of the blood, and a plaster stuck on top of the wound. No hospital visit, though, which is a good, but he will have quite a sizeable bruise which will be right in the middle of his forehead, plus I suspect some other soreness from the jolt that he received.
 
What had happened?
Well, most of the sheep had been wormed, just two left. Big girls, lots of winter fleece on them now, (a lovely mottled grey so I can't wait to spin it next year), plus they are full of the lambs that they will be dropping in a few weeks time, plus they are fat. In other words, they are heavy, so best not to be anywhere near where they are likely to barge into you.
These two ewes did not want Lester to catch them. Round and round the holding pen they went.
And boof!!!! One went straight into John, 'toppling him like a skittle' Lester said.
Straight away the worming was stopped as Lester rushed John into the house to be attended to.
Job was finished, but no, John insisted on going back out into the sheep paddock to finish the job.
Bless him, we thank him for his help, and are sorry for the bad manners of that ewe.
Sending him lots of love.
 
Brrrrrrr!!!!
 
So what do you do when your partner decides to clean out the Rayburn only a few days after you have blitzed the kitchen until it is all shiny and clean, and you know that the Rayburn will be harbouring soot and  clinker in its innards and up its pipes, some of which is going to waft through the air and cover all.

 
But then you feel a bit of a shiver. It is raining. Winter is coming. So you push aside your momentary irritation at having to clean the kitchen again after the Rayburn is attended to, and you do not mind that little bits of wood litter the area around the Rayburn where the logs have been stacked, because the box which used to keep all that litter in one place is now out in the barn and full of man stuff, like bits of wire, a tin of oil for the tractor, etc.... I don't know how that box walked itself over to the barn, all I know is that I did not take it.  So I suppose the magic fairy, which is me of course, will have to magic up another box if I am to keep the kitchen floor reasonably tidy, and I shall guard this box and make sure it does not walk somewhere else.

Last year we used the Rayburn mostly for heating, but I did use the hot plates on top. As for the oven, that was a  new learning curve, one which I did not wish to pursue at that time. But this year I am ready to cope with that learning curve, one which will no doubt test my patience as all learning curves tend to do!

..... and a drop of sunshine has pilfered through the clouds, so I am off out to the Veg Garden for my daily half an hour work out before the clouds conquer that sunshine, oh dear, which it has just done, but I am off outside anyway.

Bye for now,
Vx
 
 
 
 
 
 

9 comments:

minwks said...

Dear Vera, The ewes can be very stubborn and particularly hard-headed. Hope John will recover soon and the only trace will be a great story for retelling.
Re the Rayburn - what you say is. “Thank you for cleaning out the stove”. You will be grateful in these cold days for the trove that burns cleanly .... and as for the woodbox. It is amazing how man stuff expends into the most inappropriate places - not at all like our craft stuff.
First frost this morning, but sunny, each day a gift.
Regards and keep well.
Janine

Janice said...

Oh dear, poor John! I'm sure a nice leg of lamb will make it all worth his well, when the time comes! I read lots of blogs where they have a rayburn and make great use of it. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it. Hope the cleaning didn't make too big of a mess.

Vintage Maison said...

We just wormed ours too, as son was home for the weekend and we do like to take the benefit of another pair of hands (he was up on the little barn roof too, pulling off ivy!). We have six sheep at the mo, and the vet lets me buy just enough wormer from their larger open bottle: it cost me total of €3.82 for the six sheep, and they chucked in two new syringes for free too! It might be worth asking your vet for the same deal. However, we have spent a fortune at the vet's this year or two, with elderly cats and dogs plus new animals. I did explain that with shorter shelf life, buying a large container of wormer was not financially viable for me, and they were very kind. we used Cydectine Ovin.

Rhodesia said...

Oh I do hope that John is OK, so kind of him to help. When I first got married, we were on a farm with no electricity. I had a wood burning stove, I think it was a Ray ban but not sure now almost 50 years later! I loved it and swore I would never go back to electric or gas, the food tasted so much better. Sadly I am now back on electric and Gas, Take care, Cheers Diane

Cro Magnon said...

Our deVille wood fired cooker sounds much the same. It's a wonderful heater, but the oven heat is very hit-n-miss. Great for stews, roasts, casseroles, etc. But if 'temperature' is important; probably best to use electricity. I must clean-out mine too.

Dawn said...

Today is our day for the Rayburn, The chimney has to be cleaned as we have it on 24/7 for heating hot water and cooking every few months it has to be cleaned out, It took me about a year to master the cooking side properly with the ovens but now I wouldnt be without them :-)

Unknown said...

Sorry about John,hope he heals quickly. The warmth of the Rayburn will be lovely. Enjoy the casseroles I guess you will try out in the oven.Best wishes

Vera said...

JANINE, the Rayburn was on yesterday, and I did make a fuss of Lester for cleaning it out! And you did make me laugh about the man stuff and the wood box and our craft stuff..... in fact it is my craft things which take up most of the cupboard spaces in most of the rooms! First frost here today, but sun now out.

JANICE, it is the oven of the Rayburn which takes a lot of getting used to as it seems to have mind of its own. As for the mess, I used my vacuum cleaner to suck up some of the loose soot which wafted out of the soot box so the mess wasn't too bad.

VINTAGE MASON, it was expensive to worm the sheep and cows, and we still didn't have enough to worm two of the cows so will have to buy some more. Buying the wormer over the internet is cheaper but we were not organised enough to buy it in advance. Nothing is cheap here in France!

DIANE, I gave up with cooking on the Rayburn last year, and carried on using electricity and gas to cook on, but this year I am determined to persevere with that Rayburn!

CRO MAGNON, I tried out Rayburn oven a couple of times but gave up, but I hope to rise to the challenge this year!

DAWN, I have often read your blog in which you mention cooking on your Rayburn, and I am impressed with the way in which you persevered! Lester thinks that we shall also have to clean out the Rayburn half way through the winter this year to keep it cleaned out!

Vintage Maison said...

Vera, we're in Limousin, so I guess our vet is rather special, to only charge us for one dose per sheep!. Just another thought, do you know of someone else with animals that you can buy enough stuff between you? I found that the cost was so great because of the minimum quantity, usually one litre, and the very low shelf life meant it wasn't worth buying a litre's worth, even from internet.