Spring has arrived in abundance down here in Somerset, and most exciting of all has been the arrival of six sheep and sixteen lambs in the paddock alongside our garden. Nothing could lift the spirits more than the sight of these sweet little creatures having such fun in their new surroundings. The best time is at the end of the day, just before dusk, when it seems as if the mother sheep send the little ones off to use up their energy before bedtime (just as we used to do!). All sixteen babes group together and then set off alongside the fence at a mad dash, stop, turn round, and all race back again Meantime, the Mums take advantage of a bit of peace and quiet, and happily chew the cud, looking up from time to time just to keep an eye on their energetic offspring.
The funniest thing was to see the two Exmoor ponies' reaction to their new lodgers. They watched them quietly feeding with much interest, but when the young lambs set off on one of their scampers, the two of them joined in with enthusiasm, and we held our breath, expecting some of lambs to be trodden underfoot, but all seem to have survived.
For the ponies, Scrumpy and Dragonfly, the coming of the warmer weather has signalled the time to get rid of their warm winter coats, which have served them well through snow and ice. To do this they have both spent long sessions rubbing themselves against the wire fencing beside the rhyne, which must have been a very pleasurable semsation for them, judging by the look on their faces!
They say that Nature wastes nothing, and as soon as bits of the ponies' fluffy coats get left on the fence, or on the grass below, birds dive down to gather up the cosy material to line their springtime nests. Recycling at its best! Though there is another recycling project going on between paddock and our garden too - the young lady who owns Dragonfly often comes to visit him, and always spends time gathering up quantities of the manure left by him and deposits it over the fence for us. John has been busy spreading it around the garden during the past couple of months, so we hope for a really good crop of veggies and flowers this summer!
Best Mates ....... and great neighbours!
