i really should stop leaving it so long between each post as a lot happens and i think i might forget some of it. Also so much happens in such a short spance of time here its hard to keep track and especially to keep a record.
The orphan lambs are growing so quickly and some of them are starting to gamble which is really sweet. The one ewe of the field who has one lamb seems to have adopted or is at least tolerating the company of the other black lambs. Ive found out that black lambs are quite a bit more skittish than white ones, they don't like you to get too close and are way more protective of their lambs. Many of the ewes are out of the lambing field and in the field where they are left almost alone to raise their lambs, except when we go to check on them and on a couple occasions to try to chase them out of the horticulture areas which they seem to be munching their way through.
Psycho pig has farrowed so there are now lots of mini pyschos, at the moment because they are only a few days old they are still incredibly cute, but if they are anything like their mother they won't stay that way for long.
The days are getting longer and we seem to be getting more jobs to do in the time, there isn't very much time to relax and especially if you start at 7am and are doing the dinner shift, or the night feed of the lambs, the working day doesn't end til about 8pm. by which time most people are tired we can't even be bothered to gather ourselves to watch a film. There seems to be something different about Fridays though and even though most of us are working the next day, we usually will go to the pub or have a few drinks, as if pretending that the working week is over and we can now relax.
A few of us decided to go on a jolly to a neighbouring village last night as there was a band playing in the pub and its always good to leave the farm. One of the members of the group knew about a shorter route so we followed her, into a field of horses. As i am with most animals, im scared of horses so i was immediately a bit worried, but she said it should be fine, she has some horses herself so i presumed she was right, once we were about half way into the field, the horses started to get a bit curious and they all galloped around us and came towards us, so the person in the group that knows horses instructed us all to stand close to the tree and hold our hands out so the horses sould 'sniff and chew' us and see we were harmless, i didn't liek the sound of this but did as i was told. This process took forever as each of the horses, and there were 9 in total, gave us all a good sniff and some of them came back for more. A few of us were so terrified our breaths were shakey and we were trying to stay calm as apparently our behaviour was very important as they could sense we were nervous. At one point one of the horses heads was so close to mine and it bent its neck down as if it was then going to swing back and hit me in the head so i took a step back and and turned round and had another two horses right in my face, there was nowhere to go so i just had to stand there tentatively stroking their heads until they walked a little away and then i stood up against the barbed wire fence with most of the group wondering if i could climb it to scramble out. One of the girls was trapped against the tree with two horses holding her in whilst the rest of us were told to slowly start walking back down the field. At this point the group got broken up as two people had managed to make it quite far down the hill, the girl on the tree was still trapped and a couple people were trapped next to a tree stump with horses between them and the other people. I decided to just keep walking as i needed to get out of there and my hand was shaking so much it was turning 180 with each turn. So i overtook the horse whisperer who was whistling to distract the horses and kept walking hearing them behind me gathering speed, it took all my strength not to run as i knew if i did i was screwing all the people behind me as the horses would get angry and kick out. When i got out i heard the horses canter past and the horse whisperer instructed everyone to run so i got the gate open and everyone ran out. I decided we should all have a group hug to celebrate getting out safely. Everyone's adrenaline was pumping so much we couldn't stop laughing, we didn't make it to the village so headed to the pub next to the farm for a drink to calm our nerves. The person that was with us that knew horses said at one point it did get a bit hairy as the horses were apparently displaying aggressive behaviour, im pleased i didn't know this as the time.
I realise this is not really related to the farm but its an experience ive had whilst ive been here and i think it is worth sharing.
I only have three weeks left here now, time has gone so quickly but i think i will be ready to leave when the time comes. Certain people at the farm are startign to wonder if it is all its cracked up to be, the ethos of the farm and how it works in practice seem a bit at odds. There have been questions raised about the standards of animal welfare, though to me they seem higher than anything i have heard about or seen before, i have now had a bit of experience with livestock and i havn't yet seen treatment of animals that i think is cruel. I am slightly more critical of some of the cost saving measures that seem to have come into place which have led to less than ethical products being brought in for use in the cafe. I havn't mentioned exactly where i am, though im sure most of you know, as if i say something critical it is just an expression of how im feeling and my opinion rather than an outward attack on the farm.
I will write more soon
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