For once, nothing to say about the weather – but lots of other news thank goodness.
Animals have been the stars during September. The Balwen sheep are doing very well and have been joined by seven Gotland lambs that have also come from South Yeo Farm. The Gotland breed can be traced right back to the Vikings – information is available at www.gotlandsheep.com.
Now if you see any of the sheep limping, you can be sure that we are on the case and treating them as necessary. The conditions this year have been challenging for most breeders but both the Balwens and the Gotlands are responding well to the drier conditions on the Commons and some early foot problems are now coming under control. I noticed only today that one Gotland ewe that was fine yesterday is limping today, and she may well be fine again tomorrow. Too much treatment can be as bad as too little so our challenge is to get the balance right.
September has also seen the arrival of the three ponies from South West Equine Protection (www.swep.org.uk) at Yelverton. The large pony is called Summer and belonged to a lady who sadly died leaving her to be taken into care by the Protection charity. The two smaller moorland ponies are called Trinity (the dark one) and Bonnet (the grey). Trinity was born at the rescue centre and Bonnet was found abandoned and in poor condition on the edge of Dartmoor.
For those of you who wonder what has happened toSummer, you will be happy to know that she has gone away for schooling at Week Orchard Performance Horses (www.weekorchard.co.uk) where she has settled in well, as can be seen from the photo! Her single blue eye by the way is not blind – it is a perfectly normal colour anomaly.
Due to hard work on the part of Neil Cox, Westland Countryside Stewards has been awarded more that 400 sapling trees by the Woodland Trust Jubilee Woods scheme (www.woodlandtrust.org.uk) for planting on the Commons and surrounding land this autumn. So that’s a job for a working party if ever there was one.
Neil has also enrolled us in the “Great British Elm Experiment” (www.conservationfoundation.co.uk). Cuttings taken from mature trees that appear to have resisted Dutch elm disease for over 60 years have been skilfully micro propagated. The resulting saplings are being distributed to hundreds of schools, community groups, local authorise and private landowners who have signed up to take part in the “Great British Elm Experiment”.
“We want to interest a new generation in the elm, so much a feature of the British life and landscape for centuries and also to try and find out why some trees survived Dutch elm disease. So many have disappeared over recent years that we can only hope to replace some. But rather than just give up and forget the elm, we thing it’s worth a try.” – David Shreeve, Director, The Conservation Foundation
Humour and anonymity have become a bit of a feature in this regular newsletter so this month we must focus on one of Dennis’s fishing partners. He was invited by Dennis to help him on a “pulling event” but may not have been prepared for the fact that the thing to be pulled was Ragwort – not rag worm nor indeed anything else that might be associated with such a description. Anyway, I think he enjoyed it – and of course asked to remain anonymous. So if you see him passing by in his Nissan pick-up truck, be careful not to recognise him!
STOP PRESS
As usual, I am writing this is a day late for the requested deadline so apologies to Glenda for my tardiness. The bonus is that I can report the arrival today (16th September) of six pedigree Zwartble sheep from the Dizzard flock near St Gennys. They have settled in nicely on the lower pasture. More information is available at www.zwartbles.org.
Also, Neil has asked me to pass on the following message:
We’d like to apply for some grant funding to buy and install map and information boards and the entrance to Kilkhampton Common. Local support is essential and we’d therefore welcome letters of support for the idea.
- post Westland Countryside Stewards office at West Street
- email us at team@westlandcs.co.uk
- by signing our online petition at http://ipetitions.com/petition/kilkhampton-commons/