Looking towards summer

Now May is here we do seem to have left winter and spring behind and the livestock routine has changed to summer mode.
The lambs have been born and are growing strong. Even though Fred is only two weeks old he has passed the 'it could go either way' stage and is making quite a nuisance of himself, chasing the hens, eating their food and head butting their water trough over. It really is time he moved on.
Annie needs to be sheared and from now on we will be on flystrike watch. Today I mucked out, scrubbed the stable and put some lime to rehydrate ready to whitewash it next week, it will then be ready for any emergency use. In the winter the sheep use the stable as a shelter and are fed hay in it, it is then used for lambing.(No more morning mucking out of the stable or yard for a while :- ) !)
The grass is now growing faster than the livestock are eating it, so for a while at least we will keep it topped to encourage new growth. If we have the hot, dry summer forecast it won't be long before we worry that there is too little grass.Nettles and thistles need to be kept on top of. I also like to stain the goose houses in the summer and again for the winter, so that will probably be tomorrow's job.
Although a frost is still possible, the cold, dark winter mornings with frozen taps and frozen water buckets seem a long time ago and the summer months stretch ahead of us.