Dodging the rain

T and K are in Krakow this weekend so N and young O have been looking after the cattle. Of course when T is away, even for a short time, things go wrong! The tractor would not start so the silage had to be taken to the yards by the JCB and manually forked into the feed troughs. Then there was a water leak from a trough in the field where the cattle are grazing. If leaks are not mended or go undetected the waterbills can run into literally thousands of pounds, so N struggled across the mud with a spanner and was able to do a compromised job to stop it until Tuesday when it can be repaired properly. Other troughs running off the same pipe had to be checked. On the bright side, there was a new calf born in the night!

After the stressful morning we were able to rush down to the coast for lunch in the pub and a visit to West Bexington for a breath of sea air. It was quite cold with the biting wind but so good to be by the water. This spot is more than half of the way along the 18 mile Chesil Bank (also known as Chesil Beach). Thrown up in a massive storm the shingle stretches from the Isle of Portland, visible in the photograph, to beyond Bridport on the south coast of Dorset. The pebbles vary in size from the large in the east to much smaller in the west and it is said that fisherman and smugglers who used to beach their boats in the dead of night knew exactly where they were according to the size of the stones. This is part of the Jurassic Coast and a World Heritage Site. Unfortunately because of the deep undercurrents it is not good for swimming.

On our return we checked the water troughs again and all was well.