May 24

With a spell of good weather things have ramped up a gear on the croft. Salad and strawberries are growing well in the polytunnel, we’ve planted the outside beds with broad beans and beetroots and the little saplings that were growing in the veg patch are now planted in deer proof areas we have created around the house for a little more protection and privacy.

The two heifers Birch and Oak that we raised from birth are now being looked after by Lizzie down at Savary and had their first calves this month.

My plan to write today was almost derailed by the work it has taken to separate last year’s heifers from our small herd. The herd just don’t want to be split and, despite the size of our croft, they can still hear, see or smell each other. The day has been spent patching up fences and moving around cows in an attempt to keep them apart long enough that they get used to it, but I’m not convinced it’s going to work .

Our main aim is to manage our croft for biodiversity. The cows are a really useful tool. The woodlands and meadows need controlled grazing and the cows are great help in managing the bracken that would otherwise take over the croft. Our philosophy is, if we need the cows to help manage the land for conservation, why not keep a bull and let them breed and cull the offspring for beef as a by-product.  The steers (castrated male calves) can stay with the herd for a few years and the heifers are culled just before they come into season.

This plan was fine until we got attached to one of the calves. I blame my friends’ children. Poppy is one of my favourite cows. She loves attention and being brushed. She is smart, but much more sensitive than the other cows (rather like myself) and the first to alert the herd to danger. She looks different from the others and is particularly cute with an upturned nose and a propensity for high drama. There was lots of excitement when we got our bull, “won’t Poppy’s calves with him be adorable!”, the children said.  They even named her calf in advance “Pumpkin”.  And guess what? Pumpkin is adorable. She has the same upturned nose, the same mannerisms and personality of her mother. We can’t keep her, but we have been trying to find her another home and until we do we need to keep her separate from Bracken the bull, her father.   Most farmers keep the bull separate from the herd for most of the year, but the way we manage our croft isn’t set up for that and we’ve talked to a few other small crofters who keep their bull in with the herd quite happily. We knew we would need to be prepared for calves coming at random times of year – we now know we also need to be prepared for exceptionally cute ones.