Final preparation of the field above the house is underway with the farmer touching up the grazing areas with some treatment – this time by hand. The mild weather has, he tells me, made this whole process much easier this year although a little more rain might have helped even more.

And…. finally they are back. Everything is ready and the grass is lush enough to welcome the sheep back to the field. They do make a marked difference to the landscape for sure. Initially they all group together before eventually becoming more scattered.

Unfortunately, this is the countryside and there is plenty of death as well as life – avert your eyes now if you don’t want to witness the remains of a pigeon which fell victim to one of the neighbourhood foxes.

The horses have more or less cleared the bottom field now and are suggesting, once again, that they could do with moving on – Tom likes to hint by approaching the gate every time you see him. Think they have another week or two yet however.

The yard halfway down the lane, opposite where the horses currently are, has a lot of liveries and is always busy with people coming to groom, ride, feed or even transport their horses off to the various shows which take place in neighbouring towns and villages.

Finally, back home, a sad job awaits for the winter. The goldfish pond once upon a time had seven fish in it. A couple of years back, the herons stole five of them and then, this year, the two remaining ones “disappeared”. So much for the fake one standing guard – he’s sacked! The pond will be emptied over the winter and I am hoping to turn it into a water feature.