The Construction Begins!

After receiving 5 bids for our 'hole in the ground' we have selected the construction company, and within 5 days they had our back field full of machinary and were working. I'm impressed. Not only are they moving along at a good rate, but they are doing a really excellent job and they are keeping the construction site clean and haven't created any unnecessary problems with the surrounding field. On top of that they are going to do a few extra things for us for the cost of some scrap metal lying around and one of our two piles of manure that was dug from the concrete tank originally. Now that's a deal!

On Saturday we turned our ram out with our ewes. At first he seemed a little shy but now he seems to be doing his job. We have a harness on him at the moment with an ink block attached which is changed every 16 days (to a new colour). This will allow us to determine approximately which ewes are pregnant (or have ovulated) and therefore when their lambs are due to within a day or so.

The new web site is still happening but we are waiting on our new internet service to be installed (they need to put in a relay box and router up at the barn which has a direct line of sight with the tower on the hill in the distance). Once the router is installed we can install one of the key features of the web site - webcams! Yes you'll actually be able to see live on the internet what is going on around Catesby Farms, from lambing to cheesemaking, as they happen! It also means we can use the cameras kind of like a closed circuit TV when lambing is on to keep track of what is happening ourselves. Once the cameras are set up, I'll be releasing the web site.

Last piece of news is that we have begun renovating the house. We have bought paint and slate for the floor and are in the throes of remodelling the house ready for winter.

Byron continues to improve as well and has now taken to jumping on the couch in the evenings when we have him out of his room. In all, things are moving forward exactly how we want them to.