Empty Nest

No not our empty nest, but a natural wonder that Brian found in the Barn yesterday.

Those holes in the wall used to hold beams that held up a wooden hayloft.  We took that down not long after we came down to the farm as the wood was riddled with woodworm.

Some of the bedding material is spilling out of the nest, including a piece of twine from the hay bales.

and there it is a perfect round mud nest.  We will keep an eye on it as swallows often return to their nests, so we might get some eggs and a new batch of chicks.

New Batch of Calves

The new batch of calves arrived yesterday. There will probably be a few more arriving in the next week or so. They are a mixture of Belgian Blue, Angus, Limousin and one Montbelliarde, which is a breed we haven't had before.

They seem to be settling in quite well.

Enjoying the fresh new straw bedding!

Meeting Andrew in Glasgow for his 21st Birthday

Andrew as 21 last week, but as he was having his own party in his flat for his birthday we didn't see him. So we arranged for Brian, Margaret, Janice, Isabel, Shirley and Ruth to all meet up in Glasgow today for lunch with Andrew and his girlfriend, Hazel.

We went to La Vita Pizzeria, just off George Square and had a nice meal, a quiet word with the waiter led to Andrew having the whole restaurant sing Happy Birthday to him with a candle in his dessert for him to blow out. It was fun, next time we all meet up will be for Steven and Shona's wedding.

Chim-Chiminney

We are having the chimneys rebuilt as water was getting into the attic, they are over 100 years old, so it's probably about time they had some attention!

Brian decided to climb up the scaffolding for a better look.

He had a look right down the chimney.

This is the Manitou that the builders use to bring down the sandstone.

Here are some of the sandstone blocks that will be reused when the chimney is rebuilt.