In less than an hour, we trimmed the garden, and now our muddy driveway looks green and fresh. Creative visualisation can help, but it only works if you keep distractions out of your mind.
Charlie set out the fence wire, posts, sledgehammer, and staples, then helped me onto the topper before driving the tractor up the steep hill behind the farmhouse. When I think back, I always feel lucky to have lived in the peaceful Borthwick Valley. In some spots, the bedrock sticks out at the surface, so the stakes went into the ground without much trouble. As we rolled out a hundred yards of wire along the hillside, the mesh felt heavy and awkward.
We assigned numbered ear tags to the lambs before releasing them from the holding pen into the newly fenced paddock. The tagging process does not appear to cause them discomfort, although the observing lambs seemed uneasy. These ear identification tags are legally required and cannot be removed without the owner's consent. The tag numbers will be recorded in the shepherd's book and later entered into the movement book when the lambs are transported to market.