We woke up at my house in Ancrum and then drove to Woodburn Farmhouse to start tagging tup lambs for sale at Longtown. The night before, Charlie had already separated half the flock from the paddock, so the lambs were ready for us when we got there.
In some ways, I feel for them and their uncertainty, but we all have to face fate. I believe nothing is crueller than the endless hardships caused by nature. It amazes me how people can be so naive and even arrogant in worshipping the idea of 'Mother Nature.'
Why did nature not ordain that one animal should not live by the death of another? - Leonardo da Vinci
In 1856, Charles Darwin wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker, using sarcasm to comment on how cruel and wasteful nature can be, saying it was the kind of thing a "Devil's chaplain" might write about.
The stronger prey upon the weaker, and keep them in perpetual terror and anxiety. - David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion 1779
Buddhists also see the suffering that animals experience in nature as proof of dukkha. The Buddhist scripture Aṅguttara Nikāya describes the lives of wild animals as "so cruel, so harsh, so painful."
Meanwhile, the mother ewes did not seem stressed when their lambs were taken. The lambs are now over five months old and are mostly weaned.
Charlie gathers the lambs into a pen, then sorts them to identify which need to be tagged and transported. The first to leave the pen were our Herdwick mother ewe and her ewe lamb.
Charlie writes down the ear tag numbers so he can add them to the transport book later. Livestock can't be moved just anywhere or at any time; every move has to be recorded. Here, our Herdwick x Teeswater tup lamb is waiting to be tagged.
We believe that kindness is always the best way to care for animals. A shepherd’s crook should only help extend our reach, not be used for punishment. As people, we value compassion in farming, both for ourselves and for the animals. Still, we must stay alert to nature's unpredictable harshness.
Taking your time with crofting is perfectly fine. People who rush through shearing sheep in just 10 seconds are missing the point, and it's not right to neglect the animals' welfare. We only have a small flock. In the one and three-quarter years I've lived at Woodburn, we've never had more than 70 sheep.
Six lambs were loaded into the livestock trailer.
These lambs are not heading to market today. Instead, tonight they will be wormed, dagged, and treated to prevent any maggot problems.
As we were about to leave, a neighbouring farmer waved to me. Charlie and I have played Carpet Bowls with him before. His two sons farm a large part of the valley nearby.
It’s a familiar drive down to Longtown by way of Langholm, starting in the Scottish Borders, passing through Dumfries and Galloway, and finally crossing into England. The roadworks along the way help break up the monotony.
We got to Longtown mart, then docked and unloaded our lambs.
After we finished our cooked breakfast, we went to the holding pens to see the lambs one last time before they were sold. The auction mart is well looked after.
Charlie dozed off in our truck while the lambs waited for their turn at the auction.
I couldn’t sleep, so I left the stuffy truck and walked to a nearby lake to get some fresh air. We sold six lambs for £130, but Charlie thought that was too low. It made me wonder if the low price is because people only care about the meat now that the wool industry is gone. Our lambs are smaller than others, but their wool is beautiful.