Lambing is now in full swing and fortunately the weather is staying reasonably dry. We have had our normal mix of single and twin lambs, with two sets of triplets thrown in for good measure so far. The triplets were unexpected, but none the less welcome for that.

In the mean time the birds are also thinking about producing young, including this duck with a clutch of 14 eggs. Unfortunately she has chosen to lay them in the middle of the lambing field so it is highly unlikely that she will feel able to sit on them long enough for them to hatch.

Calving is also continuing and we now have five calves. It has all been relatively straightforward so far, but I doubt that will last to the end. All the cows who had difficult births last year are still to come! Still the first four calves are not out in the strath with their mothers and growing fast. In the first 24 hours you can just about man-handle them enough to check them over and tag them, but you wouldn’t want to try it after a week!