October
It’s nearly Hallowe’en. Brave blogger Jack comes to the rescue as Sal is spooked by something ghostly in the woods.
Have you seen a ghost?
There was a full moon but the thick cloud meant that it was difficult to see without a torch. The clocks had just gone back an hour, marking the start of winter time. Dad and I were ready for supper. We’d had a long afternoon working in the sheep pens and Sal was just shutting in the hens for the night when she screamed. I thought she was just being dramatic, as per usual, but I ran up from the cow shed to see Sal frozen in fear, pointing towards something behind a tree in the orchard. A dark shadow fell across the grass, stretching out in an odd and threatening shape.
Something Spooky
I pointed my torch in the direction of the strange and beastly outline. As the beams of light illuminated the terrifying shadow, it let out a great ‘Neigh!’ and the mystery was solved. This was no werewolf or vampire, but Mr Burton’s old pony from next door. It looked a bit puzzled, then trotted over to us, an invitation for us to take her by the head collar and lead her home. Sal soon stopped squealing when she realised that she had a pony to take care of – her idea of heaven. Mr Burton was as surprised as we were to find his pony Dolly had decided to pay us a visit.
Toil and Trouble
The next morning we headed back down the orchard. Two old stakes had broken and the netting was trampled on the floor. Dad and I would be kept busy for the next hour repairing the fence. We wouldn’t need the post knocker for this job, just a mallet, a few new stakes and some staples. Dad sometimes lets me have a go at stapling the netting to the stakes, and I can mostly do a reasonably good job, as long as I hit the staple and not my fingers. I’ve done that once or twice and I wouldn’t recommend it! Dad said we would repair the section for now but the stakes were giving notice and we would have to renew it during the winter months. It’s a boundary fence which means that it should keep our livestock safe within the perimeter of the farm. Dad says that fencing has become expensive because the cost of materials has increased. But, it can’t be helped. The fences need to be kept upright.
We also picked our pumpkins the next day. Mum had grown a few in the garden. They weren’t very big and some of them were quite oddly shaped. We enjoyed carving them and throwing the scraps for the hens, their own Hallowe’en treat.
Jack – Farmer in Training
Jack was born to farm. He just loves helping out his dad, and his trusty dog Meg is never far away. Farming is in his blood and bones. He has his own small flock of sheep, a few hens and some calves. He has great plans to expand his own enterprise (though Dad says he has to learn to walk before he can learn to run). He may be little but his ambitions are huge.
