With dismal weather and a storm forecast we decided to bite the bullet and house all the cattle for winter, though to keep all stock out until almost November was quite good for us as I recall some years we had to house at the beginning of October.

To be honest I don’t think we’ve had a single dry day since they went in so it was perfect timing for a change.

Of course the usual messing went on for the first few days with hierarchies being re-established, but they’ve now settled down nicely into a daily routine and we were glad to see the first few bales of silage have been of excellent quality so far.

It’s a bit early just yet to think about scanning our cows but this year we’ll probably get a few done again, mainly out of interest to see how the cows served with sexed semen have fared out.

With only four weanlings to overwinter they are allowed free run of the lying areas through creep gates and are getting ration twice a day. Two if not three should be ready for sale in early spring and we’re optimistic the prices will continue to hold as good as they were this year.

Though we were a bit baffled to find the gates continuously being left open and we were all blaming each other until a cow was spotted cunningly opening the gate with her tongue to go clean up the trough.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how smart they can be as she clearly learned it by watching us going in and out with feed daily, though as she was the heifer we sectioned this year and broke after a few months in-calf, she will also be for the mart early next year.

Next Thursday 13 November I’ve been given the opportunity to feature on a discussion panel in Carrick-on-Shannon, to highlight Leitrim women in agriculture.

While speaking is not my usual forte it should be a fantastic event at which to meet new people and renew old acquaintances over a cup of tea.

It’ll certainly be a great way to showcase the work that women in Leitrim do behind the scenes with day to day farm work and it should be an interesting day away from the farm for a change.

Halloween visitor

I’d thought my unexpected meetings with wildlife were over once my hedgehog went off for hibernation, but it seems the universe has other plans.

Settling down with dinner and a book one night, I noticed what I thought was a large moth flying around the room. As I’m not overly bothered by insects I told myself that it could wait until I was finished eating before I caught it to let outside again.

But I grew rather suspicious when I noticed it was larger than your average moth, and not interested in the light bulb. It was, of course, a bat.

So what else could I do but fling the front door wide open and hope for the best and after a few more loops of the room while myself and the cat watched on, it flew off outdoors to hopefully not be seen again.

For many years there had been a colony of bats living in my roof but they disappeared quite a while ago now. Let’s hope they haven’t decided to move back as they can be rather messy individuals to share with.

A rather apt time of year for a visit from one, though I hope any local deer won’t get a similar idea nearer to Christmas.