Forde Abbey

Today has been a lovely warm spring day. N and I decided to make the best of it after yesterday's nightmare - more about that later. The gardens at Forde Abbey are open all year round and late February/eary March is a very special time as the spring bulbs are in flower - and there are carpets of them. It was difficult to decide which photo to show but the one of the house may be more interesting. The Abbey was originally a Cistercian Monastery in the 12th century. After the dissolution of the monasteries Richard Pollard acquired the property. Later in the 17th century it was owned by Edward Prideaux, Attorney-General to Cromwell, who extended the building and made it into the beautiful house it is today. The property is still in private ownership but opened to the public during the warmer months and can be used for weddings and various functions.

Yesterday was a trial, especially for Tim. First, an enormous articulated lorry got stuck in our small farmyard. After about an hour the tractor was eventually able to tow it out backwards. It had come all the way from Chester so it had to be large.

Then at lunch time T said there was a cow calving and he didn't like the look of it. So N and T tried to calve it down. The vet arrived and after an hour of trying to turn the calf inside and calve it he thought it was dead and there was nothing for it but that the cow should have a caesarian section (this happens sometimes). Darkness came and there were four vets (including two trainees) and Tim in the glow of the electric lights struggling to get this calf out of the poor mother standing there anaesthetised when suddenly it slipped out and at the same time uttered a noise - it was still alive! No one could believe it! So three of them grabbed the calf and hung it over a gate to clear it of any mucus and it was fine! Although colostrum was taken from the cow the calf actually started sucking by itself several hours later and today mother and baby doing well! The cow will have antibiotics for some days to make sure her wound heals well. Tim didn't get in until 11p.m and poor cow!