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From The Wellies - May 07

Death, taxes and rain on a Bank Holiday weekend should now be the three certainties in life. 

The warmest, driest April on record has meant that most farmers were glad to see the rain, which finally ended the prolonged dry spell on the 5 May.  The above average temperatures and lack of rain combined to make life a bit easier on the farm this spring.  Newborn calves and lambs have got off to the best possible start.  The warm dry weather meant that lambs and calves born outside didn’t need to be taken in for shelter and as long as they got to their feet quickly and suckled their mothers to get a good feed of the all important colostrum, they will have the protection they need against all the bugs they will encounter during their early life.

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Soil temperatures 3°c higher than normal have meant that grass has started to grow much earlier than normal.  The only worry now remaining is that the weather turns colder and wetter, which will make life very unpleasant for the later hill lambings which go on for most of May.  Conditions for sowing spring crops have also been very good. Tractors have been operating in dustbowl conditions because the ground has dried out so quickly. 

The secret of sowing crops into very dry seedbeds is to roll the fields as quickly as possible after sowing.  Seeds need contact with moisture in the soil in order to germinate and rolling the ground helps to keep whatever moisture is left, in the ground.  Crops such as spring barley were starting to become droughted just before the rain on the bank holiday weekend, but now that they’ve had a welcome drink, they should grow very quickly because of the higher than average soil temperatures.

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Wildlife on the farm also seems to have enjoyed the good spring weather.  Ducks on the various ponds and streams around the farm are already proudly showing off large clutches of ducklings.  Lapwings and oyster catchers are also nesting at the moment.  As ground nesting birds they run the risk of all sorts of predators such as foxes, domestic cats, crows and white headed gulls, stealing their eggs or chicks. 

One pair of oyster catchers nested on a ploughed field this year.  Luckily we spotted the nest and the birds sat tight on their 3 eggs while we cultivated, sowed, spread fertiliser and rolled the field, round about them.  At present they are still sitting on 3 eggs and hopefully it shouldn’t be too long before they hatch.  Buzzards around the valley also seem to be doing very well, it’s not uncommon to see 5 or 6 in the sky at any one time.

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The river has been very low this spring and the canoeists who were trying to negotiate the famous Grandtully rapids during the Easter competitions really had their work cut out.  Looking west towards Ben Lawers, there seems to be very little snow left to melt off the hills to help keep the river levels up. 

If global warming is happening and the winters are to be milder and springtime earlier and warmer, it’s very difficult not to enjoy it if it makes your job easier.  The last warmest, driest April was recorded in 1946 and no-one should need reminding about what kind of winter the famous one of 1947 was.