Feeding the suckies.

Well, not at this point I wasn't, I was just trying to get one to keep still for a second! No riding today as the boys had their flu jabs this afternoon, so have to be rested for a few days.

Instead I helped Jean with her calf feeding duties, which is what I used to do back in the '80's when I first started going up to the farm. Come to think of it, it was the late '70's when I first met Jean bringing the cows in to milk and asked her if I could come along and watch.

Since then, they've had 3 lovely girls, now grown up, with 2 lovely grandchildren and another on the way.

With all the ponies and horses they've had, they never sold two of them, having them out on loan to other families with small children. Two weeks ago one of them, Fleur, died. Yesterday the other one, Slipper, also died. Both of them were at the very least, 30 years old. Everyone's feeling a bit sad.

Slipper was their very first pony, in fact she arrived at the farm even before Emma was born. She came to the double wedding when Rachel and Louise married their hubbies. We had been hoping to have her back for Mary, so in a way it is possibly for the best that she passed away before this happened as Mary and Alex would be have heart broken, as the children of the family who had her on loan are. :-(