Goodbye 2021 and What’s Happening In 2022
Woohoo, new year, new start. 2021 was just one of those years but hey, it could have been a lot worse.
Have you a book out Lorna? Nope. Someone asked me recently what I do. ‘I’m a farmer and I’m supposed to be a writer,’ was my response.
Health Issues

Book Review: The Beasts They Turned Away
The Beasts They Turned Away by Ryan Dennis is a very different novel to the norm. When I think about it, most farming books I’ve read tend to be memoir or definitely non fiction. So many novels with farms as their setting are romantic or comedic. I’m thinking now of novels like Cowgirl or the Aisling books and while it’s great to have farming showcased, the authors get so much wrong that it sets my teeth on edge.
In Memory of Sam
Sam, our almost 14 year old collie, died last Tuesday, 1st June.
We got Sam from a neighbour and he has been the last surviving dog from the litter for a couple of years, two of his siblings went blind but he has always been in the best of health. He’s only ever had three trips to the vet: for the snip, for a suspected concussion when kicked by a bullock, and for an injury to his neck (the bucket of [...]
What Lucy Did Next
Like humans I guess, sometimes a cow comes along and you know there will be another cow like her. It’s not just that she’s special in terms of her personality or appearance, it’s the combination of everything that can be good about a cow – production, conformation, temperament, possession of good old common sense.
For us, our 16 [...]
My Tips for a “Bloatless” Calving Season
Back in 2019, I wrote about our experiences with calves experiencing severe bloat and nearly dying as a result of contaminated milk powder. It ended up being a very long post, but because I’ve spoken to so many other farmers about it, as well as vets, the Dept of Ag and the DVO, I decided to write an update. I intended writing it last year but with doing a new milking parlour, I never got the time. As [...]