Hightae, Lockerbie, Scotland
This has been wet and cold and sometimes windy – seems to be Scotland in winter. I arrived the day after it was truly cold, the lake in the paddock froze over and they\’d been \’skating\’ on it. Also the water in the pond in the rabbits\’ pen froze, as did the water barrels for the shetland ponies.
I live in a mobile home which has only been on site about a week or so the older one being replaced by this donated van. It is most comfortable although as you can imagine in the main bedroom one couldn\’t swing anything and there is a small small 2nd room with 2 bunks in it, and there\’s even less room there. There is a couple coming for 3 nights to share the MH with me and will use that room. The kitchen is large and well and fully equipped, a small shower/wc room with basin, and a large living room with a gas heater. There are wall heaters in all the rooms though and the van is quite comfortable when it warms up. I overlook the yard and a paddock and the parking area where the ferret and chinchilla and degu cages are. I had never seen a chinchilla nor degu, both related, and the former is the softest animal fur I have felt, ever. I shall describe them as I can – sort of half big rat/small rabbit but that\’s not a good description and the degu, well it looks similar, grey or brown, with a tail that looks as if it has been long and half chopped off. According to wikipedia .. Chinchillas are rabbit-sized, crepuscular rodents native to the Andes mountains in South America . Along with their relatives, viscachas , they belong to the family Chinchillidae – also has photos .. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla. I realise now why those longhaired cats are called so.
This farm looks after animals that have been abused, tortured, abandoned, lost, strayed and just given away and is a registered charity so is continually looking for funding and donations – maybe you could check out their site. [By the way when you look at the front page there is a photo of a goose, Henry who thinks he is a sheep as he is penned each evening with 3 of them but I don\’t know the names of the two sheep shown except I think the black one is no longer here.]
Other animals are: tortoise x2 who live in the house and have free run even though it is hibernation time; two iguanas, Ignatius who just had half his tail removed by the vet because of infection and gangrene – they think it could have been bitten by the female who resides with him – can\’t recall her name; 6 horses including 1 mule; those 2 shetland ponies mentioned above; 6 cows all breeds and all lovely -Annie a very old jersey, Victoria a very large Fresian, Joker a wooly highland looking browny cow, Solo a large red cow who has trouble with her back legs, Blue a black/greyish young bull, Levi his brother but larger black and white (both terrible twins really who get into mischief if they are given the opportunity); sheep; 4 geese, very noisy they are and very good watch geese Henry, Emma, Angeline and ?; chickens and rooster/s; rabbits with names including Dash; guinea pigs; one raccoon,Bonnie who lost her mate about 9 months ago and is given a dinner of fine foods such as bread with honey or spread, nuts, chockie biscuits, dried fruit [seen her a few times awake and she looked up with that beautiful face – you know the banded mask-she sleeps a lot and has her own v large pen]; goats and lots of; turkeys called silver and ranger (as in the Lone Ranger and hi ho Silver for those of you old enough to remember); and two Emus! called Rose and Jim who happen to be both Jims. Wonder if I have left any out – oh yes, pigs, I am not a pig person and don\’t find them near as pretty as the clean pink Landrace and Large Whites Australia breeds. But there are a couple of breeds, and mix of breeds, one called Potbelly. Looking on the inet to check them out I see there is a sanctuary for pigs in Philadelphia – there would be a work challenge for me! If I\’ve forgotten an animal will get back to you. Work begins for me at 7.30a by 5dpw and goes until the cleaning of the boxes is completed – that\’s a.m. – or lunchtime then work begins at 2pm again and this goes until 4.30p if lucky or until it is completed and the animals are well bedded down for the night. Each box is cleaned out, straw replaced if necessary, water buckets washed and replaced, feeding twice a day, and the pigs have enough straw to burrow under. There is a sheep who lives with the goats and chickens who live in same box as pigs. It is soo interesting. Some animals tame and friendly some not so and some with rough backgrounds – so this is their deserved comfort now. Consequently, a lot of the animals are old and not too sure on their feet – so they are given a lot of comfort with very nutritious food and comfortable homes. Other than the ferrets which eat some tinned cat food (yuk and smelly – like ferrets) – any human could eat the small animal foods, well looks so. And probably the grain and peas and corn that other animals eat too. Yes, the ferrets\’ cage smells badly. Yes, it is a beautiful place, well kept, clean, and open to the public every day. A wonderful idea.
My 6 allowable months in the UK are up at end April and I will have to spend some time pouring over maps and timetables and accommodation sites to book for when I leave Erraid. Would love to see more of this area – Scotland, did I happen to tell you earlier, is the most beautiful country…this part not quite so intriguing as the Hebridean Isles however still beautiful. It may be that this is the season I prefer – very green fields, some stone fences, narrow roads, misty rains which make the trees look ghostly and still and very comforting.
Back sometime soon.