Farming correspondent Anne-Marie Hamilton talks about her 'unexpected guests' this month.
We have had two examples of 'unexpected guests over the last month.
The first was totally unexpected, and it was Rob who came across them initially.
He was on his regular walk around the farm, checking the crops, when he came across a family of swans, two adults and a signet, who were happily bobbing around on the farm pond.
He was thrilled and astonished to see them as the pond is not very big and he wondered how they had managed to land in a relatively small area.
Over the next three weeks, they stayed either on, or next to, the pond.
Whilst the pen (the female swan) and her signet remained very shy, the cob (the male swan) was more curious and when Rob was walking nearby, putting out the weekly food for the wild birds, he came over to see what was going on, and stood watching him for a while, before trying the food for himself.
Seeing them at close quarters was an absolute joy and we all felt very sad when, one morning, they stole away again as quietly as they had arrived.
Clearly their family holiday was over for this year.
Our second guest was one who probably did not really want to come and stay.
He was a lorry driver who came to collect a load of wheat and, just as he was about to leave, his lorry developed a fault.
His boss told him that he would send a mechanic to fix it.
Several hours later, the mechanic finally arrived and eventually decided that a new part was needed – which he did not have!
We offered the driver a bed and a meal, but he assured us that he was completely self-sufficient with a fridge full of food, a night heater, bed and warm blankets in his cab, so he just settled for tea and cake.
His boss arrived from Derbyshire at 1.30am with the spare part, but the lorry still refused to start.
Eventually, two further mechanics appeared, and the driver finally got underway a day and a half later!
His patience and continuing good humour throughout was a lesson to us all!
Share