I am always amazed when we go out, how close the great outdoors is to us in Farnworth. Granted, it isn't wild and windy moorland, more the sort of heavily trampled semi-annoyed slightly rough-looking countryside, but it is still good to get out into it and away from the noise and smell of the town.
Just half an hour from us is a smallholding (in Ramsbottom, how apt) where they keep Shetland sheep. We went on Sunday to have a look at the flock with a view to keeping some in the future. Why? Because the fleece on these sheep is one of the finest of any native breed, they don't eat too much, they lamb easily, they're friendly and they can be bucket trained. They come in a variety of colours and softness, so it is possible to use the wool from around the head to make 2-ply, very soft yarn, or from around the 'breech' (making sure any dagnuts, dangle-berries and cling-ons are removed first) to make rougher jumpers or socks. 
This one, above, was my favourite colour, and the sheep are a good size to handle; not too heavy to turn over and not over-prone to disease. Obviously, like all animals, their welfare is paramount and a good, healthy, happy animal is less likely to drop down dead. So now all I have to do is find a field...For more information on the Shetland breed, have a look here:
Thanks to Tony, Kath and Natalie for your time and energy answering endless questions.
It was the perfect day for planting: sunny, warm-ish and bright. 
The robin was bobbing about in the hedge and a blackbird was singing from a tree. The only downside was the constant noise of a motorbike scrambling somewhere on the other side of the railway. When they stopped it was bliss, just the wind and the birdsong, the scent of woodsmoke and the knowledge that a job has been well done. We’ll see how well the spuds do this year.
From Spraying the potatoes:
The actual process of making cheese is not difficult, but it is essential to get the temperature and the timing spot on.
We ended up with a block of Cheshire cheese about a pound in weight, which is sitting in the back room where it’s warm ‘maturing’ for three days. It’s been a long wait though, as every time I tip off the excess whey, you can smell the tang of the cheese and the temptation to break a bit off and ‘test’ it is strong. 
On a larger scale, things are still following the same rigour and basic recipe, where you take 45 litres of milk:
Add starter culture and rennet and allow to coagulate at the right temperature before draining off the whey to reveal curds that will become, after a week's maturing, Cheshire cheese:
And after three months, Cheddar:
Finally, time for a sit down and a brew. 
Answers on a postcard please. 
To satisfy my increasing interest in all things ovine, we attended one of the lambing weekends at Reaseheath college. These are partly for their students to get some real hands-on experience and partly to raise money for the college. As well as lambs, they had pigs, rats and rabbits, along with some college-made cheese and a few plants, but it was the sheep and lambs that were the draw.
We arrived at 10am and, although not the first, were glad to be able to wander round and look at sheep in the relative peace. Almost the first thing we saw as we came into the shed was a sheep with its water bag showing but, deciding it would be a while before anything happened, we wandered off. Returning half an hour later, we found two lambs and a chuffed-looking ewe in a pen. After that we didn’t stray very far.
Our first birth was a breech, i.e. arse first. This we had to watch on the overhead monitor, the crush of people in front blocking our view, as the student, and then the shepherd, attempted to turn the lamb around and deliver it safely. Warnings were given, by the man on the mike, that sometimes this doesn’t always end in a live birth and we should be prepared for a disaster. His explanation of a prolapse was equally as informative, calling on any women present to understand his ‘weak muscle’ theory and, we can only imagine, get mums to explain to kids what he was on about.
Another wander, a return to the main shed and a better spot, so that for the second birth we were more fortunate. Again, there was a problem, this time presentation was head and one front leg. First try was a student and, quite worryingly, again they couldn’t get things right and it was up to the shepherd to step in (accompanied by more imminent warnings of death) and correct things before the lamb was born. Seeing it there, damp and white, on the straw, new life, brought a tear to my eye.
After twenty minutes of licking the first born, the ewe wandered over to the wall, lay down and moments later a second lamb appeared. Simple as that. We weren’t able to see it happen, but the speed and ease was amazing. By this time it was early afternoon as no more births appeared imminent we took our leave. An interesting day, but one where I hoped there were more people to talk to who would explain things in more detail. The students there didn’t seem interested and the shepherd was taciturn, so as a finding-out session it wasn’t so good but as a general day out it got top marks.
