Author Topic: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........  (Read 14134 times)

Offline awemawson

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It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« on: January 09, 2015, 04:33:03 AM »
So we woke up to heavy rain ..... persistent heavy rain ..... bucketing it down ..... loads of it.

Now we live at the bottom of a gently sloping valley, and at the bottom is the River Brede, so the valley is it's catchment area. The valley was already very wet from previous rain, so we knew that within a couple of hours all that water was coming our way. The Brede has a habit of bursting it's banks and taking a short cut through our fields, so time to shift the sheep from a field I'm borrowing that actually borders the river. In they trotted, nonchalantly ignoring the rain, to our field.

Off to breakfast and as I glanced out of the kitchen window I could see white water overflowing the banks of the river and heading our way.

Before we could do anything the scene in the pictures below developed - fortunately the sheep had found a high spot barely large enough to contain them. Nothing we could do to move them - if I'd gone down with the tractor they'd have panicked and possibly got into a worse situation.

Last checked on them at 8 pm with a torch - could see pairs of eyes but couldn't count them as many pairs were reflections off the water !!!!

This morning - water virtually all gone, and sheep milling around gate waiting to be fed blissfully unconcerned how close they'd got to being washed away and out to sea through Rye Harbour  :ddb:
« Last Edit: January 09, 2015, 12:05:26 PM by awemawson »
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline chipenter

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2015, 05:33:48 AM »
The water looks clean enugh to not leave a mess behind , the Stoure by me is like gravey and going fast enugh to make wispering noises .
Jeff

Offline steampunkpete

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2015, 06:20:26 AM »
Quote
if I'd gone down with the tractor they'd have panicked

Never mind tractor, I hope you have a small boat of some sort handy!

Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2015, 09:42:44 AM »
No chance - a boat big enough to pull the flock into in ones and two wouldn't float in that depth. Flat bed trailer with sides and one driving and two pulling is about the only way. A wet sheep is amazingly heavy, and they struggle like b#####ry   :lol:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline steampunkpete

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2015, 10:30:26 AM »
This must be one of the best excuses in the world to own a BV206.

Offline DMIOM

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2015, 10:51:27 AM »
This must be one of the best excuses in the world to own a BV206.

or a DUKW ?

Offline steampunkpete

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2015, 11:16:51 AM »
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or a DUKW

Much easier to get BV spares.

Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2015, 11:21:19 AM »
Well many many years ago I owed a Hovercraft that would cross that field easily - three seat three engines Hoverair Hoverhawke. (but the sheep would run a mile when they heard those engines !)



It is quite probable that the one in the Youtube clip is the actual one I owned. I went and saw it in the museum and discussed it's provenance with the director. Certainly they got it from a chap who lived in the same place I sold mine to. Very few were made (tens), and inspecting the chassis I'm pretty certain some of my repairs are on that one, but so are many others. I bought it as a basket case and in fact it was that craft that got me into machining  and casting as bits were missing including a 'pudding basin' aluminium casting mounting one prop onto the flywheel of one propulsion engine (there were two and a lift motor, all horizontally opposed twins)
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2015, 11:52:50 AM »
Close one!  :beer:

What about a dog?
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2015, 12:03:46 PM »
Well Steve I judged that the safest course was to leave them be, and as events developed it turned out that was the best choice. I based that on judging the water level was no longer rising, and a fair forecast for rain over night. Problem is once sheep get into water, whether by dog or man or machine, they start panicking

The mistake we made was running them into that particular field - I have a 3/4 acre paddock that I've raised by 30" specifically for this purpose but we didn't use it  :bang: - but previously the far end of the field they were is has not flooded.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2015, 01:23:53 PM »
I just meant in general, Andrew, would a sheep dog be able to bring them in without panicking them where a truck, etc. might cause havoc?
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline DavidA

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2015, 04:00:15 PM »
I may be wrong,  and I hope I am,  but the weather looks to me as if it is shaping up to be a re-run of last year.

That will be very bad news.

Dave.

Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2015, 06:12:55 PM »
Steve, our dogs are pretty good round the back  of a flock to keep them moving, but they are not trained sheep dogs. A trained sheep dog would be very useful but we just don't have the headcount to justify having and training one.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2015, 07:03:42 PM »
Well, we have a part border collie, a rescue dog from Alabama, but not full bred.

No sheep though, and his other half is most probably long haired dachshund. When people ask what breed he is, I just say long-legged dachshund.  :)

But you can tell, he still has the instincts, and definitely the speed. He could'a been a contenda!
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Manxmodder

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2015, 11:14:05 PM »
Andrew,glad to hear luck was on your side and no livestock harmed,that must have worried you for a while.

Steve,I remember your dog posing for a photo when you were taking pics of the tractor loader and I thought he looked like a full Border Collie......OZ.
Helixes aren't always downward spirals,sometimes they're screwed up

Offline AdeV

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2015, 08:24:57 AM »
My sister trained as a vet a few years back - she hated sheep with a passion. Apparently, if they get wet and fall over, they die, mainly because they're too heavy to pick themselves up again. She said  they die quite easily, all things considered. Woolly suicide machines, she called them...
Cheers!
Ade.
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Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2015, 08:39:38 AM »
Had an 'incident' this morning. Ewe got caught in brambles, when I freed her she shot off down the field and dived under one of my 40 foot containers that spans a stream, and got herself wedged between the bank and bottom of the container. I crawled in to pull her out, whereupon she charged off into my neighbours field straight into a deep ditch. I jumped in to pull her out,  and sank into ooze over my knees - managed to shove her up the bank, then had a major struggle to extract myself. Wellington boots deeply in soft mud with lots of suction, I literally had to claw myself up the bank. Ewe survived but not sure about me  :bugeye:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #17 on: January 12, 2015, 08:45:02 AM »
Makes a wool sweater seem like a lot of work!
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline NormanV

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #18 on: January 12, 2015, 10:14:16 AM »
Yeah, but the chops are nice!

Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #19 on: January 12, 2015, 10:23:00 AM »
Chops are over rated in my book - too much of a struggle to extricate the meat from the bone and fat. Give me a nice leg or shoulder any day - and preferably mutton rather than lamb as it has a better flavour.  :thumbup:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #20 on: January 12, 2015, 10:35:16 AM »
Chops are over rated in my book - too much of a struggle to extricate  ....

 :lol: :lol: :lol:
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Kjelle

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #21 on: January 13, 2015, 02:12:35 PM »
Regarding the BV 206... It's one h-l of a good machine, when I did my stint in the armed forces, my company was the first to do the troop trials with it... warm and cozy, good space, and it was water tight, so they swam it regurlarly .. Cleaned out the nooks and crannies in the undercarriage!

Kjelle

Offline NormanV

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #22 on: January 14, 2015, 09:46:43 AM »
Talking of meat has made me remember how I used to buy meat by the whole carcass when I lived on the Falkland Islands 3 years ago. Mutton £15 and lamb £20. I think UK prices are just a bit higher!

Offline awemawson

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #23 on: January 14, 2015, 09:57:37 AM »
A fully butchered lamb ready for the freezer, or already frozen will cost you £110 collected ex farm - and in the quantities I do that barely breaks even :( Certainly not economic, but keeps our freezer full. Eight Jacobs lambs ready to go to the abattoir so if anyone wants to arrange to collect say the word. Jacobs lambs are reckoned to be a very good tasting meat, but are slightly smaller than other breeds.
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline AdeV

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Re: It Rained A Bit Yesterday ........
« Reply #24 on: January 14, 2015, 10:32:56 AM »
A fully butchered lamb ready for the freezer

Does that mean in bite-sized (well, catering sized) pieces, or do you have to chop the legs off to get the freezer door shut?
Cheers!
Ade.
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Occasionally: Zhengzhou, China. An even longer way from anywhere...