Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits...

sally — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:01:27 +0000

Spring is on its way. It is, really, despite the Met Office’s recent announcement that we’ve just had the coldest winter for 31 years.

Once upon a time ...

sally — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:55:03 +0000

Once upon a time, there was a storyteller. And that storyteller told tall tales, traditional tales, children’s tales and scary tales. Tales about the Lakes, and tales about other places, too. And that storyteller’s name was Taffy. Taffy Thomas, storyteller.

Down on the Farm

sally — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:22:48 +0000

Before we set up Sally’s Cottages I used to work for LEADER+, an organisation which gives help to farmers and rural businesses. It was at the time of Foot and Mouth and so we were certainly kept busy. Despite being a farmer’s daughter, I came to realise how little I knew about farming in Cumbria. Three years at LEADER+ certainly taught me a thing or two and now I have a three year old boy, I’m learning even more about farming! I thought I’d share some of that knowledge with you now about what is happening over the coming year i

Winter Fun

sally — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:37:32 +0000

It’s been a fabulous few weeks, with day after day of frosty white mornings tinged pink as the sun comes up over the mountains. It feels like we have had endless crisp clear days and starry moonlit nights. “Red Sky in the Morning” should mean Shepherd’s Warning, but the sheep don’t look too cold with their great woolly coats and we’ve had a great time playing amongst in the snow!

Here Comes Santa!

sally — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:46:35 +0000

You may think of Lapland and department stores when it comes to small children and Santa, but when you stand here in the valley at Wallthwaite today and look up to a snow-capped Blencathra, it becomes entirely believable that Santa might hide out here until he takes off on his annual sleigh ride.

Biggest Liar

sally — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:42:26 +0000

Up, up and away!

sally — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:23 +0000

Rob and I recently had a fantastic experience. I’ve lived in the Lake District for most of my life and I didn’t think that there was much I hadn’t seen, until a birthday present from Rob gave us the opportunity to see it from a hot air balloon.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!

sally — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:57:03 +0000

It seems that one minute you’re eating ice cream and trying to keep your flip-flops on, and the next, the leaves are turning, the hedgerows are ripe with berries and the first wood smoke is spotted curling from chimneys. That’s right: autumn has arrived!

Sheep are more entertaining than you think…

sally — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:30:31 +0000

One of the joys of motherhood is permission to watch fab shows like ‘Shaun the Sheep’. Dear Shaun, if you don’t know him, is the plasticene lamb from Wallace & Gromit, now with his own TV programme aimed at toddlers, infants and sheep fans everywhere.

This week, our intrepid hero faced the challenge of Sports Day with a number of other farm animals. This got me thinking about the assumption that all sheep, except plasticene ones, are boring fluff balls which stand around in fields doing nothing.

Ullswater Country Show

sally — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:03:44 +0000

I wish I could tell you how many country shows there are in Cumbria. Every community of any size has its own gem, when everyone gathers to chat, drink, eat and show off.

Alongside the sheepdog trials and terrier shows, there are usually competitions for stick making, bee keeping, fly tying, dry stone walling and sheep clipping. Some court headlines with unusual items such as ‘best fancy dressed dog’ and dancing tractors, but all of them are still recognisable as the original grand day out for hard-working farmers.