Ragworting starts

The horses move fields all year round.  We have 50 acres split into 3 smaller paddocks and 2 large ones.  There is other land 4 miles away but this is where I live.

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Clothie is a separate croft of 5 acres across the hill from Thordale.  Ever since I had the ditches dug a few years back, there has a bad ragwort problem.  We have been weeding and spraying it for many years.   The digging disturbed the dormant seeds and up they sprout like demented triffids.

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Every year, we take bin bags and go round and round the field trying to get rid of the bastard stuff.

Both Daisy and Flossie are brilliant at helping me as it kills my back.  We then take it all back to Thordale and burn our weeding efforts.

Hateful stuff.

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Sometimes we spray but chemicals are expensive, you have to leave the field empty while it works.  The spray can be random too, often hitting other beautiful flowers which saddens me.  I always feel very blessed to have so many lovely orchids and to spray them by mistake is just plain wrong.

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Sitting in this field, surrounded by such natural beauty always takes my breath away.

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The field is thick with these pretty flowers.

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But the ragwort is a constant summer battle which returns every year.  The dogs (and even cat sometimes) come with us and enjoy pottering about looking for pesky wabbits.  

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Everyone loves Clothie.  Someimes the workers are found skiving off.

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But it is heaven lying in the flowers looking up at the blue sky.

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