Andrea Meanwell
@ruslandvalley
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Upland farmer in the Howgills. Writer. Views my own.
Westmorland
Joined May 2009
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Good morning from the Howgills. A Country Diary this morning.
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Every Saturday a steam train comes through the farm.
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We think this plague stone outside our farmhouse is from the 1597-8 plague when half of the populations of Kendal and Penrith died. They put coins in vinegar to pay for food. I’m still selling eggs and sausages on the same spot 400 years later.
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Todays 1930s Lake District farming photo is titled ‘the farmer’s in the pub’. The pub is the Sun Inn, Crook. The dog holds the sheep up while the farmer has a drink in the way past.
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The Royal Mail train adds a streak of colour as it passes through the farm.
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Trust me, it’s better to be a prisoner in a bucket than be stood on by a cow. She’s not convinced
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Getting the older ewes in this afternoon. 205 Sheep following me.
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I am sorry to have to tell you that I have lost my best pal and constant companion. Ruby became ill last week and died today. She was about 13, and came to live to with us in 2016 after being rehomed from a home with domestic violence. She leaves a big gap and a quiet house 🐶
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So, soon 20% of our farm will be given over to wildlife habitats. This will make us more efficient and enable us to carry more stock. How come? Thread....
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Beautiful to see Cartonlima Emma the fell pony from the Murthwaite stud in the Howgills at the funeral of HRH The Queen today.
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We had to rescue this bird today. I know we should not touch raptors, but this one had got stuck in a network rail fence on our farm. Released now and flown away.
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Todays 1930s farming in the Lake District photo shows Mr J Gregg if Troutbeck and a companion repairing a wall above Kirkstone Pass on John Bell’s Banner near Cauldale Moor. Mr Gregg was famous for his singing voice.
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In the Marks & Spencer Christmas food catalogue it offers a ‘leg of lamb’ (not cheap).
What breed of sheep was it?
Where did the sheep live?
What did the sheep eat?
You wouldn’t just put ‘wine’ or ‘whiskey’ with no explanation.
Consumers need more information about their food
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Agricultural reps....coming into my farmyard like this is not going to do you any favours
“Where is the person who runs this farm love?”
“Here”
“No, I mean your Dad. The person who actually runs the farm”
“Here”
“Not you love, the man who runs the farm”😱😱😱😱😱
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18 year old son went out the door at 5am to milk, and has just come in at 11.05pm after silaging. Don’t believe anyone who says the ‘youth of today’ have no work ethic. He’ll be up bright and early tomorrow.
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Found herself a spot without snow, in the shelter of a wall to lamb. Twins tucked up in the rushes out of the wind.
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Today was the funeral of one of the brothers that we bought the farm from. Thinking of all those who farmed here before us as I check the cows.
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It’s very easy to sit at a computer and criticise others.
It’s actually a very skilled profession to breed quality sheep in a harsh upland environment.
Sheep farmers deserve respect and your support.
Thank you 🐏🐑❤️
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Good morning from the Howgills. 29th wedding anniversary today. Second hand dress, first class husband.
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Working from an office isn’t so bad when you have views like this.
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I think she’ll have to be called Aurora given the night she was born.
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My son has invited
@natalieben
to visit our farm after she photographed our valley from a bus and said it was ‘terribly bare’ with ‘a terrible lack of biodiversity’. Do come and see the reality Natalie.
Farming with nature 🌳🐏🐑🌳🐮
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While I’ve been lambing here Roy has been learning the ropes with Hector in the North Lakes.
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A calf is born on a hilltop in the Lake District. Mother cleans her while grandmother stands guard.
Isn’t this what the British public expect and deserve from a food producing system? Cows living in freedom in family groups.
Proud to produce British Beef. 🇬🇧🐂
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She likes the unexpected calf now. Theres no way she’s letting us near her.
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I have 3 sons. One of them works with me on the farm. He is a very skilled stockman and deserves the good prices he gets for his cows.
Please don’t allow foreign imports from lower animal welfare herds on the other side of the world to dominate the market here. It’s our future🐂
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And just like that, lambing 22 is finished. It’s the first time I’ve lambed here on my own since we moved here and got a bigger flock. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it 🐑🐏
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This isn’t a storybook. Farms with well cared for animals in beautiful landscapes do exist. Sheep, cattle, ponies and hens. Ancient woodlands, red squirrels, otters. This is not a fairytale. Goodnight.
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I Planted 800 trees today, which my son says is not impressive as he can plant 3000 in a day, but I need to pace myself for tomorrow.
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Good morning. Bit of drama with my bull escaping this morning. Neighbour helping me walk him back home.
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A lovely September day in the Lake District. Goodnight.
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Every Saturday when we are working with lambs this goes by. Caught it today
@bryn_thompson
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Cows walking down the lane. Me following. British beef in production.
Mystery to me why we would want to import meat from the other side of the world and undercut our own farmers 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
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As a farmer I feel I’m part of the landscape and I belong to it. I don’t feel it belongs to me.
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Did you know sheep generally look after their own lambs whereas cows will form a nursery group and take turns at baby sitting.
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I think there is a book called ‘the spirit of the fell pony’. Here it is…
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Meet new team member Tweed. Not amused at this collar and lead business.
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Good morning from Cumbria. More of the Brotherikeld tups.
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Tintin died today peacefully in his sleep. He hadn’t been out for a walk for 3 days, too tired, and was 2 days off his 16th birthday.
Tintin. My oldest dog. 13 years old. Still waiting for him to settle down.
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Todays 1930s farming photo shows the Postlethwaite family from Riddings, Howgill making hay by the Fairmile. The photo shows Mr and Mrs Postlethwaite, their two daughters and two hired farm hands. The family still farm there today.
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Just born while I was eating my dinner and looking remarkably clean and relaxed about it. Do tell me when you are bored of lamb pictures…
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It seems I have a new baby to look after. Mum not interested.
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Good morning from a sheep farmer who cannot see the sense in a tariff free trade deal with Australian to import lamb. We simply cannot compete with huge farms. Has the last year taught us nothing about the need to value our British Farmers?
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Good night. I bought this postcard today. The man on the track with the hammer on his shoulder is my great great grandad.
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I couldn’t possibly begin to tell you how mad I am that two gates have been left open today by people looking at the Roman fort(where there is no public access) and all my old yows are out eating ‘fogg’ saved for their lambs.Luckily none killed on the A road
@TheLakesTony
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Good morning. I wish I could send the smell of the hay with the photo. It hits you when you walk out of the door.
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We are deeply saddened by the death of HRH The Queen. We are thankful for her support of farmers, farming and native breeds particularly the fell pony.
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Yes, this is the hill farming that is destroying the planet that you will have read about.
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I may be small but you can be sure I have the most attitude of any animal or beast on this farm.
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Thank you for all the likes for the Belties bouncing along. Goodnight.
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There are lots of things in this world I don’t agree with, but as I don’t have the knowledge and experience to criticise those who do it for a living I generally keep my opinions to myself.
Maybe have a bit of empathy for farming families before tweeting about sheep farmers?
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So atmospheric today. The previous farmer’s funeral cortège came slowly down the hill through the farm and stopped for one minute at the end of the lane where I was stood. “I’m looking after it for you” I whispered.
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Happy May Day. Cows out!!! Had to stop filming as they were heading the wrong way 🤷🏻♂️
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Another 800 trees planted today. It’s nearly killed me. Bad news is there’s another 1600 to do next weekend. Brew break.
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Today is our 30th wedding anniversary 😍We got married when we finished our university courses. My husband was studying ‘energy conservation and the environment’ which was quite niche at the time. He is now the UKs leading expert on business decarbonisation (to quote a newspaper)
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You can do all the nature/lichen/moss/woodland posts you like, but no thank you says Instagram, just show us your sheep 🐑😍🐏🐑
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My 70 year old neighbour asked me why when shepherds have occupied our farms quietly for 600 years, is shepherding suddenly a dirty word and hill farming despised in the media. Opinions are grinding people down. Respect costs nothing.
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Love these bluebell photos but ended up tumbling head over heels down a steep bank trying to get these two away from the railway line.
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Good morning. I’m sharing this picture again because I love it so much.
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This is our farm. We can sequester carbon, create nature recovery networks to help restore biodiversity loss, help mitigate against climate change by planting more trees BUT only if we have a profitable farm business. Don’t sell us down the river with this trade deal please. 🇬🇧🐿
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BBC One - Countryfile,
I can share our exciting news with you now. Our farm is going to be the ‘seasonal hub’ and Countryfile will regularly film here and explain the farming year on a hill farm.
The first film will be on Easter Sunday.
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Good morning from the Howgills. Let’s just settle this once and for all, the meal you have in the middle of the day is DINNER unless you are eating it out of a snap box on a hillside somewhere and then it’s BAIT and the meal you have in the evening is TEA. Sorted. Have a good day
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How to ensure cars will appear on a very quiet lane. Start moving cows. Always works.
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Good morning from the Howgills. My new assistant is learning the ropes. Next time I must get a new puppy in good time, it would have been much easier for Olga to learn the ropes from Ruby instead of me as they would have spoken the same language.
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Congratulations to my eldest son on getting a first class degree in software engineering. I have stolen this photo from Instagram. He’s still making dens...
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My son has just spotted a sheep in a snow drift by seeing just the end of her tongue sticking out above the snow. He dug her out and she ran off. Herdwicks are amazing in this weather.
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Goodbye and good luck swallows. See you again next year God willing.
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We got it home.
It works (!).
Thanks to all at the auction for showing me how to take the click apart and put it back together.
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Today’s balloon. Minus all its shininess.
Good job I came across it and not one of the cows. They love to suck and chew bits of string. If they ate this balloon and its string they could be seriously ill.
Time to ban these STUPID helium balloons. 🎈
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Please don’t buy helium balloons. This is the third one I’ve picked up this week and I am 10 miles from a town. If one’s of my cows eats one they may die.
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When I post pictures of our farm some people see it as an opportunity to rewild, some people see it as an opportunity to make money (softwood is £100/tonne etc), but what you have to remember is that it’s our home.
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I’ve been doing a wall gap today. I’m not a good waller but at least the wall doesn’t have any big holes in now.
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You don’t need to eat less red meat produced on sustainable hill farms because
The landscape needs ruminant animals to maintain it
The methane is offset by the carbon the grassland sequesters.
Hill farmers need your support to maintain the cultural heritage of the uplands.
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Wishing all my followers a peaceful and happy Christmas. Thank you for your support throughout the year.
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Moving the ponies today. We use them to eradicate rush infestation and it works really well. They have cleared about 30 acres of rush in 18 months, now they have moved to another rush infested area. We can also use them for the countryside stewardship rush infestation option.
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Planted my 800 trees. Currently lying in the field too exhausted to drive home 🤣
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