“Isn’t she lovely?” At least, I think this long-lashed beauty is a she. My sister, Mary, who is the regular farm-sitter (I just fill in while Mary is away in Australia), told me that all the animals on Rosie’s farm are female – I can’t say that I’ve ever checked to see, which must have been apparent to Rosie when one day I was talking to her about Harriet the pig.

“Why are you calling our boy pig Harriet?” Rosie asked.

We laughed – I guess the difference must be obvious, just not to townies.

Likewise, I made a mistake with the donkeys by calling one of them Alfreda.

“Alfred and Charlie – Charlie, not Charlene,” Rosie laughed.

Maybe this is the answer….