The benefits of being on foal-watch....

Inca (Wolsey Quebec) has been safely installed in her "baby bedroom" at night for just under 2 weeks now. Because our stable-block is over 200 yards from our house with lots of trees and thick stone walls in between, we were not able to find an affordable wireless CCTV system that could cope with the distance and obstructions, so we purchased a wired system and set-up "Mission Control" in a caravan which is parked in an empty stable next to the foaling boxes. It's not luxury accomodation (I could not lead a permanent Gypsy life!) but it means I can watch the mares on the foal-cam without them being aware of my presence, and be immediately on hand if there's any complications.
Here's Inca on foal-cam :

Her due-date was yesterday but she is not showing any signs of imminent foaling, so I think I may be in for quite a few long, cold nights in the caravan! However, it's not all sleep-deprivation and gloom. Because I am awake earlier than usual, I have witnessed some beautiful sunrises.
This is the view from the caravan window as dawn breaks :

 

I also have the dubious pleasure of Breanna (2 year old bay roan Dales filly) sticking her head through the caravan window to demand breakfast at first light :

 

... and I have company!
This owl appeared 2 nights ago and sat on a fence post outside the caravan. It's a very poor quality photo, snapped in the pitch dark with the poor owl illuminated by torchlight, but I am ridiculously excited about it because a friend who is a professional falconer has identified it as a European Eagle Owl, which I have never seen in the wild before. It had extraordinary bright orange eyes and a huge wingspan when it flew off.  I hope it becomes a permanent resident on the farm as it will hopefully keep the rat and rabbit population in check, but I am a bit concerned that it may be choosing a more upmarket dinner menu as 3 of our Khaki Campbell ducks have gone missing. Ooops.....