Snow, snow and more snow..

Old bessy stuck in the mud again! I've asked for a four
wheel drive version for my birthday but don't think anybody
was listening.

Silly hat season..

Fantastic views but I couldn't see a foot in front of me on

Saturday morning. Thick skinned pigs don't seem to mind

though as long as there's food on the 'table'

A great week for the kids but not really condusive to on farm progress, but it does give you a bit of a lift being out in the bright sunshine after being in the dark for what seems like ages. A bit of a contradiction I know but it seems like its been dark permanently for the past 3 months but when the sun comes out an dthe days start to get longer its as if the summer wasn't that long ago..maybe its the promise of spring that brings the positivity out.

Anyway nothing really to report on this week. Growth in the polytunnel has stopped due to snow blocking out the light and the sub zero temperatures, not helped when a cheeky robin thought that the relative warmth of the polytunnel seemed a good place to nest. All would have been well had he then not decided to go out a few times during the day..unfortunately putting some holes in the plastic skin on each attempt.

The fruit trees are starting to bud up and we are hoping they don't come too soon to be killed by the heavy frost that we usually get in April. The hares have started to annihilate the christmas trees we planted last year as these are an easy source of food sticking above the snow. Must get some mesh guards made up before they eat the lot!

The sheep are getting some of the older hay that we made 2yrs ago to tide them over until the snow melts and the piggies are eating everything they can get hold of now the grounds too solid to root the carrots up. The carrot bed has been well turned over by them and will benefit from the deep frost getting down to a good level and aerating the soil.

Well what a change in the weather we have seen this week! We actually had a little snow in the village, quite rare for this time of year. We don’t normally see any until the new year. All the puddles and the drinking butts for the animals have been frozen over in the mornings for last few days. going around and breaking the ice so the animals can drink is just another job to add to an already long list!

Here is a view of Lee's brand new(!) digger.

We are currently digging trenches to border our fields. this is part of our long term plan to improve the quality of our heavy clay soil. The trenches should help drainage and make the soil lighter. We will eventually dig a grid of channels accross the fields, to improve water and air circulation. these will drain into our stream, which in turn feeds our pond.

At this time of year, much of our time on the farm is spent preparing for next year. Anything that doesn’t move needs to be painted, and anything that does needs to be greased.
We have been putting beds into the walled garden, mixing in compost to improve the soil, and mulching to suppress weeds, ready for planting in the spring.

I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to know that Rufus, the Labrador who injured himself on the new fences, has now made a full recovery, and is ready to injure himself again as soon as he gets the chance! Hopefully he will resist the temptation, even though we know he loved all the attention it got him, as the vet’s costs are astronomical!

We are looking to put the Tup in with our ewes next week. This should give us lambs in April of next year. We will keep you up to date on their progress each week in the newsletter.

Oh, and don’t forget to get your Christmas order in on the website, as the deadline is December 1st. It may seem a long way off, but it will be upon you before you know it!