Chicks soon on the way

I think since my last post the lambs have gone back to being as grubby as ever. The children and lambs did really well at the Driffield Show. They were in the show ring for over half an hour. I thought either the lambs or the children would get bored in that time but they all did really well. The lambs were really cooperative and the children were really good with them. The kids both got rosettes for doing so well. Harriett also got a prize for her embroidery and Imogen got one for her handwriting in the handicraft tent, so both of them were very pleased. I entered a few things in the handicrafts and got nothing at all. Clearly I need to take some hints and tips from the kids. 

The fat lambs (Mary and Tilly who we bottle raised) are now living in the field with the other sheep and lambs. They all seem to get along together fine although at the moment they seem to go around in two distinct groups rather than all together.

The pigs are getting bigger and friendlier. They like to give you a good nudge with their noses as you go and see them and you always end up filthy when visiting them. They have been making good use of their wallow during the hot weather and rolling in the mud to keep cool and protect themselves from the sun. They do all have quite a personality, but being pigs are all very food driven. At the moment they are enjoying eating the used barley from my beer brewing yesterday. We are having a month of going to the market this month as I have booked to cycle the way of the Roses with my Dad. We should have a great three days and it's quite nice not to have such a busy build up week and weekend as usual. 

I have been working recently on setting up a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme here with raising Pork on CSA principals. They have a web site if you are interested in what it is all about and there will be lots more information about it on social media after the weekend of biking.

Max our nephew was here last week raising money for an expedition he is doing to Cambodia next year. It was quite handy as he arrived just as our tractor mower returned from being repaired. Unfortunately being 30 years old (the tractor not Max) means finding parts for it is not always easy and a part had to be sources and shipped from the US for it to work properly again. So Max did lots of mowing and driving as well as animals feeding, chicken house building, trailer cleaning and loads of other useful jobs. I think the early mornings were a bit of a shock for him, especially as Harriett tended to wake him up by jumping on him at quite an early hour.

We are now enjoying quite a few veg fresh from the field that are growing well. We have had peas and broad beans for a while but they are coming to an end now. We have new potatoes that we dig up on demand, beetroot and a wide supply of salad leaves. The courgettes are about to come into season as well. I already need to start planning the polytunnel planting for winter and early spring veg. It seems a long way off but if I don't sort it before long the opportunity for planting will be gone. 

The chickens are doing well with two of them now brooding. That means we have 14 eggs being sat on at the moment. Bantums 6 eggs should hopefully hatch on Friday (while I am away biking) with the remained hatching next Tuesday. We will then hopefully have lots of chicks. We will keep one male as a cockerel and the rest are for eating. Most of the females we will keep as additional layers. It's always exciting when new animals are about to arrive and we haven't raised chicks for a few years now. 

Lamb washing

I have just spent almost an hour with the children attempting to wash the lambs ahead of the Driffield Show next week. The kids have now got quite good at getting the lambs to walk around on a lead. They don't just lie down and protest any more. However once it came to being washed the lambs were not so sure. I spoke to a few people showing sheep at the Great Yorkshire show yesterday and they assured me that the best way to wash the sheep is simply with cold water. Well Harriett, Imogen and I have got a lot of cold water over us and slightly more over the sheep and I am not convinced how clean they actually are right now. They are certainly an improvement on what they were, but I would hardly call them whiter than white. I think maybe I ought to find some sort of sheep shampoo to help with the process. I don't want to accidentally felt their wool though while it is still on their back. 

They were very small and very cute back in early spring. They are big lambs now

The three of us have also entered several other events at the show. The kids are doing handwriting, drawing and sewing. I am entering some bread and preserves. I have to re-jar my marmalade so that it has a sellaphane lid and wax seal as per the instructions. I had a word with a judge at a show in Beverley last year so got a few hints and tips. Apparently I need to clean the jar with white spirit on the outside to remove all fingerprints. So next Wednesday will prove to be a busy day. I also realised yesterday that the lambs will need ear tags before we can move them to the show (DEFRA rules). I ordered them today but it's a bit touch and go with them arriving on time, so fingers crossed. 

It is only a few days to go until the end of term. I think both the kids and I are looking forward to that. We seem to have managed to book in loads of things over the holidays as usual. Zoe has just booked us a holiday to Turkey later in August. It will be nice to get away and have someone else do the cooking.

Two of our chickens have gone broody so we now have 15 eggs that are being sat on. Hopefully in just over twenty one days we will have 15 chicks. Last time we did this we only got one chick from six eggs, so we'll see what happens. We are hoping to gain a few more layers in the process as well as a new cockerel. Any extras will, I think, be for the dinner table. It will be nice to have some fresh chicken raised here on the smallholding. That reminds me that this week we have been enjoying our first lamb. It tastes great. We had some lamb chops the day it came back from the butcher. Tonight we had an excellent Shepherds pie. It really does have a lot of flavour. As the lamb was about 15 months old the chops were a good size, none of those tiny chops that you can sometimes get.

I managed to break the Kitchen Aid while preparing bread for the last farmers market (I think it is getting a bit over worked). I am thinking about trying to concentrate on selling bread locally instead of the markets as I really am struggling to make the quantity of bread required to make it worthwhile going to the market.

I've been revising the idea of setting up a Community Supported Agriculture project here. It looks quite an interesting idea, but I have to do a lot more reading and research now so I can put a plan together. I am looking at the possibility of raising pigs on this basis, so if you are interested, watch this space.

Lets hope all goes well at the Driffield show and we come home with a rosette or two. Imogen could certainly do well if there is a category for sheep handler with the least teeth. She has lost her two front ones and is about to loose a third next to them.