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.
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