Happy New Year!

I have just looked at the weather forecast again and no rain is forecast for a few days, a great start to the new year for us.  It is hard work in the mud taking care of livestock.  The sheep don't like it either and seem to be looking at us and asking to come indoors.  We've had to move them twice off the fields which have flooded onto higher ground and they do not like walking through puddles let alone floods, so they took some persuading!

We have selected about 30 ewes who are already indoors who seemed to be struggling more than the rest with the wet weather and we thought they could do with a bit of TLC.  They are happily munching their way through our hay and seem much happier.  Our lambs have certainly got the taste for fodder beet and came running over to greet us on the quad bike this afternoon.

Roly is busy building the pens in the lambing sheds ready for the main flock to come in next week.  They will be shorn and then scanned to tell us how many lambs they are each having.  We can then divide them into pens and feed them accordingly.  We hope to have good scanning results as there have been reports in the farming press of low percentages due to the Schmallenberg virus which has now been confirmed in every county as well as poor nutrition from the grass as a result of the wet summer.

We are really looking forward to having all our 'shepherds for the day' who have booked up to be with us and our guests who will be joining us in the evenings during lambing as well.  We still have some spaces for the evenings so get in touch if you would like to join us, see www.camillaandroly.co.uk for all the details and how to book.

Not long now until our new addition to the family arrives, we are so excited and can't believe Molly will be a big sister!

Very happy new year

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle

Armbands anyone?!

Rain, rain and more rain! Everywhere is so wet and we had to execute an emergency move last week for the ewes to get them safely on higher ground with some hay just before the Thames flooded its banks. And flood it did. We've been very aware of the flooding risk since we have been here and its not until it has happened that you can fully appreciate where the water will go and how high it will rise. Now we know! It is just beginning to go down now and the debris, including some big logs, are now noticeable in the middle of the fields.

Basil is now officially resting. We separated the rams from the girls last week so we now have to wait until we have the ewes scanned in January to see if the boys have done their job. There have been concerning reports in the press recently regarding poor scanning results from early lambing flocks which is either being put down to the Schmallenberg virus which remains a threat or poor conception rate due to the wet summer and the low nutritional value of the grass. There does always seem to be something which makes us concerned for the welfare of the flock. I guess it isn't surprising when we are dealing so directly with the elements.

We have started to feed the lambs fodder beet for the first time. This is a root crop, it looks similar to a turnip or swede, which is packed with sugar to help make up for the energy they need which they won't be finding in the grass so late in the season. It has taken them a while to get the taste for it but now they are tucking in! Feed prices are high this year due to the poor harvest so we are pleased to have found an alternative and it has been grown not far away from us.

We are taking lots of Christmas orders, so please get in touch if you would like to order your favourite cuts. Loin fillet is a bit of a treat or we like having a rack or 'best end' at some point over Christmas, it is so easy and so delicious! Finally, if you are looking for a unique Christmas present, why not treat a member of the family or a friend to be 'shepherds for the day' with us or to spend an 'evening in the lambing barns'.
You can find out more here http://www.camillaandroly.co.uk/be-a-shepherd  

More soon

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle

Basil gets busy! (after 9pm viewing only...!)

It felt a little bit like dropping Basil outside the school gates for the first time, would he make any friends?  Would he know what to do?  We needn't have worried.  After a quick graze, he looked up and saw about 250 ewes all racing towards him and knew exactly what to do!  It was so funny to watch.  The ewes literally surround the rams and almost line up one after the other.  The raddles (see earlier blog) mark the ewes and there are already a few green backsides.

We will keep you posted but its looking promising for some very sweet lambs to be born come the spring!

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle

Busy times ahead for the boys...

For 364 days of the year the rams do not like us going near them.  Well, other than Basil who does like his ears scratched every now and then....  But the day when Roly appears in their field holding the raddles they almost roll over and couldn't be more obliging.  Raddles are a very important piece of equipment.  They are like a harness which go around their shoulders and have a crayon fixed to them which lodges on their chest.  You can see in the photos a green block, although Basil's is harder to see because of his woolly coat!  This crayon marks the ewes as they are being served by the rams.  A ewe's cycle is 17 days long.  At the end of the 17 days we then change the colour of the crayon on the raddle.  This is then an excellent guide for us to dictate when the ewes will have their lambs.  The majority of the flock will be served in the first 17 day cycle which is when we time our popular lambing weekends for which we run with our landlords the Earth Trust and invite people to come and spend time in the lambing barns in the evenings, please see our website for more details http://www.camillaandroly.co.uk/be-a-shepherd  Being a 'shepherd for the day' with us happens all year round but we do tend to get busy during lambing.

We put the raddles on the rams a few days ahead of them going in with the ewes to make sure they are fitting comfortably.  They are due to go in on Saturday afternoon and it is always funny to see them getting busy straightaway!

We were at Headington farmers market for the first time last Friday and it was really lovely meeting some new customers there.  Thank you for making us feel so welcome.  We really enjoyed it and will be there again next Friday 26th October.  This week is a busy market week for us too, Wallingford yesterday, Oxford tomorrow and Abingdon on Friday.  Our neighbours Mark and Jane Cooper (Coopers Oxford Pork www.coopersoxfordpork.co.uk) will also be selling our lamb at Sandford on Thames community market www.talkingshopsandford.wordpress.com on Saturday and finally, the South Oxford market on Sunday morning is a new weekly market, and we shall be there!  www.southoxfordfarmersmarket.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you.

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle

Our favourite stew

The moment the evenings start drawing in, we start thinking of using our favourite cuts of lamb to make delicious stews.  Now October is here its time to share some recipes.

We have rebranded what is known as 'scrag end' as 'stewing chops' and they are so tasty.  They are neck of lamb on the bone, we also sell neck fillet (off the bone) which is very popular too.  But we think the bone keeps a lot of the flavour.  Stewing chops are one of the cheaper cuts but we think the most flavoursome.  I'm about to start cooking the recipe below and leave it in the oven all afternoon ready for this evening, I can hardly wait!

Serves 4

You will need -
8 of Camilla and Roly's stewing chops
1 large onion
1 large garlic clove
1 pack of bacon lardons
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1/2 pint of chicken stock
1/2 pint of good red wine
A handful of red lentils (optional)
A handful of pearl barley (optional)
Couple of sprigs of thyme

Brown off the stewing chops in a large pan in a small amount of oil. Remove them from the pan and add the lardons and cook them for a few minutes before removing them and putting them aside with 'the chops. Add the onion and crushed garlic to the delicious lamb and bacon juices and saute for a few minutes. Add the flour and stir around until mixed in with the onion and garlic. Add the stock and wine and the lentils and pearl barley if you want to use them (they are a good thickener and definitely add some yumminess). Return your chops and bacon back into the pan, season well and add the thyme sprigs. Cook over a high heat for a few minutes before putting your delicioius stew in the oven at 150 degrees for at least 3 hours! The lamb will be so tender it will fall off the bone and its a real winner! Serve with slow cooked red cabbage and dauphinoise potatoes, yummy!

We hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle

Getting ready for the boys....

There are so many important jobs to do during the sheep year but one of the most enjoyable for us is when we gather the ewes into the handling pen to sort through them ahead of them meeting with the rams in a few weeks time. It sort of feels like a spring clean as at the end of it they are all sorted into their various groups. There are a number of things we are looking out for - their condition, are they too thin or too fat (occasionally happens...), if they are thin we would check their teeth, some old ewes their teeth have worn completely down so they are unable to graze, and finally their udders. If a ewe suffers from mastitis (an infection in their udder, very uncomfortable and sore and their lamb cannot suckle), we cannot keep her. It means that the udder is permanently damaged and she would not be able to rear two lambs.

The other important job is selecting the ewes whose offspring we will keep if they are a girl. We operate what is known as a 'closed flock'. This means we never buy in any replacement ewes which keeps our disease risk very low and the flocks health very high. The only sheep we buy are rams and we keep them in isolation for a couple of weeks to make sure no signs of infection appear. My selection criteria is perhaps not the most professional as I tend to go on looks, but I'm sure it will pay off!  Whereas Roly would be looking at their size and conformation and in some cases their age.

Farmers markets are going well and we will be attending Headington market in Oxford for the first time on Friday 12th October. We visited Sandford on Thames market on Saturday where Jane Cooper from Coopers Oxford Pork was selling our lamb and on Sunday the South Oxford market held its first market which we are really happy to support. More and more people are interested in buying and eating locally and our delicious lamb ticks all those boxes!

More soon
Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle

Indian summer, how lovely!

The chat at the farmers markets we attend is more often than not weather related. This weeks chat will be our summer has been a long time coming! Particularly for the farmers around us who are still harvesting and elsewhere in the country. Now the challenge is the dew in the mornings which delays the combines getting started until later. Our neighbours the Darts, will be baling our few straw bales for us this week which will be our winter bedding. On a normal year we would have had the bales in the barn a few weeks ago but everything is late due to the rain we have had.

After moving the rams through the village (see photo), the rams had their MOT yesterday which included a pedicure and general check over ahead of the important work they've got ahead. We have started feeding them so they are even more tame, particularly Basil who now stands to have his ears and nose scratched! Molly thinks he is wonderful, well we all do actually.

The ewes are now off the Wittenham Clumps and back at Shillingford where they will now stay until we bring them over ahead of lambing. We miss them, it is so lovely seeing them up there as we drive around. The goldfinches are really busy feeding in big groups which I have just learnt is called a 'charm' of goldfinches. I have never seen them in such a number so checking the ewes has been such a treat.

We will be selling our Indian summer lamb packs up until the end of September so place your orders if you would like this special selection - 1 whole butterflied leg, 1/2 boned and rolled shoulder, 1 French trimmed rack of lamb, 4 loin chops, 5 burgers - £50. Drop us an email at camillaandroly@gmail.com

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Boris and Belle