Thursday 15 October 2015

Farming and family life


We have two back doors.  Sometimes helpful when its raining to try and contain wet clothes and wellies plus a wet husband and sheepdog but often confusing for visitors, B&B guests and deliveries which door to knock at.  At the moment it sometimes means Roly can arrive through one door (the wet welly one) and Molly, Freddie and me are just leaving through the other in the frantic rush to be out of the other door to get to school and nursery.  Our two worlds then meet amidst damp clothing and book bags which then inevitably get covered in whatever aromas our lovely sheepdog has decided to roll in that morning.  This is only noticed once in the car and on the way to school and I'm thinking, I know that smell but where is it coming from?

I love it.  It is a whirlwind of chaos but our short car journeys are taken up with discussing all our different days and whether Daddy is on the quad bike, driving the truck or tractor and which story book we need to read that evening and who Molly sat next to at lunch and who will be star of the day in her class the next day.  Seeing their faces light up when we drive in the farm is so lovely, looking out for Daddy and saying hi to our rams who are outside our cottage at the moment getting ready for their favourite time of year, meeting the ladies.  Some ladies have been moved into the field next to them and the eyeshadow and lipstick is definitely being worn as the flirting through the fence is intense.

We have planted our giant bird table up in the top field this year.  As part of our environmental project here at the farm we grow food for the birds to help them feed over the winter months which is called the 'hungry gap'.  We went to have a look on Sunday and we saw flocks of linnets, goldfinches and Roly has seen corn buntings too.  It is really exciting to see them.

Our other big project this summer has been reverting an arable field back into a wildflower meadow.  This has taken a lot of thought and consideration relating to the seed and establishment.  We are now seeing the shoots coming through which is wonderful and we can't wait to see the different stages of growth over the coming months.

We lost one of our dear cows a few weeks ago and it really knocked us.  I think it is their size which makes a death so much more dramatic and sad and we also don't know why it happened.  On a more exciting note we are awaiting the arrival of 'The General'.  He is our new bull who will be arriving from a neighbouring farm in the next few weeks.  He is seriously handsome and very quiet like Henry.  But this means saying goodbye to Henry.  Farming is hard!  But perhaps we are too sentimental?  I don't think we could farm without feelings, we have to cope with happy arrivals as well as very sad departures.

Autumn is Roly's favourite season.  The colours are just amazing at the moment and we are loving seeing the contrasts and the gorgeous sunny days we have had recently.  

More soon

Camilla, Roly, Molly, Freddie and Belle