My Dad was fond of telling me that he had never been bored in his life and was always critical of me when, in my teens, I regularly complained of being bored . Either he had never done a boring job or he had a poor memory. Some dull jobs are better than others of […]
In the usual run of things, I wouldn’t usually have much to say on the subject of ‘the toilet’. Poor hygiene or a complete absence can of course be irksome, but that’s about as far as I would usually go. However, for some months I’ve been searching the net for bog blogs and tales of alfresco pooing. Suddenly I’m fired up […]
We have two grass fields that aren’t in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. One of these, this year, we have top dressed with nitrogen in order to ensure we get some hay. The other grass, especially the new pasture, is suffering from reducing levels of that most vital element. The grass may be struggling, but, and this is in […]
In the hands of an amateur, a tractor mounted flail can be bad news for a hedge. There’s still evidence of hedge crime to be found without looking too hard. But you’ve got to consider a bit of hedge history and take a look at what these things can do when in the right hands […]
For the second time in the last month, I saw a little egret, Egretta garzetta, on the farm this morning. It’s a big white bird and very much a relative of the grey heron which we see pretty regularly around the fields. Although this one, we saw at a distance of several hundred metres, there’s no […]
Finally we’re running on rain water and I’m feeling great about it. It took ages to get around to sorting out the various stages involved in getting the roof of the barn connected to a massive tank and then to a trough inside. For the last few weeks the supply has been nothing more than a […]
Taking money, as we do, from the EU through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, sometimes bothers me. Partly that’s due to a bit of guilt in taking public money for what could be seen as private gain and partly because it’s got to be better not to be so reliant on a grant that inevitably will end at some point. However, […]
We own a book by Eddie Straiton called ‘Cattle Ailments, recognition and treatment’ (The Crowood Press), which, when it arrived a few years ago, I glanced through quickly and have rarely felt inclined to pick up since. My reluctance is no reflection on the book’s relevance. Rather, the graphic illustrations reveal my squeamish side and I have […]
Rather unexpectedly, it’s dark and white this morning; obviously we need to keep more of an eye on the forecast, as we hadn’t noticed it was on the way. Fairly typical southern English snow – wet and sloppy and the temperature is hovering above freezing. Actually now that the cattle are inside, we feel a bit like whatever happens […]
It’s raining, cold and windy; usually I’d be feeling gloomy and wintry myself. However, I’ve finally got the rain water harvesting system hooked up from the barn roof and I’m feeling a bit smug. Many months ago we bought a second-hand water tank and placed it next to our barn. Slightly fewer months ago, I […]