15th August Friday 2025 Second Cut in Drought.

2nd cut😱

The farm who rent this place for grass keep, have been brave enough to cut two silage fields here –  sadly it looks like they topped it, but I presume they’re gonna pick it up. The lower field is somewhat better, to be fair, than the middle ground, which is a dreadfully poor old ley that none of us can afford to rip up and re seed.

The Buzzard is yelling over my head; it’s just done a fly past shrieking at me. I should imagine the sward being off has made her hunting a little easier this morning.

Wow, it smells wonderful down here — a strong ‘hot’ grass smell, cut grass that is 🙂 It’s quite nice stuff; there’s just not much of it. I expect they’ll probably put an effluent on next week, so I’ll probably be down here moaning about the smell then and the splatters till it neutralises – being very un career farmer about it!-!

Bottom field

Looking Towards 2021

What will we do next?

Well, some jobs to finish like shed electrics and edges of patios and pathways. The end wall of the dairy needs rendering and a gutter needs repairing on the front of the house.

The anti-deer compound needs extending.

The prep room in the van body needs tackling.

Orchard trees need a prune – or at least a tidy.

Goats will kid

Grass will grow and we may have to make our own hay /haylage this year.

There are fallen trees to chop up and fencing to replace.

Enough already! We haven’t quite finished this year yet – or rather it isn’t finished with us 🙁

We have to survive this COVID thing.

Happy Christmas and A Lot Better New Year to you All 🙂

 

Lack of time and Storm Alex has hit our plan.

Last Weekend Gordon had to leave early so Sunday he did some of the ‘Yorkshire boarding’ while I dug out a small area and added hardcore.

Later, this week, the issue of unavailability of sheeted metal gates and galvanised gate hangars etc got in our way, as did collecting the last of the cladding from Wales – all came good in the end though we are still shy of a few hangars thanks to Caines Farm and to James.

Storm Alex has hit our this weekend plans to finish the barn roof so Saturday, whilst way too windy to get on the roof, Gordon went out collecting bits and pieces and then repaired soggy electrics. Hopefully, he and James can get a little dry time tomorrow.

OK well, it wasn’t dry…

Looking good 🙂

Lid on.

Trying to decide what to do with farm -and blog too.

Photo 31-05-2020, 3 03 39 pm

 

This summer as we have been able to get things going and finish things up and my thoughts have again turned to what to do with the place.

I am not a ‘downshift-er’  and these other blogs are just right for folk who are  – and I enjoy them too!

Kate Humble

River Cottage

I have much back ground in common,  and though I’m on a smaller scale and minus the wonderful kids, with Clive and Amanda Owens.

The Yorkshire Shepardess

But can’t see me doing that kind of things either. At the moment the farm feels that has been mothballed again and that isn’t what I have ever been about – it has always been food production start to finish and Agriculture generally that has interested me.

I definitely don’t want sheep again! Or cattle. Or pigs on their own…