August 2008

This is the month in the year when I often feel like everything has run away with me... and so it is this year! I'm disappointed that we haven't been able to keep up with the biodynamic spraying regime I planned back in April - there are just not enough hours in the day to do it all. I guess that what we've done is better than nothing at all, but I find it all so frustrating and find myself looking forward to the middle of September, when we do the last of our extra summer events and can take a bit of a breather before winding it up again for Christmas.

We have, of course, faced challenges this month... lack of grass, wet fields, events and markets in the rain and our poor chiller van which really needs retiring and keeps telling us so (this month with stuck brakes) but we can't do that without the funds for a replacement...

... And we've also had miracles and successes :-))

The chiropractor came to see Alfie, one of the Cotswold Sheep kept here on the farm by our friend Emma - www.cotswoldpurls.co.uk. He's always been a bit "special". His mother died when he was a baby so he was bottle fed by Emma and her friend Fiona, so he appears as connected to humans as he is to his sheep family. His body is a bit of an odd shape, legs too far apart and a bit more compact than the rest of the bunch... and he walks as if he's drunk! Ilga, the chiropractor came to see him and some other animals here and with a couple of "twings and jumps" (I'm sure there are technical terms for what they do!) Alfie had a new body! Even Ilga was astounded.

Talking of new bodies - Saffron gave birth to a lovely little heifer calf this month. She arrived one morning in the field just as a young French agriculture student, Fatna, came to stay for a while. Fatna is doing a project on our beef production business, so this was a timely event.

We're continually reviewing our farming business and, especially in the light of the lack of grass this year, are looking at ways to reduce our British White cattle herd. Do you know we have suddenly reached 54 head? It seems only a short while ago we were starting out with our 4 mums! Anyway, Monty's future is in the balance. He has been lame several times and the British Whites are renowned for (among other things) their good feet, so breeding stock from him just doesn't seem smart. He's still young enough to make good steaks... so again, we're on the lookout for a good bull. We have some very good breeding females and are sorting out a list to put up for sale. Reducing the herd slightly will hopefully mean less strain on the limited resources we have here, whilst we can still keep up with demand for the beef at the markets.

The Corsley Show was another one of our successes this month. Anna and I took our trusty paella pan down there along with lots of burgers... and sold out!!! It was a beautiful day in the middle of a pretty grim summer, with lots of people and some of my wonderful customers from Westbury Farmers Market which I stopped earlier this year. In fact, it's been a month of burger-making frenzy as we also prepared for the Forest Festival in Swindon (get there next year if you can... it's really lovely... and free!), and the Brinkworth Show, which sadly was a bit damp round the edges.