February 2007

Did it snow where you are? It did here and was absolutely beautiful. We woke one thursday morning to a white blanket and that muffled stillness that is only present on truly snowy days. Up before anything had moved on or off the farm, we had 3 or 4 inches and it looked like a Christmas card. We could see the tracks of Mr Fox around the chicken houses and across the fields. The sheep were rather miffed at having to dig out their breakfast hay, the horses rolled in it, the pigs were delighted at having some new stuff to root in and the cows were taking it all in their stride. But the poor old chickens were most upset. They could not understand what had happened to their world and stood bunched up on the steps to their houses waiting for everything to return to "normal" so they could get on with scratching about and sorting out the universe. It took 24 hours for the thaw to set in and for them to set foot outside. Thank goodness we don't live in the highlands!

On the back of our accountants rather doom-laden prognosis, we decided to take on another market or two... in fact we're now regular attendees at the Outlet Village Farmers Market. It's held every Sunday from 10am - 4pm - come along and see us! We're also offering hot roast pork sandwiches for your lunch (or breakfast... or tea... or elevenses... twelveses... ) It's a long day on top of everything else we do and the jury's out as to whether this is really going to be a good use of our energy.

It was heartwarming to connect with Mike's sister. Mike came to help us a few years ago. He was a tall Yorkshire man who was struggling to get himself back into work and active life after some time of depression. He loved being with the animals and he was a gentle spirit on the farm. He was needing to let go of his car when we last saw him, so we offered him the loan of our pushbike so he could continue to visit when he wanted to which he took... but we didn't see him again and I'd only recently tried to call and see how he was getting along. but the number no longer worked. His sister phoned as she was clearing through some papers from Mike's flat. He passed away recently but had often talked about his visits to the farm and how much he'd enjoyed the opportunity to work with us and be with the animals. She had found papers he'd printed off the internet about the farm and contacted us because she'd guessed the bike also belonged to us. Although we'd not expected to see it again after we lost touch with Mike, it has now returned and it's so encouraging to know that Vowley Farm has again been an important support and guide in the life of a fellow traveller. Rest in Peace Mike.

Do you do Spring Cleaning? I don't... but it is not uncommon at this time of year for me to get the urge to do some tidying and get into a couple of corners that haven't seen a duster for a while. So it was when Will & Christina came to stay this month. Christina is a master of order and she arrived with folders and boxes and "organising tools" to sort my life out! We had a very fun weekend clearing through the piles of paperwork on my desk and putting it in smaller piles and numbered files... we even took a picture of the cleared desk (doesn't look quite so clear right now!)... then we worked our way through the living room and the kitchen... and the dining room... and the conservatory. I ran out of steam and couldn't make it upstairs, but I have strict instructions to follow the procedure all around the house as soon as possible! Needless to say, the first thing I did was lose all my bank cards. That led to a serious sense of humour failure which lasted for a few days, but also meant I couldn't get to the money needed to pay the mortgage this month... who needs to be "tidy"?!