September, 2001

As we write, it feels as if progress is being made here and the roots of our lives are beginning to settle.

We visited the Dadley Herd of British White cows and made our selection from those on offer. We would like to place on record our appreciation for the guidance and support of the lady from whom we bought, Nel Matheson. It is a pleasure to do business with people who are straight and "up front" and we are delighted to report that on 13th September 12 British White cattle (4 steers - beef for next year, 4 calves and 4 in calf mums) jumped off the back of the lorry (metaphorically speaking!) and charged full speed to the far end of their new field on our farm. It didn't take long before they were fully settled down and we realised what a big mistake we had made buying cows that all look alike!

One morning Lorraine went to visit the cows and the horses on her usual check to discover that there were no horses in the horses field, but the gate was open. That's a bit of a scary thing to find, especially when we are also looking after friend's horses! It turns out that during the night they must have gone in search of some adventure, or some new playmates... or perhaps they thought the grass was greener on the other side. We found them standing in with the cows - who were quite surprised by this invasion - with the expression of "it wasn't me" on each of their faces. As we trust that for the most part animals will choose what is best for them, we have left them grazing together. The horses at the bottom of the pecking order have discovered new "power" as the cows will move out of their way quite eagerly!

Life with the horses has developed further this month. Mark has been riding almost every day, spurred on by the fact that he was organising and riding in a Classical Dressage clinic with Craig Stevens at the end of the month. Needless to say his riding improved as did his relationship and understanding of Crystal. The clinic was amazing, Craig is a deeply sensitive man with a great insight into the spirit of horse and riding technique which he blends together quite seamlessly. Events at the clinic were not always comfortable to watch, some "tough love" going on at times, but the end results were quite magical and Mark has been invited by Craig to train as an instructor with him.

On that note, we have been doing some "teaching". At the beginning of the month we had a group of friends visit for a picnic day. There was a lot of interest in what we are doing here and we took a group of people to meet the horses and learn by observing what was going on. Mark and Jules (one of our friends who keeps her horse here) have also been teaching some of our younger guests on Mr. Jones and Crystal. So if you're interested in meeting horses and riding in partnership, please give us a call. Things might get a little tough to organise during the winter as our land is too boggy to ride on and our "indoor arena" still isn't... but we'll do our best to work something out.

We have been approached by some people wanting to organise an educational and information exchange week next summer. They are looking for a venue and we are speaking with them about holding it here at Vowley Farm. Access to our farm is down a narrow country lane, so we are negotiating with the farmer who owns the land at the back of our farm to see if he will rent out enough to create the access required. There are several great opportunities with this. Firstly we will be surrounded by information and experts who might be able to help us set up solar/wind power and water recycling on the farm. Secondly it will bring in a goodly lump sum of money. Thirdly, they will give us some tickets to share around to our friends who might be interested. So we have our fingers crossed.

On the farming front and at Max's (our farming consultant) suggestion, we visited a local couple who have created a very successful free range egg and poultry business not far from here. Coincidentally they had also looked at Vowley Farm when it was on the market. We were particularly inspired by their cold store and processing unit they have created out of an old refrigerated trailer. We are exploring the least expensive way to install one of these on our farm 'cos we reckon it will make our beef business easier to manage. Whilst we're still very keen on producing free range eggs etc. we are currently restructuring our barn and hen houses. We are also watching how the geese perform in their role as "fox deterrents". No more visits, but perhaps that's because the cubs have left and hibernation is just around the corner?

On the subject of beef, our boxes continue to wow the public pallet and we're delighted that so many friends have given such overwhelming support to this side of our business. We have been experimenting with beefy luxuries, perhaps for a Christmas market (dare we say it!) and our home made farmhouse pate is wonderful... stop us and buy one!

The hedgerows continue to provide an abundant harvest and Lorraine has busied herself producing blackberry everything. The trouble with home made stuff is that we're eating it as quick as it is produced, but we're hoping to have some available on the market stalls we will be doing this term.

Last but by no means least on the family front, our daughter Emily had her GCSE results at the end of last month... she passed them all, even History, which was the last one of the lot and the one at the end she was least inspired by. She returned to the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley to take her A levels in History of Art, English and Drama.

Our eldest daughter, Anna, lives in London and is working in credit control. She is meeting her targets and also holding down a part time job at a local restaurant, saving her money to buy her first car. The joys of being 19!

It is a delight to watch the unfolding of these young people who we have done our best to guide and support. It's not always been easy for them, or us... We're so proud of them both.