September, 2003

The month started with a celebration our friend Jules said was never going to happen! She & Keith got married on 6th and friends and family gathered together in the paddock for a delightful afternoon of delicious food, laughter, summer sunshine and of course a tipple or three. It was an affair produced in true community spirit where the network of friends and friends of friends brought everything together. Even the horses joined in! One of the first of our pigs was central to the celebration feast and provided a most succulent hog roast. Jules is a good friend to us, a beautiful, generous spirit with a clear sense of self and a big heart. Keith is a gentle man and a most inspiring father to 4 children. Two of them, Amiee and Jessica now live with Jules and Ed (and Keith of course!) and the family is one of great love and enthusiasm for life. We wish them all well.

That weekend was followed by The Natural Horse Gathering which Lorraine played a key organising role through natural HORSEMANSHIP magazine and in co-operation with Lucinda McAlpine at Brackenhill Stud. It was an event designed to bring the "alternative" and "complimentary" horse world together and we enjoyed a splendid summers day packed full of workshops, demonstrations and a wide variety of exhibition stands busy with answers to questions, information and "come and try it" opportunities.

Needless to say, after that, we needed a rest! However, with winter waiting in the wings, there are some things still need doing to prepare the barns for the return of the cows from summer grazing. Alistair arrived with James to dig a drainage hole in the back yard and get things ready to lay concrete which will make it easier to keep things clean this year. With a water table that's so close to the surface, it proved more than a little challenge. However, right now we have a large hole with a plastic drum sunk into it and a new metal grill over the top to stop cows falling in! The water level is currently going up and down of it's own accord, but we hope when the winter comes, we will be able to pump it out and keep the back yard from flooding. Well, nice plan, let's see how it works in practice.

Whilst he was at it, James practiced his angle grinding expertise and chamfered some blocks so we could get on with building the block wall in the barn in readiness for the cold store. Nicky and Martin came and learnt with us about the do's and don'ts of mortar mixing and the trial and error of getting the stuff on the blocks and laying them straight! It would have made good viewing on "Game for a Laugh" (or whatever the latest programme showing funny home video clips is). Whilst trying to get good at weilding a mortar board and trowel, in fact we found it significantly easier to use our hands!!! Well, it's working... only another 80 blocks to go.

And continuing the theme of learning, Lorraine took the opportunity to attend a local organic farm and make some bio dynamic preparations. We used fresh cow manure and put it into cow horn, dandelion flowers picked during the summer were packed into mesentary pouches and chamomile flowers were stuffed into intestine sausages. Previously the group had made two other preparations with yarrow flowers in a stags bladder this had been hung outside during the summer to gather the forces of sun and light and was going to be buried in the earth, along with the other preparations to gather forces of winter. They will be used next year to enliven and strengthen the growing processes in the land and plants. It's this aspect of bio-dynamic farming that interests us. It does not make sense to us to expect life to come from putting dead chemicals or manure on fields and to expect health full, vital animals to grow from eating plants grown from chemicals... and what does that say for the meat, fish, eggs and milk they produce and that we eat? The Agriculture Lectures that Rudolf Steiner gave many years ago, focus on the creating of a healthy, balanced and enlivened soil from which strong and life giving plants can grow. When healthy animals eat grass, herbs, flowers and fruits grown in this way, they benefit from the strong life force present... and when we eat and drink the produce of those animals, we continue to benefit.

Here's to life... have a good month.