Tag: carrots

Posted in Friesland Farm

Runner beans 😀 a snake and finally some rain 🌧

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday June 1st 2020: There is still a worldwide pandemic going on but life is trying to get back to normal albeit baby steps. John has returned to the bathroom he started 10 weeks ago to finish it off this week, it is still a little difficult getting building supplies but it can be done it just needs planning ahead. He is doing the morning rounds before he goes so that I can get straight on in the veg garden, this is because if I did the animals, by the time I have finished the Sun has moved right round and I am running out of time to get anything sorted 🙄 He will be home in time to do the afternoon rounds, again because it is so hot I would suffer badly having to go out in it every day. It does occur to me that we need to radically change how things are set up but we never seem to work out how is best to do it, you can’t really get instant shade unless you pay a fortune for it, we would need a forest really lol.

I spent the early morning watering the plants that needed doing, poly tunnels, newly sown seeds and pots, then I had time to go round and sort out all the odds and sods I have in pots around he place. Some of them are pot bound, mostly bits I potted up last year and then left to get on with it, I had lovage in a pot and I have now divided into four pieces and potted those up, I had straggly bits of plants here and there, all are for putting out for sale eventually but they need a bit of tlc first. A couple of dog roses I had in pots have now been planted next to a boundary fence that had gaps and I dug up bits that had self set in various places, free plants 😀

Next job was indoors to do a bit of hoovering and polishing, it’s easier when there is only me around plus it stays clean and tidy for a while which is nice. I have so many things to sort out indoors, the spare room now seems to have become a dumping ground as well as the office 😏 I need to have a good clear out I think as there are things I am never going to use just waiting there, just in case 😂

Guess what I just found! My jar of runner beans seeds, I bloody knew I had a jar somewhere 😂 I keep the seeds in the spare room over winter as it’s dry and cool, when I took the rest out I must have left them behind, then I had lots of spare cushions from the old sofa which I had put down the side of the bed and there under them was a jar of runner bean seeds 😜 The first lot I ordered still never turned up and now (unless I have catastrophic failure) I don’t need them 🙄

Sorry for the blur, I was so chuffed to have found them that I didn’t look at the pic I had taken 😂

Foxes are the bane of a chicken keepers life but I had a phone call this morning and heard an awful story of bees killing chickens. A hive was being relocated but apparently they didn’t get all the bees when they moved it, the ones left behind, realising their hive had gone, got angry, swarmed and attacked the hens next door killing three of them, poor hens 🙄

Tuesday: It’s 10am and I have sat down for a coffee, I drink a few cups of coffee in the mornings but usually on the go lol. I woke at 4am did consider getting up, I opened the curtains and the windows then thought it’s perhaps a tad too early and so laid back down and must have fallen asleep waking again at 5, this time I was up and about. First job after breakfasting was to go out and turn on one of the soaker hoses, I decided after poking my finger into various beds that the peas and bean bed would benefit most. While that was watering I picked veg for tonight’s dinner, carrots, the first of the new potatoes, mange-tout and asparagus we are having that with some lamb steaks. I also picked a few stalks of rhubarb and some strawberries, rhubarb and strawberry crumble for dessert 😀 I have chopped the mange-tout up smaller so John doesn’t notice, I also chopped the asparagus and carrots so we are having a ‘medley’ of veg. The rhubarb and strawberry crumble has been tweaked as well with a tiny pinch of vanilla power and some oats in the crumble mixture, I shall await the complaint from John but have decided that if I’m cooking, I’m doing it how I would like it sometimes 😜 I know he will still eat it anyway, he just likes to utter his objections 😂 I had a couple of over ripe bananas (that’s a novelty after weeks of not being able to get any) and so I also made a banana bread loaf with a twist. I substituted an ounce of butter with an ounce of peanut butter and added a few chocolate chips, again John doesn’t like peanut butter but his compulsion to eat cake will be greater 😂 The struggle with fussy eaters is real people, but I’m slowly managing to get him to comply. I am going to marinate my lamb in mint, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, I will do Johns plain, he would have a hissy fit at that and definitely wouldn’t eat it no matter how hungry he was lol.

After the picking and before the prepping and cooking I cleaned out the two rabbit/guinea cages and the quail hut, sorted the horses water and hay and put out some plants for sale at the front. John has gone to work again today but as always did the animals beforehand, after so many weeks off he is more than a little reluctant to go back, and if you know John in the workplace you will also know he is a worker, always loved going to work. He has enjoyed being home much more than he ever thought he would and hasn’t missed work one bit, well maybe a little bit as he does like to chatter, drink tea and get fed cake, with customers 😋

My blood tests all came back normal, yay, that’s the first time in about three months, I am slowly coming down off the steroids and increasing the new medication, next week it will be at full strength. So far it has been ok, I keep getting the sweats but the same thing happened with the methotrexate and eventually it subsided so I’m hoping the same happens with these tablets. At my time of life you would be forgiven for thinking it was menopausal but, and this is a stroke of luck, I was late to the meno, and have had hardly any of the problems that other women suffer with, I’m grateful, I mean there is only so much shit one person can handle and I think I have my fair share already 🙄

After coffee it was time to feed the torts, in weather like this they eat a lot lol, they can easily eat 4 big tomatoes a pepper, half a cucumber and two large handfuls of weeds a day if not more. Normally it would be hotter later in the year and I would have plenty growing to feed them with but this early in the season I have to buy toms, peppers and cues for them. They only really get those as seconds as the first thing they are offered are weeds and leafy greens but not lettuce (well a tiny bit) Their favourites in order of preference go like this, Tomato, peppers, cucumber, dandelion, thistle, garden weeds, aloe vera, ice plant, cabbage. They adore banana and strawberries although both are given in very limited quantities only occasionally as a treat, not so different from humans wanting the goodies all the time 😂 They have pretty much exhausted their forage now coupled with the lack of rain it’s a bit sparse although there is plenty of clover they don’t seem to be that interested in it.

Big Billy
Voldertort

They haven’t had their annual bath yet as the grandchildren normally do it so I’m waiting for the day they can start working again 😜

In the evening we went to Shelleys to have a cuppa in the garden with them but before we left I wanted to get the runner beans watered so I connected up the soaker hose ready to leave running while we were out. I moved a piece of black weed membrane that had blown across where it shouldn’t be and got a right surprise as something slithered across in front of me and dived back under it where I had moved it to. I carefully lifted it up and found a rather large grass snake looking at me 😀 I am quite delighted to see it as it means my little eco system is alive and well although they do eat frogs 😏 and eggs apparently 🙄 I also just read that the females are larger than the males and as this was around 3ft long I’m guessing it was female, and may have eggs in the compost heap 🤪

Did you know?

When threatened by one of its many predators, the grass snake often ‘plays dead’, perhaps making itself less appealing to eat. Predators include badgers, red foxes, domestic cats, hedgehogs and a number of birds; when caught, grass snakes hiss and release a foul-smelling substance from their anal gland. Although they may also strike with the head, they do not bite and are harmless to humans. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/reptiles/grass-snake

Wednesday: Oooo I have had the best of mornings 😀 firstly, it’s about 8/10 degrees cooler today and overcast 😀 secondly, we have had some rain, just a wetting so far nothing much but coupled with the cooler day it will do a little bit of good and I didn’t have to water early this morning. That left me to get on with other things, the bed that I can’t normally get to in sunny weather, I have moved the rhubarb that was there, it was really struggling so I dug it up and out it where we keep the muck ready to go on the garden. Instead I have planted another pumpkin nearby, I had to soak the ground beforehand as it’s rock solid, I put in plenty of well rotted manure, pumpkins are hungry plants, and hopefully it will grow nicely and give plenty of ground cover until I can decide what to do there come autumn. I planted some plum tomatoes in the big tunnel, still a few more to plant but they are still a bit small just yet. I have pottered and hoed and pottered some more 😀

Early this morning I spotted something unusual and thought it was a bee, I took photos and asked online and discovered it was an emerging cinnabar moth, I know what these look like but have never seen one that was just about to unfold itself before. It was a real treat to keep popping back and watching the process 😀

Emerging cinnabar moth
This is when I can see the hard work starting to pay off 😀 #selfsufficiency

Well it’s been kind of raining on and off all day so far, not enough to even start filling the water tanks but enough of a wetting to perk up the veg garden, not enough though to give them a proper soaking so far, I’m hoping that somewhere they are getting a good downpour as it will at least increase the available ground water levels 🙄

Although we are in full swing with the growing season it’s now the time to think about Winter veg sowings, this year I am going to try pak Choi as a winter crop, I thought about peas and broad beans but actually they only arrive a few weeks earlier than a spring sowing so I am undecided on that at the moment. I feel the garlic does much better over winter than spring sowings so will definitely do that again, I haven’t done onions this year and may not bother, leeks are just as useful and I have the perennial onions which I need to increase. I am also going to try forcing some rhubarb next spring for early, sweeter stalks, not all the plants but maybe two of them, never done it before it will be new and exciting to me 😀 Now is also the time to start preparing any beds, where the crops will soon be lifted, for next year, plenty of rotted manure on them and plenty of cover, though I have not decided what to use for that yet as the weed membrane gets ripped to bits but the wind. I did consider sewing the edges so it doesn’t happen 🙄

Thursday: Altogether a much cooler day ahead and I for one am grateful. We didn’t get anywhere near enough rain for anything but to perk up what is already growing, we still have some on the horizon for tomorrow but I think this years growing is going to be more difficult as we haven’t even got to the summer months fully yet 🙄 With the knowledge that we are only in June and it’s already a challenge I set about looking for an eco friendly weed suppressant, I found bio degradable mulch film, this will suppress weeds but also trap moisture in the ground for the plants to make use of, it can then be dug in at the end of the season. I have to weigh up the fors and against in costs, watering and the time spent watering and weeding versus the cost of the material. I will see how it goes and how cost effective it is.

As I said yesterday I am already planning for autumn/winter growing and this morning I have sown purple sprouting broccoli, one of the best hungry gap fillers you can get. I have also sown radishio (chicory) which will give a crop well into late autumn under cover and I have sown more dwarf beans and peas to extend the season, if the weather is favourable I should get a second crop. There is still plenty you can sow at the moment although space is obviously an issue as existing crops are still taking up space. One of the experiments I am pleased with is a tub of brassica leaves. I had a lot of seeds for cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower and I don’t have space in the garden for rows and rows of individual plants so I sprinkled them in compost in an old recycling box and will pick the leaves as needed, you don’t need to wait for them to get to their usual form they are edible as they are, tasty young leaves.

In the afternoon I had a look over the three rows of swede, turnip and beetroot I sowed a few weeks back, the beetroot are doing ok, the swede have a long way to go yet and hopefully with some rain they will swell eventually but the turnips are like bullets 🙄 so I will cut my losses pull them up, give the tops to the rabbits and re sow with something else I think.

When I took some of the the tops to the rabbits I could hear cheeping from the light Sussex pen, we have chicks, well at least one anyway, I went and got some chick crumb and a small drinker to put in and hopefully in a few days time they will all be running around in there. I took a photo and you can just about see a tiny beak if you zoom in close enough.

I made some garlic bread before going out to do the turnips, I hadn’t intended on doing them but just started weeding and pottering away, completely forgetting that the bread was in the oven 😜 luckily I remembered in time and I didn’t burn it 😅

The garlic that had been drying needed dealing with, it won’t store and if I leave it too long it will start trying to grow again and when you get a green shoot in garlic it makes it bitter. I peeled about 6 heads and have stored them in oil, I get two things, ready available garlic cloves and of course garlic infused olive oil to use 😀

Friday: Again, once John has done the morning rounds, it’s me on me tod here, I was enjoying lockdown with him home and hopefully he won’t book too much work in 😜 The weather, yes it’s always about the weather, is colder and pretty windy to boot 🙄 honestly couldn’t we just have a little something in-between blazing hot days and cold windy days not even any wet days to compensate. It is a least cold enough to let the plants make use of any watering I do, in the heat it was as much as they could manage to just keep going I think so with this cooler spell they should put on good growth, that’s if the wind doesn’t knock them back too much. I spent a pleasant hour or so sorting out my plant labels, the little white stick type, I have tried wooden ones but the writing runs or they rot very quickly so the next best thing is to keep re using what I have already. As the year goes on I tend to toss them into a tub and have to spend ages searching through for what I need, now they are all bagged up in their various cultivars so I should be able to access what I want quickly. I watered the big tunnel and went round securing anything that had the potential to fly in this wind, I don’t want plants to start getting broken by flying buckets etc. The three rows of carrot and one of beetroot I sowed last week have started to emerge, I am happy about that as carrot seems to be hit and miss over the last couple of years I don’t know why. With that in mind I looked up the Moon phase to see what is best sown now, we have a full moon tonight and the next phase is suited to sowing root crops and doing cuttings and division as the sap is pulled down, it’s all about the ebb and the flow just like the oceans. I will try and get some more root crops sown and I have just taken cuttings of one of my dahlias to see how that goes.

It’s early Saturday afternoon and we at last have rain 🌧 a decent enough amount so far to penetrate the soil 😀 happy me, happy vegetable garden.

This mornings work consisted of cutting back a few bits that had gone to seed such as the winter spinach and sorrel in fact I pulled up the spinach stumps and have sown some salad turnips and spring onions in there instead and late yesterday I sowed some bulb fennel in the bed next to it that had garlic in it. I also did a bit of picking, there was quite a bit really considering it’s early in the year and we have not had much rain. I pulled all the early carrots that were in the polytunnel, we have been eating them when needed but I decided to get them all up, some are now chopped and in the freezer, some in a pan along with peas and asparagus for dinner later. I picked mange-tout and pod peas, some baby beetroot, Swiss chard, and some self set potatoes, not a bad little haul for the day.

I have done a little bit of dividing up of a couple of plants, one lot were the primroses from the beginning of the year, I now have three new pots of them as well as the original three and a plant I picked up at the garden centre for half price has now been divided into four, a Tiarella, hardy perennial, spring flowering. I will put them aside to get going and I will have plenty of new plants to either sell on or fill my flower beds with 😀 As I’m typing, it is still raining 😀 I’m hoping it will at least half fill the water tanks, that would be a bonus, oh it’s raining harder also most hammering down 😀 I know I should be careful what I wish for but 🤪

Whoo hoo lovely jubbly, early evening and we have had some pretty heavy downpours, this will not only fill the water tanks , water the garden but also swell the ground water which is the most useful of all for the bigger trees 😀

It’s Johns birthday tomorrow and I have made a batch of blueberry muffins, we are hoping to have a socially distanced afternoon tea with the children and grandchildren, I have scones and sandwiches to make tomorrow, Charlie is making birthday cake, Shelley is bringing crisps and dips and Samantha is making pavlova so I think with some beers or Prosecco we have things covered 😀 just hope its dry 🤣🤣

Tonight’s job was to move the hens from the pen back to the paddock at the back and hope that the fox has found other quarry. The sunset tonight was magnificent, you will have to take my word for it as I didn’t have my phone so couldn’t get a pic but the sun was fiery orange and the billowy clouds were all different hues of stormy grey, the sun rays were streaming through the clouds, lol I wish I had got a picture now.

The hen with the pecked bum has now fully recovered and she has a fluffy bottom again and so she has gone back out with the batch we moved. Q

Sunday: Johns birthday 🍰 even when it’s your birthday there are still jobs to be done, I had set Alexa to play Happy Birthday at 6.25 and then forgot all about it until she starting up this morning, in a sleep daze I thought ‘ what the heck is going on’ 😂 We got up had breakfast and then out to do the feeding, watering, letting out and collect the duck eggs. I then went into the garden to get a few things done, the good thing about the rain is that it means I don’t have to water and so can do other things for a change instead. My brother had given me lots of big pots he no longer wanted and I spent some time potting bigger plants on. I have a Nandina (heavenly bamboo) that has been struggling for a couple of years, when I got it out of the pot the drainage holes were blocked and so I made some more, took away some of the old compost from around the roots and repotted it with some fresh compost, hopefully it will begin to pick right up now. I have two box balls that I grew from tiny plants that also needed repotting and freshening up as they have been struggling, those are now done and had a trim. A tamarisk tree in a pot that other things have self seeded alongside (foxgloves and verbena) has also had a clear out and some new compost, the foxgloves and verbena have been potted up to go out for sale once they establish. A strawberry tree that was in a broken pot (didn’t hold water very well🙄) is now in a new pot and should perk up quickly.

My sister and brother in law called in mid morning and we had coffee in the garden which was lovely, the weather has improved massively today and so it was very pleasant. When they went I made a batch of scones ready for afternoon tea later, as long as the rain holds off I think we will have a socially distanced afternoon tea picnic in the front paddock 😀

That’s where I will leave for this week, I can then enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening helping the birthday boy to celebrate. Have a great week and as always stay safe x x

Posted in Friesland Farm

Glorious days, another rabbit & work, work, work.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 23rd March 2020: I have had the best day of the year so far lol, the sun has shone beautifully, it was warm and I have spent a day as happy as the pig in the proverbial 😀 After getting the morning rounds done we set about sorting out the tractor and chains to drag the back paddock, so I spent the morning driving the tractor up and down until it was done. We did get stuck in a particularly poached area but got out of it pretty quickly. After that we took down the fence between the little paddock and the back paddock so that we could get the hen hut through and into the back paddock and the front chickens will move to here once it is ready, we put the fence back up and went in for some lunch. After lunch we got the ride on mower out and I spent the afternoon riding around on the mower cutting the grass in the front paddock. Later still in the afternoon John did the feed rounds and I went into the greenhouse to do the watering and then indoors to make some dinner. I love driving the tractor and would happily spend hours pooltling around on it providing the weather is just right. I say we of course because John is at home and we are self isolating, just as well as I had a call from the doctor to take me off my meds as my white cells have dropped again which means I am very susceptible to infection so we are taking this social distancing very seriously. We can of course chat over the gate providing we stand well clear and have had a few chats with egg customers as they arrive at 4 to get eggs.

Right now I’m wishing we had hundreds of chickens to sell as the calls and messages I have had to see if we have any is unprecedented, every one thinks they have had an original thought, they haven’t, everyone is after them 😜

Tuesday: Another lovely day and a day spent doing plenty of jobs around the place. With the morning rounds done John went up the back to put up electric fencing ready to move the hens up there tonight, give it a clean out, put in clean bedding and get the water on, meanwhile I got the outdoor quail house ready to move them outside again tomorrow. I did a bit of muck shovelling in the muck pile and then into the garden. I have planted out some of the seedlings that were growing in the greenhouse, normally they would have been sown straight into the ground but it was so wet I didn’t bother, I now have a couple of rows of swede and turnips planted up and covered so the hens don’t eat them, I also got some of the dwarf broad beans planted out. As I said I will aim to grow as much as possible this year and while I was looking around I realise I have lots of space to be able to do this so I need to crack on 😜 Tomorrow I will sow carrot seeds, I did a batch in the tunnel and they grew but then something ate them 😏 The other seeds are beginning to sprout, radish and lettuce, sow, sow, sow is the mantra for this year.

In the afternoon I gave the front paddock a second, lower cut, the plan is to wait until the grass clippings die off and then move the geese back there to keep it short. John power washed the POL pen (his favourite job for some reason 🙄) and then it was time to get the eggs collected and ready for sales at 4pm. This has become a less frantic affair but still brisk with a constant coming and going of cars. We have put precautions in place, the honesty box has a bag inside so we don’t need to touch the money just take the bag out, the eggs are put out and then we step away from the gate but monitor it so that people only take a dozen lol who knew it would come to this.

Then it was time to turn on the tv for updates and get the dinner, then at dusk out to load up 46 hens and move them to their new des res in the back paddock.

A pheasant and a partridge wandered up into the farmyard while we were sat out there earlier.

Shelley drove over to get some eggs and some hay for their rabbit, of course the children couldn’t get out of the car and so I spoke to them from a distance through the open window, when it was time for them to go Josh started crying, it’s heartbreaking not to be able to hug your grandchildren, I know it’s temporary and I want to still be here next year so for now it just has to be, but it’s hard 😢

Wednesday: It’s lunchtime and we are beginning to forget what day it is as they all seem like ground hog days 🤣 not complaining though as we have more than enough to keep us busy. I did some washing and a bit of cleaning this morning while John did the morning rounds, then I went onto getting some paperwork sorted and some bills paid, I think John was cutting more wood 😂 then it was time to get the tractor out again for a bit more dragging. I love sitting on there with the sun shinning and the smell of the Diesel engine 😜 with that finished I then went to water the greenhouse and plants I put in yesterday and hang out the washing while John took apart a fence that is all but knackered. We discussed putting it back up but have no nails to do the job and the local hardware yard is closed 😏 The greenhouse is taking a bit of managing at the minute as the temps are going right up into the 30s but at night they plummet and at the weekend we are forecast much colder weather, it’s a balancing act that takes a bit of experience but I hope I’m winning.

Oh man, it’s 7.30pm and we have just come in after an afternoon and evening of some hard graft. We moved the second hen house and all the electric fencing, plenty of jobs in between, putting the torts away, I am getting them outside in the morning and putting them away overnight while it’s still cold, get the washing in, wash the dogs, collect the eggs, feed the birds, light the Rayburn and then at dusk try rounding up chickens that are not quite sure where they are going. The chickens that we put up the back, although we left them in for longer today, decided that they wanted to go back home, well about 10 of them anyway. Overnight they are in their old hut but in the morning we will put them in a stable for a ‘reset’ these are the delinquents that always get out and into my garden, they will go back up to the back after about a week and we hope they stay there. The ones in the side paddock got out when we moved the electric netting and we left them to have a good wander but then it was time to start rounding them up 🙄 Cue John and two border collies that have never been taught to round up, although they have a bit of a natural instinct they are more hinder than help. In the end John resorted to rugby tackles 😂 diving on them and eventually we got them all in. At some point today we also moved the geese back to the front paddock as they were harassing the escaped hens. If we have walked around the paddock once we have walked around 20/30 times so I won’t be joining in the Joe Wicks PE lessons online. My back aches 😜 We also had a delivery of another rabbit, now I know it’s necessary trips only but I had promised the chap I would have it when it was old enough and, it’s a long story but his rabbits have been doing what rabbits do (the male is now neutered) but I didn’t want him left with offspring that potentially could start the process again so now we have a little boy rabbit, who is living separately from the girls I hasten to add. I will have a proper look at him tomorrow and FaceTime the grandchildren to get a name for him.

Meet Spotty Scar rabbit 🤔

Thursday: Another fabulous day weather wise and I have had probably the peak of best days this week, I was driving the tractor to drag one of the paddocks (my fave job anyway) and I saw a herd of around 20 deer in the next field. They stayed there for ages and in the end I went and got my camera to take a few shots, as we are in a bit of a valley I could only see them while sat on the tractor 😂 so I was trying to multitask lol. If I can get the pics from my camera onto my iPad (long story) they should appear below. As for the rest of the day it was pretty much business as usual, do the rounds multiple times a day, sow some carrot seeds, a bit of watering for newly planted stuff. I uncovered a raised bed and found loads of self set potatoes trying to grow, that’s a bonus so I will leave them in situ. John cut a bit more wood, we have never had the wood stash so big at this time of year. We had to fix the door on the quail hut but once we had done that we moved them outside to enjoy the sunshine. I can’t remember what else we have done today but it was a day full of things getting done which is great.

We went outside at 8pm to show our gratitude to the NHS not really expecting to hear anything or to be heard as we are quite far away from anyone BUT I could hear cheering and clapping from the village which was amazing 😀😀😀🇬🇧🇬🇧 we salute you NHS workers and all the workers that are busy keeping our country going during difficult times.

What day is it lol, oh yes Friday: Again a beautiful day and we made the most of it. We did the morning rounds and then I did some watering in the greenhouse, moved the torts outside and then onto dragging the last of the paddocks that need doing. We just have a few poached areas that need going over once they have fully dried out but apart from those it’s all done.

Charlie called in first thing she had picked up my prescription from the chemist and some antibacterial wipes as I could only get a little handbag pack when the rush started. We need them to wipe down handles on the egg shed and then the gates as we come back in.

I was now free to get on in the garden so I have sown two more small raised beds of carrots, you can never have enough carrots 🥕 I watered all the things I have recently sown, and I potted on 36 geranium plug plants, I don’t even remember ordering them but I probably got them to sell on. Most things are going well but we are due a cold snap this weekend, after that I’m hoping the temps climb back up so that things progress with a bit of speed. I also picked a large picking of purple sprouting broccoli which we will eat tonight with a piece of beef I got out, last night I made a pear and blackberry (fruit I froze last year) sponge pudding and we ate half, the other half will be eaten tonight. Meanwhile John has been cleaning his van 🙄 this does not get done often and so has taken a good few hours.

Around 2pm we had an amazing family FaceTime appointment with our niece Evie so that we could sing happy birthday to her, a cacophony is what I would call it but all good fun 😀🎂 This is how birthdays will be for a while.

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting the Rayburn ready to light and getting the dinner prepped for later, doing the egg collecting and feeding rounds, I think we are going to have a bit of a shock with the temps tomorrow so we have enjoyed cups of tea sat in the sun today. Luckily at this time of year I can tolerate a bit of sunshine though I still try not to over do it.

Benny the cat has decided that this spot is the best place to soak up the warmth, it a bit tricky trying to get out of the door and not stepping on him mind you 😜

Blue skies 😀
Purple sprouting broccoli

Saturday: A cold wind today but the sun was still shinning this morning though those lovely few days we have had will quickly become a memory. We did the morning rounds and then I came indoors to hoover through, polish, clean the bathroom etc and then make a lemon drizzle cake. John spent a good couple of hours washing and jet washing his van which was filthy. He is now jet washing the hard standing, everything will be jet washed by the time this is over 🤣

How are you all getting on spending rather more hours a day with your loved ones than you normally would 🙄 It hasn’t been tooooo bad here although John questions everything I do which is rather annoying considering I do these things all day every day by myself normally. We have had to have words, I say we, of course I mean I 😜 It has become apparent that the dogs bark at everything John does from jet washing to chain sawing to even just putting on his wellies and coat in the mornings, and not just one bark but a constant bloody annoying stream of them! I don’t know why this is as they don’t do it with me, he seems oblivious to it but it’s getting on my nerves. This morning was the final straw, John was jet washing the van the dogs are constantly barking so eventually I went and got them in, only find that they are filthy as they have been playing in the water. Remember I only washed the dogs the other day as the weather had dried up and they should stay fairly clean……😏 not only that but I then had to shut them in the boot room wet and dirty and I had cleaned all that the other day to for the same reasons 🤬 So an explanation was given as to why I was a tiny bit peed off, I don’t understand why he can’t think these things through for himself. The other thing that is annoying is him asking me to do stuff, stuff that I would normally just have to get on with by myself as a general rule, I don’t shout and ask someone to open the gate for me if I am going through with things in my hand because there is only me here normally but John seems to think that it’s ok for me to stop what I am doing and go open the gate for him, no, no it’s not, do it yourself 😝 I’m sure by the end of this we will have ironed out all the little irritable things, either that or we won’t be speaking to each other much if at all 😂 On a good note he has learnt to use the washing machine, it was just to wash his work towels and dust sheets but it’s a start, it does seem however that no one ever taught him what a peg was for 😂 once his towels ended up on the floor instead of the line he worked it out 🤔 Back to the bugbears and one is food, how much food do you actually want to eat for goodness sake 🤣 I’m having to ration some bits! We are not living in normal times and eating whatever you want because you can get more is not an option at the moment, rant over 🤐

What is everyone missing during this lockdown? Obviously I miss seeing my children and especially my grandchildren 😢 I hope we get to spend some time together in the summer months. Other than that there is not much I miss except being able to spontaneously go out for breakfast or coffee and cake, it will seem like a luxury when life gets back to normal. In a weird way I have got the life I wanted, almost, I mean John is at home a lot and so we are able to get jobs done, not just packing them in at the weekend depending on the weather and on top of that there is no sport for him to sit and watch 🤣 happy days. At the moment all my family are fit and well, let’s hope that doesn’t change 😏 Of course we are luckier than a lot of people as we have a few acres to wander round and plenty of outdoor jobs to do, no need for specific online exercise classes here, I really feel for those that are in flats or apartment blocks as that must be very long days. I wonder if we will really learn to appreciate the freedom that we normally have in the end, I hope so. John, I imagine, is missing people, people to talk to lol, he is much more sociable than I am, he is that bloke who will strike up a conversation with you while you are stood in a queue, make a passing comment while out shopping in the hopes that someone wants to chat, he probably spends most of his ‘normal’ days talking to anyone and everyone so I imagine it’s more difficult for him than me. I am the type who, when stood in a queue would look the other way if I thought someone wanted to chat 🤣 I’m not rude, I would never ignore someone if I got caught off guard and they starting talking anyway it’s just how I am. We definitely are the ‘chalk and cheese’ in so many ways it’s hilarious really.

Sunday: Cor blimy guvnor that is a cold wind today especially after last weeks lovely warm temps 😜 we did the usual morning stuff and then guess what job John opted for? Yep, jet washing 🙄 this time it’s the front hit that we just moved the hens out of, I told you he is obsessed with jet washing everything 😂 I did a bit of pricking out in the greenhouse and some water I g but to be honest it was pretty cold so I only did an hour. We went and dropped some eggs off at Charlie’s door, did a knock and run lol, then went down to Mums to check her greenhouse and water the things in there. I’m not sure how much longer we will be able to move about, the police now have powers to stop and question people but we were going from a to c via b and didn’t have any contact with anyone. It perhaps was not a necessity as far as world health is concerned to water mums plants but I’m sure it is to her as she had not planned on getting stuck in Spain during a worldwide lockdown 😏

There was a post on Facebook about food security and the fact that imports are being held up or stopped and where that will leave us as a country. My thoughts are and always have been that we need to be more self reliant as a country, this is why I am always banging on about growing your own or if that is not possible buying seasonal/local/British. Watching a programme on tv about food in Istanbul, I mentioned to John about how bad our diet is here, it really is atrocious when you look at other countries especially the Mediterranean ones, our supermarkets are overloaded with junk and people think it’s normal to dish up this rubbish for dinner 🙄 I know it’s difficult to get people to change habits, I have tried so many times with John, but we really ought to take this opportunity to eat what is grown here. These days we can grow a much bigger variety of produce than we could 50 years ago so it doesn’t have to be boring you just need to jump track and inject some imagination.

I’m pretty tired and sluggish today, I think it’s the cold lol, my average body temperature at the moment is 35.5 so only half a degree off hypothermic 🙄 the low white cells added into the mix probably isn’t helping either so I haven’t really done much else in the way of work.

Stay safe everyone x

Posted in Friesland Farm

Jammin, not the musical kind 😜

Posted on by frieslandfarm

I decided to change the theme layout of the blog this week to keep,you on your toes 😋

Monday 2nd September: Oooo we are proper rolling into Autumn now. Dad and Sue enjoyed their week and did some helpful jobs around the place, mowing, picking, weeding etc John was off as well and got a few jobs done, not ones that were on my list for him mind you!

It turned out that mostly, the plums on the Victoria tree were fine so I have been picking those, some were stoned and frozen for winter use and this morning I have made some jars of jam. I love the colour of Victoria jam, a beautiful jewel colour and you know Autumn is just around the corner when you can start the blackberry picking in earnest.

I like whole fruit jams rather than jelly, the latter is made by cooking the fruit then straining it overnight through a jelly bag to get the liquid, if you like seedless then that’s what you would do but firstly I can’t be bothered with the faff and I rather like to use all of the fruit, with the exception of apple, I’m not keen on the texture and so apple jelly is altogether nicer in my opinion.

I have still been regularly picking tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beetroot, runner beans, carrots, courgettes, raspberries and hybrid blackberries, I keep testing the grapes for sweetness and they are almost ripe, the melons are doing nicely and the pumpkins and spaghetti squash are beginning to ripen.

Last week I dug up my blueberries and repotted them, they have not done well where they are, I don’t know why, but time to move them and see if I can get a better crop from them. This is the time of year to sort out the strawberry beds and so that is on the to do list as are a hundred and one other jobs lol, seed collection, dividing and a bit of planning for next year.

I made a ‘chuck it in’ sauce for the freezer, I used courgette, tomato, celery, garlic, onion, green pepper, carrot, oregano, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. I used what I had that was ripe and ready or needed using up, no particular quantities just what I had available, the tomatoes were blanched and skinned but apart from that everything else was just chopped and chucked, I sweated it off with a bit of avocado oil and then it will simmer gently down in its own juices. With all that in there it can’t fail to taste good, each different batch would of course taste slightly different but I will freeze it and use it for pasta or even as a base for soup in the winter. I always freeze, I have never got round to thinking about canning on a serious level though I probably should some day.

Tuesday: One of the first jobs this morning was to re boil the jam as it didn’t set! Pain in the bum as all the jars need re sterilising etc, it’s done now and looks like a set has been reached, I did throw a lemon in with it to help it on its way. I have a feeling that the fruit has a lot more water content this year than previous years as too much liquid seems to be the problem. I am going to Swindon with Shelley this morning so I will look for a new thermometer as the bubble keeps separating in mine which can’t help much either 🙄

I still have this ridiculous cough, I had it all week while Dad and Sue were here, it is getting better but slowly, last night I was up two or three times and consequently am tired already today and it’s only 9am 😏

While I was in Swindon Mum was here working away on the strawberry bed, I have strawberries all over the place and they need consolidating, the bed also needed raising as the slugs were getting most of them as they were trailing on the floor. This is the right time of year to sort out the strawberries and thin out any old ones and use the new runners as fresh plants.

Wednesday: Rain overnight which is good because the garden needed a sprinkle 😀 I am making more jam this morning 😜 plenty of berries to be picked at the moment and this is mainly blackberry but there are a few raspberries, mulberries, blueberries and a couple of cherries in there too so this is a mixed fruit jam.

This time of year is packed with preparing and storing the harvest, berries, top fruit, veg, nuts it’s an abundant time of year and a busy one. I have a basket full of tomatoes to do something with not quite sure what yet maybe soup, you can’t beat some fresh tomato soup in the depths of winter.

The hens are laying very well now and we have an abundance of eggs 🤪 I also have some pears to use up and when I see the words ‘one bowl, no fuss’ that’s a recipe I know I’m going to love so I made a cinnamon spiced pear cake.

We went over to my brothers after dinner as John had to pipe up a couple of radiators for him, when we got back it had rained again and it felt decidedly wintery 😏 so a good mug of hot chocolate was in order, soon be Hygge time again 😀

Thursday: Sunny but chilly this morning, looks like it will be a nice day though so I got some washing on first thing. Slight problem with that at the moment as a spider has taken up residence in the wash basket 🙄 I tentatively pull clothing out knowing that any minute a 10ft hairy eight legged monster is going to leap out at me 🤪

The wildlife is still abundant round here, each morning when I open the side door around 20/30 sparrows are startled and start flying from bush to bush, it’s quite a sight. They appear to be feeding on the ground in the gravel at the front so bang goes my notion to weedkiller it at the end of the month, I am not really sure what to do, leave it all to grow and mow it?

I watched John for five minutes trying to catch an escaped chicken in vain on his way to his van this morning, I could have gone out and helped but it was much more fun to spectate 😂

Not sure what I am going to do today, that’s the beauty of this place and my life, I can decide in a moment ‘to do or not to do’ I write that glibly as very often a situation arises that needs sorting or something comes up that really can’t wait.

The rabbits and guinea are still on their green diet, I have not bought a bag of hard feed since way back in spring, nor should it be necessary really with all the forage there is available. The kittens are doing well and are right at home here now, we have seen a lot less of them this week mind as Alfie (Sams dog) has been staying and he, for the want of a better word, is a tit 😬 continually chasing the birds, horse, cats, anything that might move and give him a game, the kittens, quite sensibly stay out of the way when he is around. I am keeping a close eye on the torts, they will begin to eat less now the heat has gone out of the ground, they will wind down until it’s time for them to sleep for the winter. If you think about it, it’s half a life, the sensible half mind you in the warmth of Spring and Summer 😀 Everything else is doing well, the three remaining turkeys are growing and occasionally make that gobbling noise which is funny to hear, the light Sussex are getting to the point where we will have to do what was intended with them 🙄 the laying hens are laying well and we have plenty of eggs available every day, just the young ducks that are slacking and still have not produced a single egg between them yet 😏

I went out and did a bit of picking, mainly courgettes 😂 they grow like weeds! I don’t even eat them but they sell well and if they get too big the chickens love them 😀 I had a pot of agapanthus that came from Johns Mums and it was well and truly pot bound so I have divided it up into about seven new plants, now is a good time to do it, when they have gone over agapanthus need deadheading and feeding for six weeks according to Monty Don so splitting them and putting them into fresh compost will serve them well hopefully.

The wind is still cold and I feel a bit tired today which in turn makes me despondent 😭 gets me wondering, why I am doing all this, what/who am I doing it for? Shall I cut back massively but I know it’s just today and tomorrow if it’s warm and I feel good I will be back on track 😀 When we started this journey the Lupus was not even on the radar and I was used to hard graft, in our previous house I had not only dug out the footings for a very large extension with only a jack hammer to aid me but completely transformed a large mostly lawned garden into a wonderful space with interest and abundance. The garden was opened once a year for viewing to aid a local charity and that meant being on top of things all the time, when we moved here the momentum to achieve something great was intensified but year by year it waned until I was so poorly that my system completely collapsed and another chapter in my life began, living with Lupus 🙄 However, I am not and never have been a quitter, always in it for the long haul and I still am but days like these when I am too tired to motivate myself leave me wondering, how about a small house and garden, lots of holidays and free time lol.

I found a little bit of energy later in the afternoon to do the egg collecting and feeding and a few other little jobs, the sun was shinning and the wind had dropped so it was quite lovely outside. Part of the tiredness is a this bloody stupid cough I have got, I have to sleep practically sitting up and wake up coughing a couple of times a night so it’s no wonder really but it is getting slowly better.

Friday: We were up late and so it was me doing the animal rounds this morning, John has been doing it for ages and doing a sterling job. I’m not complaining 🙄 about his routine but……the birds have been getting away with murder, well not murder exactly 😜 but they have been left to become a bit delinquent, so this morning I reigned in some control 😮 Not just let out to run wild but kept in to eat and drink before being let out to run wild 😂

Then onto a good few hours work in the fruit cage, pruning, cutting back, trying to dig up stinging nettles, until my legs felt like jelly, I haven’t done that much hard work for a long while 😀

I had to reach into the back of the wardrobe this afternoon, no door to Narnia in there but there was a long woolly cardi with my name on it 🥶 I can’t quite believe that just over two weeks ago the temperatures were so high, it’s like a roller coaster ride, slow ride to the top then whooosh we are hurtling headlong into Winter in a split second, that’s a temperate climate for you, bloody temperamental it should be called 😏 Now I am sporting a very fetching look of long cardigan with my gillet over the top for no other reason than I love my gillet and can’t let go of it just yet 🤣

Saturday: More work in the fruit cage and Mum came to help so we got it all done, looks a whole lot tidier and more manageable now, I have put a fair bit of weed membrane down on the side that is troubled with stinging nettles and bindweed I fed all the raspberries in the pots, I was going to put them in the ground but that’s a whole lot of work and they spread like crazy so I decided to leave them in the pots and look after them a bit better 😜 I harvested a load of carrots, I intend to make some tomato soup so will need some for that but the rest will be prepped for the freezer. Then I picked some blackberries and open froze them for using later and then a sandwich and a sit down, got to conserve energy as I have Josh and Flo this afternoon and overnight while Shelley and Martin go to a wedding lol, and we are taking the kids with us to an 18th birthday bbq 🤪

Sunday: Pretty much a non day for me on the smallholding, I stayed over at Shelleys with the grandchildren last night so John was in charge all day 😀

Posted in Friesland Farm

Found me Mojo, the kittens explore & ‘crappy to happy’

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 8th July: John is at home today and so he did the morning rounds and then went off to get feed, it meant that I could get straight on with the job of the day, housework 😜 not just a quick flick of the duster and a whizz with the hoover but strip the sofa covers and bed covers and wash them all then hoover and polish everything to within an inch of its life. This was it, I had committed myself and taken the plunge 🙄 I only actually managed the bathroom, living room and bedroom fully before feeling exhausted, those sofa covers are heavy and cumbersome and hard work, the kitchen got a hoover and a wipe round and the floor washed and there is still the boot room and office to do but they can wait until another day. Around lunchtime because that was enough housework for anyone lol, I prepped, blanched and open froze, the carrots, broad beans, turnip, peas and potatoes that I picked yesterday and didn’t use for dinner last night. Potatoes are something I haven’t frozen before so I did a bit of reading up about it, but as John pointed out chips come frozen so they should be fine. I wanted to use them all as I ran out halfway through winter last year and then had to buy them from the shop although by that time I did have a bucket full of small ones all sprouting like they do. The bigger potatoes are safely in dark potato bags hanging in the boot room but if I did that with the tiny ones I know I wouldn’t use them so pre preparing them and freezing them will guarantee they will get used.

John has been busy as well, he is preparing the floor in the front chicken hut for concreting, we did have wood down but the rats would chew through it and eventually it became hard to clean everyday, hopefully the concrete will be much easier, although rats can still chew through it, it’s less likely 🙄

The weather is not bad today, sometimes over cast and sometimes sunny spells, great for getting those covers dry, we are forecast a spot of rain around 4pm but I won’t be holding my breath.

The kittens have been given free range out the back and I have seen them outside on the grass, they are also getting on really well with the dogs, all walking around in the boot room together with no problems, this is a first for us as usually, cat sees dog, cat runs, dog chases cat, cat leaps up high out of the way, dog sits there all day with stupid anticipation that cat will come down again for another round of chase 🤪 so, long may this new behaviour last 😉

In the afternoon we watched a bit of Wimbledon and then after dinner I went out to do some watering and picked some raspberries.

Tuesday: John was up early today and he had done all the animals before I got up, result 😀 I did have to pick for the rabbit/guineas and the torts but that’s part of weeding anyhow 😜 I did some hoeing and a bit of tidying up then picked some more blackcurrants, some to put out for sale, some to freeze for winter puddings.

I ordered a cherry ‘bush’ this is new on the market and is a bush rather than a tree, it can be kept at 5ft so my plan is to have it inside the fruit cage that way I might, just might get cherries 😀

Moving plants, that I have either grown from seed or cutting or divided, around, I realised I have got to town and now have far more than I had envisaged lol, I need to sell a few more I think.

I had Mia for a short while in the afternoon while Sam went and did a few things. We cleaned the decking area and washed the glass table top, well if you have free child labour might as well use it 😜 afterwards we had a ‘juice break’ and sat at the nice clean table.

I had a klutz moment while collecting the eggs this afternoon, I didn’t lift my leg quite high enough to get over the poultry netting and it got caught, to prevent myself for falling I quickly put the other foot on the fencing as well, unfortunately I was very close to a fence stake (these are flexible plastic stakes) which immediately bent towards me with pace and caught me just under the ear and behind the jaw bone, you know the place where you check to see if your tonsils are inflamed, I hate moments like that they make you want to cry, not so much from the fleeting pain but sheer stupidity.

I have found my flexibility is back to rusty since finishing the steroids, I don’t know what it is about them that helps so much, I guess without them there is still inflammation making tasks more difficult, I am back to doing the shuffle sometimes when getting under things rather than being able to bend low enough and gracefully scoot🙄

Wednesday: John was up early again and did the rounds so I got on with picking and watering, raspberries, artichoke and French beans today.

This morning while wandering round the garden I made the unhappy discovery that the fox had got one of my light Sussex hens, she had laid an egg in my flower bed so I’m guessing was there when the fox got her, I have no idea when during the day that was though, it must have been they day before.

Mum came over and turned a scrappy (from crappy to happy is what I am calling it )bit of garden into something lovely 😊

Some of the potatoes are collapsing and the lack of any water means I am constantly trying to revive them so today I dug one lot up, it means I won’t have any to store for winter, except self setters, but hey ho, needs must.

In the evening I did more watering lol

Thursday: We had a sprinkle of rain overnight and it really was just a sprinkle but it will perk things up a bit. Again John was up early and had the animals all done, not sure what has got into him but I’m not complaining 😀

I went into the garden and planted one of the new buddliea I bought, into the ground, it is a pink one and I have positioned it in front of the torts fence, I also planted a Mock Orange bush in the planter where potatoes normally grow as I could do with a bit of extra shade in that part of the garden. It is a big planter, a crate actually like the ones building stone or slates come in so it will easily accommodate a large bush. It is difficult getting stuff into the ground here because of the brash, when I say difficult I mean bloody hard digging so if there is another way I’m all for it 😀

I also chopped down all the weeds and stingers that have grown up in front of the compost area, I couldn’t get to it at all and now I need access as I begin to clear things away once they have gone over, I had piles of trimmings around the place and so cleared them and threw them on the compost heap.

I am a bit reluctant to clear up too much as the increase in the insects has been huge, by leaving unkempt areas, hundreds and hundreds of ladybirds 🐞 I see my little frog everyday and presume it’s the same one but it may be many 😀 I hope so they will help keep the slugs down.

Leaf cutter bee activity

Cinnabar caterpillar

One insect I have noticed seems to be rampant this year is the earwig, they were everywhere, I say were as they have now moulted and their shed skins are all over the place, I swept out the egg shed this morning which had loads of them in there. I looked up information about them and it seems they are a beneficial insect, they don’t really do a lot of damage and clear up dead and decaying material as well as aphids etc so they can stay 😀 Unusually for insects they are very good mothers apparently, they keep the eggs clean and then feed their young until they can fend for themselves, unfortunately they also eat any young that refuse to left the nest!

I was just getting into the swing of it when the sun decided to make an appearance, it’s pretty intense this time of year and I don’t want to risk another flare up so I came inside for a coffee and a write up. I am sure that sooner or later there will be days that are overcast and I can get a good shift in 😝

For dinner tonight we have our own chicken legs slowed cooked with all our own veg and herbs 😀 For dessert I have made a gooseberry clafoutis, two reasons, one because I have gooseberries to use up and two because I love the word clafoutis 😬It will taste amazing of course so I don’t need to use that as a reason 😂

I did the afternoon rounds and it was a bit weird out there, to begin with there was a nice fresh cool breeze and then it dropped, feels like a storm brewing and it’s certainly got muggy.

Friday: Got to love Fridays 💕 Just for a change I was up early too this morning 😀 My mojo had disappeared for a while but seems like it’s back again now 😜 John did the morning rounds while I put on a load of washing and hung out the washing I did the night before. This morning I have been multitasking so first off I picked the bits for the torts and rabbit/guineas, then I came in and got some bread on the go, after the first kneading I set it to prove for an hour and put the timer on, went out and did some picking, broad beans (cut back the plants at the same time) and French beans, came in weighed them out bagged them up and put them out for sale, ready for the second prove, did that and then went out to pick raspberries and peas and water the small tunnel and greenhouse, back in to put the bread in the oven, meanwhile back out to water the big poly tunnel, back in to get the bread out 😀 I did sit and have a coffee in the shade and watch the clouds, I suddenly remembered how we used to lie on the school field in summer and cloud watch, well we didn’t have phones to constantly stare at back then 🤪

While picking peas in the brassica cage I saw a cabbage white butterfly in there 😲 I have no idea how it got in as the cage is usually secure and butterfly free but after dancing around for a bit I finally caught it and unceremoniously dumped it outside!

Sitting here writing this I am vaguely aware I smell of fox, that’s because I have been picking right near the area where it took my hen from, they do leave a stink wherever they go 🙄

Update on the kittens, they are fast now, very fast and you can’t get in or out of a door before them 😂 Last night they spent their first night out in the back area, that’s because they wouldn’t come in when John had finished putting the birds to bed and brought the dogs in, so we decided they could stay out there. They have been venturing out there during the day for about a week now so they know the area, sometimes they even take a quick tour outside, I have seen them hiding under a log pile, they will get braver and braver soon. Diesel isn’t aware of them yet, mostly because he hardly comes back to the yard at the moment, we do see him down on the boundary wall so we know he is ok and he must be catching lots of rabbits or getting fed elsewhere as he hardly comes back for feeding.

The clouds are intermittent today I’m just waiting for a bit more cover before I go back out and do some more bits 😀

From time to time odd things happen here and I just had one of them this very minute! The dogs barked, they often do and it’s usually the girls or an egg customer so I didn’t look straight away. When I did look an bloke was carrying something and left it by the egg shed and drove off, I went to look and it’s a saddle?? He didn’t ring the bell or anything so I messaged my neighbour to see if she was expecting it, nope, so he has just dumped it!

Inspired by Mums planting I decided to turn another crappy area to happy, I dug in a couple of things and for the moment have stood a couple of things in place just to see if I like them there or not.

Saturday: Up fairly early and John did the animals while I sorted out the rabbit/guineas and torts, then we had a discussion about what to do, we decided on a tidy up day. That only lasted a short while as I decided to turn another crappy area into a happy one 😂 my plan was just to level the ground, cut stuff back and move the table and chairs that we use for our morning/evening coffee, however the ground levels were difficult and so we thought we might as well put a small bit of decking down so that it is all level. That means the job turned into something a little bigger than planned and John went off to get the decking.

The kittens have found their way round to the side of the house, I think mostly because that’s where we are working so they feel safe to do so, they are clambering up and over everything but having great fun doing it.

Sunday: A bit of a rest day today as far as work is concerned, John went to visit his Mum then we went shopping then over to my brothers where John did a teensy bit of plumbing, back home where Charlie, Macca, Shelley, Martin, Josh and Flo had called for a visit. Then an afternoon of F1 and Tennis, the latter is still going on lol.

Over and out for this week 😀

Posted in Friesland Farm

Organising, fruit bread fail & hibernation time.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Sunday evening: We had a young lad come up and get some muck for his Mums roses on his old tractor which promptly broke down ☹️ but he sorted it out and got it going again, I think it’s fabulous to see a youngster working with old machinery otherwise it will be a skill that is lost to the past like so many other skills.

Monday 22nd Oct: A crisp, sunny morning full of promise for a lovely day 😀 I put the wildlife camera up last night, outside the back door hoping to catch a glimpse of the hedgehog but there was no sign, however I did get some footage of foxes eating the crab apples that are on the ground, definitely two different foxes judging by the tails as one has a crooked tail.

Having emptied and turned off the smaller freezer yesterday I will be cleaning that out and turning it back on this morning ready to load it back up later, hopefully in some sort of order though that is more difficult than you think because it’s basically a big box that everything gets thrown into! I do have some large sacks that I separate fruit and veg into so that’s a little helpful, I will do my best and maybe make a list of what’s in there so that I have a reference for future use.

A quick look through the other rammed freezer and I got out some steak for dinner a bag of plums and a small bag of pears. My quick go to recipe that John will eat is crumble and I thought the pears would add something different to the plums. I would prefer something like a plum and custard tart but such is the cruelty of life, I who would eat all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff would pack on the lbs at an alarming rate and John who only eats plain food can eat for England without gaining an ounce. What I am saying is there is no point experimenting or indeed cooking elaborately just for me unless I want to be buying a whole wardrobe of the next size up 😜 Those recipes have to wait until I am feeding others as well. I did find a cake wrapped in foil in the freezer, no idea what it is lol it looks as though it might be ginger or something so I got that out to thaw. When we went shopping the other day John tried to put a jar of strawberry jam in the trolley, I refused, it’s not that I don’t allow him to have jam it’s that I have plenty of homemade jam in the cupboard, all flavours but he only likes strawberry which we ran out of months ago, I am trying to force him to try blackcurrant or apricot but it’s a battle 🤪

I have been trying to organise my kitchen cupboards, and failing miserably! The cupboards I keep the ‘food’ (tins,sugar, ketchup etc) in requires kneeling on the floor to see what’s at the back which is no good really so I swapped it for a cupboard I keep all the daily cooking paraphernalia in like mixing bowls, jugs, food processor etc, so far so good except I can’t fit all the ‘baking’ (dried fruit, nuts, ) ingredients in with the food cupboard and so it’s not organised at all, more scattered, I either have too much stuff or not enough space can’t decide which 😜 I do use it all, thats the problem, but sometimes only now and again and you know that as soon as you get rid of something you wish you hadn’t 🤪 In-between sorting I made a batch of chocolate fairy cakes for the grandchildren.

Late afternoon I started getting the other freezer emptied some of it into the freezer I had defrosted yesterday but it was obvious it wouldn’t all fit so I had to quickly turn on the small freezer and cram whatever I could into there until tomorrow when I can get the second freezer cleaned out and turned back on. At least I have a good idea of what is in there now, a small amount I have thrown away just the odd bread roll or some bits that had frosted badly, some I have got out and will have to cook tomorrow including a tub of blackberries where the lid had split but most of it is away for now. Once the other freezer is cleaned I will have lots of room to sort it properly and I have pork arriving tomorrow as well, we actually don’t need to buy meat/fish for months on end and I have enough gravy stock to sink a battleship! Why I keep making crumble mixes and Yorkshire pudding batter to put in there is anybody’s guess, definitely time to start using it all up instead of making more to put in there lol. Oh and I have a bag of corn on the cob which I absolutely could not fit in anywhere that will need to be eaten in the next day or two 😜

Tuesday: I was up early in order to sort out the second freezer which I thought would take about an hour but as luck would have it although it had begun to defrost the ice was still on the sides of the unit. This meant that it just fell off in large lumps which I was able to get out instead of a watery mess in the bottom to soak up with cloths, done and dusted and switched back on to fast freeze by 7.30 😀

Got the eggs done (I put the sack of corn cobs on the floor, more about that later) then made a crumble and a jar of jam with the blackberries I had to get out of the freezer, then Mia arrived for the day.

Shelley, Josh and Florence came to visit and had to pop out the back for something and discovered that I had forgotten to pick up the sack of cobs and put them back in the sink and the dogs had decided they were a tasty snack 😖 they had shredded the sack in the process as well.

When Mia had her nap I quickly got everything out of the small freezer and put it back into the big freezer along with my pork delivery which had arrived earlier, I kept out some chops for dinner and some sausages for the fridge 😀

This evening I am going for some Bowen therapy to help with the sciatica, which has actually been fine the last two days so hopefully this will help with the healing, if you have never heard of it don’t worry neither had I until about a year ago, look it up and see what you think and I will let you know how I get on. The massage therapist I see is amazing, very knowledgeable and positively radiates healing so I am looking forward to a bit of Bowen and maybe some massages over the next couple of months. I personally think that a regular, good massage would do wonders for a multitude of ailments it’s a shame it’s not available on the NHS it might save them a fortune 😀

Wednesday: Sunny morning, the sunset last night was amazing though I didn’t get photos. I felt like I had been in a fight this morning after the Bowen, that’s to be expected it seems 😂 I took some paracetamol as instructed and feel fine now. I needed to get a few bits tided up indoors, stuff that has been sitting round for ages all now put away. Shelley rang to see if I wanted to go to the country park, yep, everything stops for grandchildren I far as I am concerned, just like it did in my Mums house, they are small for such a short time so almost anything else can wait 😀

My Nan always gave you a warm welcome if you popped in from school, I have been lucky really and had a well nurtured life which I am passing on to the next generation hopefully 😀

The country park walk was fab, I have not been there before even though it’s been in place for about 10 years, it’s on the edge of a large housing development in the next town and I have to say I was really impressed with the thought that had gone into it. We even found a spindleberry bush, a rare find, that had been planted along with all the other shrubbery, we collected some seeds and I will see if I can manage to grow one. There are two huge sculptures of horses which are pretty magnificent to come across, Josh named his favourite one Jack lol.

Thursday: Overcast not to chilly though but no sunshine today. I have had a productive morning which I am pleased about, it seems ages since I was able or had the energy to do much more than the necessary. I started off by burning some of the tomato vegetation because I don’t really like putting it on the compost heap in case it’s harbouring disease, the last of the toms are ripening on the windowsill. I did a bit of tidying up in the small polytunnel and had a root about to see if I could find any sweet potato tubers growing, there is plenty of foliage but I couldn’t find anything else unless they are deeper down. It will be disappointing if there are none at all. Then I picked off all the broccoli sproutings that had flowers on for the rabbits along with some chard and a few weeds. Then I dug up a few self set potatoes, there were some whoppers that will be ideal for baked potato, I dug up the rest of the carrots as they are beginning to get holes in them from various pests plus once the soil starts to get damp they will begin to rot away. I have tried storing carrots in various ways but it’s easier to prep and freeze them. I gathered all the bean pods that I have left on the plants ready to dry the bean seeds, some for planting next year and some to use in soups and stews over the winter. I have seeds from the spaghetti and butternut squash drying on the windowsill as well, I am hoping to save as many seeds as I can from the veg and flowers this year, it will save money but it’s also good practice to begin a good programme of saving, closing the loops 😀 and I planted some broad bean seeds to plant out as soon as they are up. I was going to plant peas in the small tunnel but a tell tale hole in the compost tells me I need to put a mouse trap in there first 😝 otherwise all the seeds will get eaten.

I had a little look at the tiger nuts and found one, I’m sure there are plenty more but they are not ready for harvesting until later in the year, it’s about chickpea sized and nutritionally packed with minerals and vitamins, you can eat them raw but they are better cooked it seems. There is a recipe I will have a go at when they are ready called horchata https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/horchata

I processed a pan full of carrots using the mandolin to slice them, it’s very sharp and you have to be carful not to get too carried away near the end of the carrot as I have taken a chunk of my finger off before now and it 🤬 hurts!

Sam came over as the farrier was coming to do Jacks feet, her car is off the road and she came by bus, I didn’t even know there was a bus service but she was able to get from the top road in Witney to the top road in Shilton, fair bit of walking to do each end mind you as she had to walk from her village about 2 Miles, then once at our end it’s about a mile from the other end, at least it’s not raining.

Friday: A different morning altogether, I was surprised to hear a short burst of rain first thing and the temps are set to fall drastically this weekend. I want to make a Guernsey Gache which is basically a fruit loaf, it takes 3 hours for first prove so I need to get my timings right as I have blood tests/flu jab this morning as well. I also need to get the torts moved they have decided to dig into the ground in the greenhouse but I will be moving them back into their hut, packing it with straw then moving them to the shed, that needs doing before the temps drop too low and today seems like a good day for that.

You may ask, why didn’t I leave them to naturally dig into the ground? well I would have except that the greenhouse lets rain in and then the ground would get wet and freeze on cold days and that would be game over for them, so I have to intervene.

Tomorrow we are going to a ‘Watcher of the Old Ways’ ceremony to celebrate Samhain at the local standing stones and I need to make some biscuits or something similar for sharing, it will be a good opportunity to get an mot on my broomstick 🤪 and then Sunday we are off to the Spellbound exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, a magical weekend all in all, when I say we, I don’t mean John, I am going with my sisters, it’s not Johns type of thing lol.

I have taken some pictures and you can see, just about, how they had ‘dug in’, especially Billy I had to prise him out lol, anyway they are now safely packed away for the long Winter sleep, I will check on them from time to time and put more insulation round them depending on the weather. I’m glad I left it though as this year has been unseasonably warm.

Once the torts were done I got started on the Guernsey gache (pronounced gosh), I followed a recipe but this did not quite go as I expected, the dough kept creeping up the sides of the bowl instead of coming together like a dough normally does, I had to keep stopping the mixer and pushing it back down, eventually I added extra water and that did the trick although the quantity of fruit seems too much but we will see what has happened after 2/3 hours of proving! As long as it’s edible that’s the main thing.

Pants, I get back from having bloods and the fruit bread is not rising at all……..google gives various answers all of them contradict each other so I will try what I think might work which is to knead it a bit by hand then put it in a very low oven and see what happens.

I got it out to knead but it was obvious it was far too dry so I added some luke warm water and knead again, turned the oven on to heat at 50c for five minutes then turned it off again and put the mix in there to prove, this is taking up far more of my day than it ought too 😜

What with blood tests, the fruit bread not going to plan, making a batch of cookies, the egg shed selling out and needing replenishing and the dogs barking constantly I’ve not had a minutes peace today and there was me thinking I could maybe make something more technical like a layered cake, chance would be a fine thing!

I lit the Rayburn mid day, I’m thinking that warming the kitchen might help with the proving 🤪 at least the cookies turned out ok 😀

I’m still looking up reasons and remedies, it’s not the yeast being too old as I use it regularly and made bread with the same packet the other day, it can only be the temperature I think.

So it’s past 2 and I have been trying to get this fruit bread going since 8.30! It has a little raise but not much so I have put it in the oven that is off, now the biscuits are cooked, but still warm, oh my days who knew it would take up most of the day 😝

The wind has picked up outside it’s supposed to be coming down from the north but at the moment it’s squalling around in all directions.

Ok this loaf shows no inclination to rise whatsoever and I’m running out of daylight hours so I’m going to bake it, def not expecting a Paul Hollywood handshake on this effort 🤣🤣 and that’s one recipe I won’t be using again! Total disaster, after an hour baking it was still doughy inside and burning on the outside, I will chalk that one up to experience……..☎️ ‘darling, could you pick up some fruit bread from the supermarket on your way home’ 😂

The eggs sales have been rapid today, cleaned out before afternoon pick up and every egg we have in the place is now out for sale.

Saturday: Cold this morning, much colder in fact the front paddock tap was frozen! It’s warm in the Sun now though.

John did all the outside while I hoovered, polished put washing on etc, made a loaf of bread, which went well and restored my faith in my abilities 😜 I also made a quick batch of candied walnuts to take out with me later. They are so easy to do, walnuts, brown sugar, butter and a bit of water, all in a pan on high heat and stir until the liquid is pretty much gone, then cool and sprinkle with salt or you could use cinnamon, nutmeg whatever really, you could put a dash of vanilla in the mixture or any flavouring you want I suppose, easy peasey, crush it up to use as a cake topping or on top of ice cream the possibilities are great 😀

Well we went to the Samhain ceremony with the ‘Watchers of the old ways’ it was uplifting and energising, even though it was first raining, then sleet, then snow! Afterwards we went to the pub for hot chocolates 😀

Clocks go back tonight.

Sunday: Sunny but cold morning, we had an extra hours sleep 😀 The phones and internet were not working first thing, I have a feeling this happens whenever the clocks change but never really taken much notice before, I will try and remember next spring and see what happens then. John did the outside while I sorted the phones/clocks etc, the Rayburn was still active so got that going again, no point letting it go out and re lighting it later besides we have plenty of wood 😀

We sat down with coffee and watched the news headlines, well that was depressing, we don’t normally watch any daytime tv probably won’t again, why people can’t just live in harmony is beyond me, surely no matter what religion, colour, creed, nationality they are, being a good person is what is most important, too simple I guess 😢

John is off to the hospital later to visit his Mum

We went to get a few bits of shopping this morning, just random bits like butter and icing sugar, mushrooms etc, we don’t need much and I couldn’t believe how busy the supermarket was, I mean heaving 😝 Everyone is gearing up for Halloween, in my day you were lucky to get anything except short shrift if you knocked on a neighbours door after dark lol, except if you went to the American married quarters, then you would be rewarded with Reece’s pieces and other stuff we had never seen before 😀 Nowadays everyone is in on it and why not on the whole it’s a good bit of fun, my favourite time though has to be Guy Fawkes/Bonfire night, with toffee apples, homemade soup and awesome pyrotechnic displays, Winter is upon us and the various celebrations begin 😀

Spent the afternoon at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford at the Spellbound exhibition, ice to do something a bit different.

Posted in Friesland Farm

Hygge, Hops and a Hedgehog 🦔

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 24th September: The Autumn equinox has occurred, the end of the light time of the year and the beginning of the dark time is upon us. Time to reflect and look back at what has worked, what hasn’t and a time to look forward and think about what to do next year. A time of myths, legends and rituals of all kinds, harvest is one of my favourite times of year, the word derives from an old English word meaning Autumn. I like the fact that it gets dark early and you can hunker down inside all cosy and warm having fed everyone with a hearty supper, Hygge as the Norwegian and Danish would say.

Talking of myths we heard a lovely one in Guernsey, some of the older houses have a large stone protruding from the chimney of the building, a witch seat, the belief was that a witch out flying on her broomstick could rest on one of these stones and get warmth from the chimney and if you provided one of these you would be spared of any witchy spells she might inflict 🧙‍♀️

The temps plummeted last night and I think there was a grass frost this morning, good job the Rayburn is ready when we are although the temps are set to climb again during the week.

John did the main of the birds this morning then it was just the orchard lot for me to do, my main thought is to lock up the house while I’m out on the farm, sad times but I’ve heard another report from just down the road that occurred yesterday so there is still skullduggery going on and best to be safe than sorry.

There were plenty of walnuts all over the floor so I have picked them up, washed them off, rinsed them in white vinegar (to stop mould forming) dried them off and put them in open trays in the kitchen to dry off. Quick coffee then outside again to see what else can be done, Sun is shinning this morning though you can feel a real nip in the air.

Managed to get a good bit done, two loads of muck into the polytunnel, plant a shrub in the duck pen and secure round it, plant a bush in the orchard and secure round it, pick a trug full of greens for the rabbits, harvest all the small broccoli florets and collect eggs and put them out for sale, the biggest pain in the arse though is keep locking and unlocking the doors to go in and out!

Tuesday: Mia arrived early in the morning, I had managed to just get the orchard lot fed and watered so that was ok, we did go out about 10am to pick up some eggs but apart from that we spent the day inside. Mia is in the middle of potty training so it doesn’t do to venture too far from the bathroom at the moment although she is doing very well, amazing, as I keep telling her 😀

I am practising Hygge tonight, an extra cardi on, a nice cup of milky coffee and my Norwegian slippers which are very warm and cosy, I have already worn them out once and Mum kindly re-felted the bottoms so I could carry on wearing them 😀

Wednesday: Another sunny, dry day 😀 After doing the orchard lot and re filling some of the bedding in various houses, I decided to try and start sorting out the garden in preparation for the winter. The garden gets ravaged either by the weather, the ducks or the chickens and so putting everything away or securing everything is a must, especially any plants in pots that you want ready for next Spring. The ducks walk over everything squashing it all, the chickens kick everything over then scratch through it and the wind just blows it all around, so it seemed like a good day to start organising stuff. I now have two areas that have plants in that are cordoned off and covered with mesh, I have planted a few more bits along the edible hedge in the orchard, when I say edible that includes food for the birds and bees as well as the chickens and ducks 😀 A bit of egg collecting and sorting in between and suddenly it’s already lunchtime.

I have decided to pull the plug on the new greenhouse for now, we haven’t got round to dismantling it and putting a base down and to be honest I’m not sure I can justify the money really, so I will use the old one again next year and see how things go. No point spending a fortune on something if I’m ill again and can’t get out there to use it to it’s maximum so for now it’s on the back burner.

I’m quite tired after all that so going to have a sit down and maybe a quick nap 😀 I’m am very fortunate to be able to stop and rest when I need to if I had a regular job I think I would have got the sack by now 😝 Don’t get me wrong, what I really want to be doing is ploughing into jobs, the mind is willing, the body is most definitely not!

I tried a little shut eye but I couldn’t so I thought I would read the rest of my book instead, after visiting Guernsey the obvious choice for new reading material was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. What a delightful gem of a book 😀 I thoroughly recommend it if you are a reader, now I just need to watch the film and see if they managed to capture the essence of it? (I watched it, they didn’t)

I have been eyeing up the light Sussex chickens, they are pretty big now but need to put on weight before we process them, ideally I would like them to get a couple of months on the garden free ranging, some will be selected to hold back for breeding for the next batch and I think there are at least 4 cockerels in there. The joy with writing a blog diary is that I can look back and find out exactly when they hatched, on investigation I find that they are 16 weeks so plenty of growing time left yet 😀

Did a bit of hoovering, polishing and cleaning, the place needs a proper good going through really but I will save it for rainy/colder weather.

I’m still picking up walnuts and there are still loads left on the tree, I need to make a real effort to use them this year especially in cooking but by the time I have cracked them all open I have lost the will to cook 😝

Did the afternoon egg collecting, the pullets are laying really well now, at least half of them, though the eggs are small they are still mighty fine eggs 😀

I need to decide about Tuesdays, it proved quite a logistical event especially as its potty training time as well as having to lock the doors behind me, I can no longer, nip out so I’m contemplating putting a notice out to say there will be no egg collections on a Tuesday until further notice, it would give me a bit of a break from the pressure of having to get them out there on time and who knows we may be able to catch up with sales instead of constantly selling out.

Think it, do it, lol, that’s what I have done, put a notice out, no eggs on a Tuesday for the foreseeable future.

I lit the Rayburn 😋 just for a couple of hours to take the chill off the air during the evening and I must admit it will be nice to have dry, warm towels again. The problem with this time of year is that it’s not quite cold enough to have it full on but it’s too chilly not to have it at all, probably be sweating in bed later lol.

It will take a while to get to know how she has decided to perform this year but I’m sure we will all settle into a routine soon enough, the one regret I have is that there is not enough space to have a chair right next to her, that would have been perfick 😋 mind you, you would have found me sat there all Winter long 😝

Thursday: Fabulous morning, sunny with a hint of mist rising from the ground, beautiful. By 8am I had done my morning bits and was stood having a coffee outside. My neighbour had ask if I have anything for the harvest festival display so I went round and had a look, some hops, a few little pumpkins and some sweet corn stalks is about all I have this year, hopefully they will be of use. I cut down all the hops and put some aside and the rest I have harvested ready to dry, I want to make hop pillows and need to dry the heads. They are very tactile little things once they are off the vine and as light as a feather, I will leave them in the sun for today and finish them off drying indoors for a couple of days. I don’t have very many as I try to keep the vine under control, it’s suppose to grow along the fence but it keeps creeping up the pear tree and strangling it!

Did a bit of pottering about which was nice, I watered the shrubs I had planted on the front paddock fence line and the apple tree, collected a couple of ‘keeper’ apples there are not many this year, sat and ate the last pear I found hiding on the tree, beautifully succulent and tasty 😋 picked up some eggs and put them out, saw a dragonfly which made me smile, a fab day for pottering out there.

I have a large amount of tomatoes to use up so I’m going to roast them with some olive oil and garlic then sieve them and freeze them for winter use, it’s such a good year for them that you can’t even give them away let alone sell them lol.

I ordered a bulb planter for the daffs, it’s a good strong one which I was surprised as it only cost £24, I took it up the back paddock to have a go but the ground is still much too hard! It needs a bit of rain on it dare I say 😋

Friday: No sun as yet this morning but it’s still early, John was up and out to do the birds just as it got light, patch the dog was barking incessantly, I got up to investigate couldn’t see anything, when John came in he told me it was a hedgehog 😀😀😀😀😀 A hedgehog, I couldn’t be more delighted 😁 they are in decline here in the UK and I haven’t seen one on the farm for about 5 years now so it’s an exciting find and puts paid to any idea that I had about using roundup on the veg garden paths, it will have to be hoed instead 😝

The wildlife has steadily increased over the years, frogs, toads, hedgehogs (well at least one of each) multiple different garden birds, the sparrows that seemed to have gone over the last few weeks have suddenly all come back to check out the roosting areas they used last winter, dragonflies, butterflies, insects galore, it’s a great feeling to nurture nature.

I’m walking back from doing the orchard lot and what do I see in the middle of the driveway but a rolled up ball of prickles covered in leaves, the dogs must have managed to roll it out to play football with it! So I went and got appropriate hand wear and picked it up and took it to the greenhouse along with some cat food, it’s not hungry and I’m pleased to say it looks in good condition, no ticks. I watched it walk around looking for a way out and so went and built a quick hedgehog house out of wooden posts and a broken slab with some leaves and straw for bedding, and then popped it in there. Hopefully it will at least hang around, taking care to stay out of the way of the dogs in future 😋

Blood tests this morning, I was supposed to have them last week but didn’t ring up in time.

Popped in to see my Mum and Ken as they have just come back from caravanning in the south west, came home with lots of killer jars and a couple of shrubs 😀

Went for a walk along the downs road with Josh, Shelley and Flo this afternoon, we played hide and seek behind the trees, ‘room on the broom’, ‘pull me out of the rabbit hole nana’ and conker football 😀

The woodpecker is about, I spotted him hammering a tree trunk this morning, then when I was out doing the afternoon feeding I heard him and then saw him take off in the unmistakable, undulating flight back toward this mornings tree. It is a greater spotted woodpecker the green ones tend to stay more in the hedge-line at the side of the long paddock so I don’t see them as often, one day I will get a picture but they are very quick.

Saturday: Another lovey sunny Autumn morning, I know the bubble is going to burst eventually but loving it while it’s here 😀 Today we are off to the local ploughing match, heavy horses, tractors galore and plenty of ‘Old McDonalds’ for Josh to see 😝

Fabulous day, glorious weather and bone dry under foot, we have seen heavy horses in their finery, steam engines galore, tractors old and new, eaten ice creams, doughnuts, hot dogs and baked potatoes (some of us ate some of them, not all of us ate all of them 😜) had a beer, looked at the produce competitions, watched some old crafts, thank goodness there are people who keep these going and chatted to friends and acquaintances, all in all a great time had by all. I am pretty sure Josh will fall asleep early and not wake up till morning, dreaming of the vintage tractor parade 😀

I bought a Hardy plumbago plant while I was there, mine died over winter and it’s a plant that I miss.

Sunday: I almost forgot it’s blog day! Perfect day for me outside for getting some work done, pleasant enough, not much sun but a hint now and again. I have been planting, barrowing, weeding, covering and generally trying to get things in order ready for Winter. Plants that I have bought and needed to plant out or on, barrowing muck from the heap onto beds, weeding the pathways and covering bare soil that has been weeded. By 2pm I was quite exhausted but feel I have achieved something at least. I pulled some carrots, they are in a raised bed and so not getting waterlogged (chance would be a fine thing as rain is mostly a distant memory this year) I’m hoping to get some cooking and baking done this week and tomato soup is still on my radar, carrots add a great bit of flavour to the soup. I am still picking outdoor tomatoes though it won’t be long before the frost gets them, I would make green tomato chutney but we have enough pickles to last us a while. My Dad always says ‘you should try green tomatoes fried’ hmmm not sure on that one, maybe I should at least try them?

John has been busy, tidying up and burning the bits of wood that couldn’t be cut up for the fire, we always seem to have wood lying around that needs burning, then he cleaned out the front hens and he has a plan to move them off of the front paddock and make a bigger pen where the hens for sale used to be housed seeing as we won’t be doing that anymore. He has now gone to do his Mum and I’ve sent him with a shopping list so I don’t have to go 😜

I washed and dried another load of walnuts today, that’s it now I’m not gathering any more! It’s weird because when Johns Dad was alive he used to ask me for walnuts and we never had that many, the two years since he died have been bumper years and the squirrel has been nowhere near, coincidence? Or is he giving me a helping hand?

I saw a green woodpecker flying around the farm today 😀

Definitely going to light the fire tonight, it’s chilly indoors at 3pm already.

Posted in Friesland Farm

Seed order, missing dog and red mite remedies.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 8th Jan: It’s cold but dry this morning, did the morning rounds, one of the hens from the front paddock seems to have a bad leg so I got her in and put her in a stable with some water and food. She wasn’t walking very far so wouldn’t be able to get to the feed and water buckets, not sure what is wrong but if I give her rest and food hopefully it will sort itself out.

Had to have two goes at lighting the Rayburn this morning as the first attempt failed, most unusual but second time around it went well.

I contemplated doing a bit outside this morning but it really it too chilly to wander round looking for jobs, it’s ok if you have something you can get stuck into and warm up a bit, I decided the seed catalogue might be a better and warmer option, I do need to order sooner rather than later or the favourites will be sold out.

I noticed over the weekend that the geese are getting into the water bucket, a sure sign that mating season is starting for them, although I couldn’t top it up this morning as the hose was frozen, I will do it later on when it’s hopefully thawed a bit.

A package arrived his morning with some goodies in as a thank you from our Christmas guests, that was a lovely surprise.

I forgot to put the grey bin out even though I had marked it on the calendar, the bin men stopped at the end of the drive and then came looking for the bin, what a fab crew 😀 very grateful for that and messaged the local authorities to let them know how thank full we were, I’m sure they are always getting grief for things that go wrong so a bit of positivity will even it up a little.

It seems to have warmed up a little this evening so I took the opportunity to fill up and clean the water buckets, the hen I put in the stable is no longer there but I found a dead one in the back hut, not sure if it’s her or if she has just wandered off, I will keep an eye out for a limping hen tomorrow!

Trying to organise a delivery of straw bales as we will run out soon and our normal farmer does not have any left 😜 For some reason I didn’t keep the telephone number of the chap we used before, I looked all through my messages/contacts but can’t find any reference so having to track him down by other means, must be more organised 😝

Tuesday: Definitely milder today, I couldn’t see any sign of limping hen this morning so I’m guessing it was her that died. I put fresh bedding in for the ducks while I was on my rounds, made a quick coffee and took it outside with me to do a few bits in the garden. I read an article yesterday that said don’t do any gardening while to mud sticks to your boots lol so I will heed that and just Potter when necessary. I still have carrots growing and wanted some for tea so pulled those and weeded the bed a little, they work well in a raised bed, it doesn’t get waterlogged so they haven’t rotted and it’s high enough for the carrot fly not to be able to reach them and lay eggs, I also dug up some celeriac although something has been eating the tops off of them, my escaped rabbit I expect, she is still loose. I gave the carrot tops to the rabbits and went back in to make apple and celeriac soup and a chicken casserole. To be honest the soup was a little bit too sweet for my liking and I would probably leave out the apples next time but as it was packed with goodness I still ate it for lunch along with some Parmesan croutons I made from the last bit of the loaf I made the other day, they were delish 😀 I made a new loaf and got some apple and blackberries out of the freezer for a crumble for John later. I have a lot of fruit to use up, I’m am going to have mine with a blob of creme fresh I think. I had Mia and while she was asleep I looked through the rest of the seed catalogue and put markers on the ones I want to purchase so just need to sit down and put the order through now.

Did the afternoon feed and collected the eggs, the numbers have now gone up as we relented and put a light in with the front lot, it made a difference within a couple of days so we will carry on doing it, the light is rechargeable and dies sometime during the night so they are not on 24hr egg laying duties 😝 I need to put oyster shell and grit on the feed shopping as a fair few of the eggs from the ladies at the back are breaking readily when they are washed, the oyster shell helps to harden up the egg shells and they are obviously not getting enough even though they free range.

Wednesday: Today felt like Groundhog Day, I asked Alexa if it was, she said ‘no’ which made me laugh and be grateful that I woke up even if it was to the same old routine or so I thought. I did the morning feeding and then went into the greenhouse to contemplate what needs doing, I went through the seeds to bring indoors so that I don’t over order something I already have, I also bought in the clear covers for the seed trays to give them a good wash along with two propagators, and a big load of seed markers, though where the rest are is a mystery, I had hundreds of them. I went to the postbox and on the way back wondered why there was only one dog waiting at the gate, I called the other one, nothing, 45 mins later after me searching everywhere including up and down the lane she finally turned up, it is not something she has ever done before and she is definitely in the dog house 😡 I ordered some shelving to make the most of the space in the greenhouse, there is plenty of higher up space that doesn’t get used to it’s full potential so I am rectifying that.

The sun was lovely this afternoon, I was almost fooled into thinking that spring was in the air, it would be nice to have a few more afternoons like that.

Thursday: I am off out for lunch with Shelley and Josh today so got the morning feeding done, lit the fire, got tonight’s dinner sorted and cleaned the two propagators for the greenhouse before I went.

After doing the afternoon egg collection and shutting the birds away John phoned to say he would be late so I took the opportunity to sit quietly and order my seeds, a bulk tonne bag of multipurpose compost and some miscellaneous bits for the greenhouse including capillary matting. I can’t wait to get started on the growing season, though I can’t believe the prices of some things these days, I thought the garden centre would be cheaper but nope it turns out ordering online is.

When I use the multipurpose compost for seedlings I will add vermiculite, sand or well composted bark, you could use leaf mould if you have it too, it doesn’t need any extra nutrients for seeds just good drainage. When I use it for potting on I will add either some well rotted manure that has dried out or something like blood fish and bone for slow release nutrients. I do have large quantities of compost I made last year and then grew the potatoes in but I will be needing that to fill up some new raised beds I have planned.

Friday: I had a busy day planned so got the rounds done as quickly as possible then onto sorting out the greenhouse, I wanted to move it around, clean it inside and out and tidy up any rubbish, all was going well, I had planned to come in at around 10.30 to light the Rayburn as it’s not too cold today and Mum was coming for a coffee. Then at about 10.20 life went a little haywire for a moment or two! Apart from the fact that my cordless screwdriver decided not to work, an egg customer came and left empty handed, I had forgotten to put the eggs out 😝 cue a mad dash to get them out there, a fox shot across the back, the dogs were in because Mia slunk off again, and at this point I’m guessing she has been doing her job and chasing off foxes, the skip lorry arrived and as I looked for fox footage on the cctv I found it hadn’t been working! A little bit later and a riderless horse went galloping down the road but thank goodness it wasn’t one of ours. Everything settled back down for the rest of the day, the greenhouse is now looking tidy, clean and I have maximised the useable space for growing, with the hazels down there is much more light getting in so I should have a good seed germination, that’s the hope anyway. John is looking at a job tonight so it’s down to me to do the feeding and then the shutting away when it gets dark.

There are so many jobs that need doing I need octopus arms lol, the veg garden needs a good tidy up but then I’m inclined to think I will wait in case we get any more windy weather which just blows everything all over the place again, the poly tunnels need the algae cleaning off to let maximum light in, of course the fruit cage is still in a heap and that needs looking at before stuff starts to grow, there is still a lot of stuff to cut back, weed membrane to put down to suppress weeds and warm the soil, rigging up fencing to keep the ducks and the escaped rabbit off the garden, clean the rabbit runs out, clean the ducks out, fresh bedding for the geese, look at the cctv, tidy the hay barn, do some paperwork, cleaning, cooking, washing, light the fire and keep it going, I’m exhausted just thinking about it all 😂 where is my list?

As John wasn’t back yet I thought it would be a good opportunity to sort out some paperwork and get the desk cleared, made some bread as well.

Before and after photos of the tidy up and reshuffle. The things under the green covers are my orange and lemon trees, I have two lovely lemons growing which should be ready to harvest later this year.

Saturday: Normally John is here at the weekends but today he is working to finish a job, first though he went to collect feed. I did the morning feeding and put some fresh bedding in for the ducks on the way round, then as John arrived back the postman also arrived with some of the bits I had ordered for the greenhouse, happy me 😀 It was the greenhouse shelving and some yellow fly strips so I got on with putting together the shelving and hanging up sticky paper to catch anything lurking in there. The shelving is going to give me some much needed extra space for seedlings, an extra layer up high, they come as a four shelf unit but I have used it in half and it can easily be put back together as I need space for growing on outside so a win win buy I think. I also potted up the Autumn Gold raspberry canes I bought at the end of last year, I am intending to pot most of the raspberries I grow to stop the runners taking over the whole patch. The fruit cage is the next job on Johns list so he tells me whoo hoo I need to get that up and running again before things start to grow, this time the posts will be concreted in, the last ones were just rammed into the earth but they have rotted away although they did last about 5 years so that’s not too bad. The new one though should be altogether more stable and not move and rock in the windy weather which is a bonus as the door will also stay firm, the old door moved a lot and sometimes I couldn’t even shut it properly. I put some net up for the peas in the small poly tunnel to climb up, I have grown them in there because if I did it outside they would have been eaten by now, I will hopefully get a good crop of early peas 😀 Daffodil bulbs have pushed through as have the garlic and onions, I feel positive for the year ahead, for now at least 😝

I sat down with a cuppa and through various trails of reading I ended up reading a report of trials to control red mite in the poultry industry (a little light reading 🤣🤣) it was very interesting though and here is the link http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/4506/1/S0043933909000403a.pdf for any other poultry keepers in case you want to have a look. Apart from chemical controls there are other methods used such as high heat 45c, fungus (entomopathogenic fungi) which if I could find any for sale would be very useful, good old diatomaceous earth (silica, which basically cuts the exoskeleton on the mites) and also simple things like cardboard traps which I am definitely going to try out when we next clean the boxes.

Try and learn something new as often as you can is something I have always done, not necessarily have a go at it just reading and digesting the information is good enough to keep the grey cells from slipping into a coma.

Sunday: A busy morning doing the usual stuff, then putting a windbreak up around the veg garden mostly to stop the ducks coming in now that we are gearing up to grow stuff and it will also help to create a micro climate for the veg so a double bonus although I needed to order more as there is not quite enough. It doesn’t look pretty but needs must, no point putting stuff out for the ducks to walk all over it or worse, eat it! I cleaned out the three rabbit pens, and the bantams house, we spent a mad 15 minutes trying, in vain, to catch the rabbit that is still loose, she is now eating any available crops in the garden including the celeriac and carrot tops. A delivery of 50 straw bales turned up so those had to be stacked, the cat presented its arse with a worm hanging out so that had to be sorted luckily I had stocked up on wormer so they have both been done 😝 John cleaned out the hens at the front and cut up cardboard to try this new technique of trapping red mite, it’s not full season yet but might as well start as we mean to go on. Bird flu is in the country albeit a different strain from last year so we need to be mindful of that and keep up to date with any bulletins, they do send a text by landline but Facebook is much quicker at letting us know.

And then out for lunch 😀

Well that turned into a long lunch and we were late back, the fire had gone out and the chickens were waiting for their tea, the eggs had sold out so it was action stations for a mad half hour and then relax 😀

That’s it, the end of another week, have a good one, make each day count, learn something you never knew TTFN 😀

Posted in Friesland Farm

Stats, Lovage and ‘the carpenters herb’ 

Posted on by frieslandfarm

When I published last weeks blog I had a quick look at my stats, I have posted 237 blogs, it is mostly read on a Monday (49%) at 9am (32%) and there are 206 followers on Facebook 😀 how about that.Monday: Foggy start, hope it burns off and we have another fabulous day, I put a duck and some veg in the slow cooker before starting my rounds this morning. By 12 it was still cloudy, where has the sun gone 😕 I got on with some major weeding on the bed where the brassicas were last year. Yesterday we picked up and repaired the cage which had been blown down and broken by storm Doris, I don’t have much faith it will last out a whole season but it was free in the beginning and we have had three years use from it so not too bad. I tried a three pronged attack on the weeding, pulling those with shallow roots, digging those with deep roots such as a patch of stingers and hoeing off any others. It will need another hoeing in a couple of days but for now it’s looking clean and ready for planting probably with sweet corn and squash. The brassica cage has been moved to the other end of the bed as you shouldn’t grow them in the same place twice due to the build up of diseases such as club root. The carrot seeds that were sown outside last week have come up and the asparagus is starting to poke through the soil too. I dug up some summer raspberry runners and potted them up along with some strawberry runners hopefully I can sell them at the gate. ( I’ve no idea what I was on when I wrote about carrots, they are not carrots at all but swede!) 

We now have 2 geese sitting 😀 hopefully the place will be full of goslings this year.

Gave the big poly tunnel a wash in the afternoon to get the green off and let more light into the plants then gave the dog, Mia, a good bath, being mostly white and long haired she was decidedly grubby looking, patch was looking worried but he is taller and short haired so doesn’t get as filthy looking so he escaped for today 😜

Desperately trying to flog eggs now lol as we have an awful lot! Well putting it on the local selling page worked a treat my Facebook pingers are working overtime and sold seven trays 😀 11 trays sold by 9pm 😀 it’s good because we are getting three trays a day and had a bit of a backlog.

Tuesday: Bit of a frantic morning replying to orders for eggs but good to get them sold, John will be delivering for days lol. A vibrantly coloured cock pheasant casually wandering past the front window and across the yard this morning totally unfazed by dogs, chickens, me, gotta love Spring 😀 Tried to chuck some food in for the two sitting geese this morning as they won’t get off the nests even to eat from a bowl I put just inside the door, next challenge is to get some water near them 😆
Got a skip arriving today so we can start clearing up junk and rubbish like the over ordered bags of cement that have now gone hard as rock 😝don’t ever lecture me about too many pairs of boots Mr Pearse, at least I use my purchases 😉

John did some tidying up in the front and finished off cleaning the back hen pen, then he went off to deliver more trays of eggs, have to slow down on online sales now as there won’t be enough for our farm customers otherwise 😂

Wednesday: Mild but overcast with the threat of rain by the looks of it today. After feeding I did a bit of weeding in the poly tunnel, fine weeds so hand plucked them, some of the seeds I have sown are now sprouting, the beetroot, radish, lettuce and there are one or two spring onions peeking through, when they get a little bigger I will sow the next lot. The chick peas I am trying have sprouted, well you expect this as they are for sprouting but I am aiming to grow them on into full size plants and harvest fresh chick peas. The dwarf runners are also growing but the peas I planted straight into the ground don’t seem to be doing anything so I have sown some in pots in the greenhouse as a back up plan. Picked some more rhubarb for selling and the asparagus is poking its head through the soil so it won’t be long before I’m harvesting that.

Picked some cabbage leaves for dinner later with shepherds pie. If you cut a cabbage leave the stalk in the ground and slice the top of it 4 ways you should get sproutings later on. 


Lovage: I grow this as it’s a lovely plant to grow but I never really use it, this year however I am going to make sure I do, it has a flavour similar to celery and the leaves can be used in salads or flavour for soups and stews, the roots can also be use but can cause photosensitivity so I for one will be steering clear of those.

The more I’ve read about it the more I discover, the seeds can be used like you would use coriander or fennel seeds and best of all a cordial can be made and was traditionally mixed with brandy for a winter sup 😀Time to make full use of this herb I think. 


Another herb new to me is English Mace, I bought it because I had never grown it before, it’s a member of the yarrow family but on researching it an old name for it was ‘the carpenters herb’ because it was known to stem the flow of blood from injury! It’s not great for cooking unless you use the very young tender leaves after that it becomes bitter however it blooms for a very long time providing something for the bees all summer.  

I candled the duck eggs today to take out the duff ones (4 in total) as they are due to start hatching next week. You can see from the photos, an empty egg with an undeveloped yolk and an egg that has developed, the space has filled and has the air sac at one end. 


The black and white photo is the one with the embryo inside. 

Thursday: Supposed to be a fine day today, no sign of it at 9am but it feels warm already. John was home this morning and helped out with the morning feed and cleaning out, I’m feeling tired in the mornings lately and carrying 20kg of feed around in various bucket sizes is not helping so glad of the assistance. The bathroom company has finished now and he is on his own so can please himself about coming and going, he is enjoying the freedom I think 😀

I decided to spend the day doing the end of month/year/company paperwork 😝ALL day and still not finished some of it. 

Got bit to pieces by the evening midges tonight yuk.

Friday: Wet start but clearing up, windy but sunny. It’s beginning to look a lot like spring, the cherry blossom, damson plum blossom and the apricot blossom is all out, the blackthorn all along the hedgerows are blossoming, looking lovely out there. John picked up 25 POL hens this morning for selling on as we have had a few enquiries, they have settled into a nice clean pen this afternoon. Not much else to report really, the seedlings are coming along slowly in the greenhouse and the poly tunnel, I had a look at the asparagus beds today one or two bits that are big enough but not enough to cut and sell. 

Saturday: The sun was shining blindingly into the bedroom this morning when I got up and disappeared by 8.30 😕 hope it comes back again. John did most of the feeding this morning and I cleaned out the rabbit cage and hutch, I gave it to the hens to scratch about it as there was a fair bit of rejected rabbit feed in it, just what the hens like to pick over. John also spent some time putting legs onto the outside quail hut, we will need to move them this week to make room for ducklings 🐥 and the legs will hopefully stop rats getting in and worrying/killing them! It’s now high off the ground, I did joke that we probably needed planning for it, it looks huge. Sold the first lot chickens this year 😀

Sunday: A cold windy start but the sun came out and it was fairly pleasant, John did a few minor fixing jobs and then got the tractor out to move some muck into the veg garden, all was going well when suddenly, diesel starting spewing out all over the ground, on further inspection the pipe had come off goodness knows how but it’s fixed with a piece of wire holding it on now 😝We then fixed up the brassica cage again 😖 we had stood it up temporarily and fixed it but the wind blew it over, anyhow this time we have secured it properly and it is all netted ready to go, I also limed the soil as I had a box handy, from where I don’t know cos I wouldn’t have bought it, must have been given it at some point. I will only grow brassicas if I am sure the butterflies can’t get in as there is nothing more disappointing than growing them from seed watching them come on nicely then get decimated by caterpillars 🐛 this means pegging every side down well and making sure there are no gaps at all in the netting. John also got the water connected back up in the garden, hopefully the risk of freezing is past us, though lots of swearing could be heard as firstly the connector was split, so he went and got a new one from the van, then when he turned it on the pipe was split so he had to go and get more connections and cut the split pipe out, he was swearing about the tooing and froing he had to do. Meanwhile I was busy hoeing, mending, weeding and fixing various bits and pieces. Sold some more hens and had an enquiry for some and they are coming back in the week. The long tailed tits are back, playing in the trees and the wrens have been flitting around on the ground all day. Picked some carrots, cabbage and asparagus for tea to go with lamb chops and also pulled some rhubarb to stew and have with custard 😀