No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face - John Donne
It would appear that John Donne experienced a different kind of climate back in the 16th and 17th century. Were he around today his words may have more aptly described our Autumn so far as ”violent, and pissy”. Not wishing to elbow any romance into touch here but let’s be honest, no sooner have we just about managed to convince ourselves that we did actually have some form of summer (albeit in spring) that we now seem to be experiencing the full extremes of the available season, overnight. Still, it makes you feel alive and somehow more vital than the comfort offered by more pleasant climes - I hate wearing shorts anyway...you end up getting stung to buggery when you're fencing.
Don’t worry though, sunny spells we’ll continue to have and there is still the odd blackberry to pick. The sloes and damsons are also in abundance this year. Mushroom season is looming too and we can all look forward to lots of stews, dumplings, pies, casseroles and other hearty fare...no more limp salads and cheap, nuked, red-dyed BBQ tucker in the rain. Burn your t-shirts and say “good riddance” to whatever masqueraded as our high season.
We should welcome Autumn. Its a time where things change from green to red, brown and gold. Artists love this time of year. Leaves drop from trees leaving lonely branches bare to the elements against a full range of bruised, grey skies. Pub doors get blown open by a leafy gust upon arrival and people spend their time dripping by the fire. The aromas of damp Barber, wet dog and smouldering socks fill the air – more dominant now smoking has been banned – at least it tempers the smell of cleaning products. (It does all sound a little pretentious, I know, but it is an evocative time of year and I'm a wordy type!)
Where the farm is concerned, I have sold 5 of this year’s heifer calves to my neighbour and plan to send two fattened young bulls and 3 bulling heifers born last year off to Ashford market on the 20th. Income at last!
We are also going to over-seed (if the bloody wind drops, that is) our largest silage field with a perennial rye grass mix to add some more sugars and protein to next year’s cut and plan to do this the old fashioned way – spread it with the fertiliser spreader and let the animals trample it in.
We also need to make more repairs to the feeding racks and make some more bedding space out of the straw shed by using old gates and a bit of ingenuity because we will be housing 60 animals over winter – last year we kept 50 – all part of the master plan of taking more animals to 24 months and older before we send any to slaughter. More time on natural feed = more flavour, and that’s what its all about.
Don’t worry though, sunny spells we’ll continue to have and there is still the odd blackberry to pick. The sloes and damsons are also in abundance this year. Mushroom season is looming too and we can all look forward to lots of stews, dumplings, pies, casseroles and other hearty fare...no more limp salads and cheap, nuked, red-dyed BBQ tucker in the rain. Burn your t-shirts and say “good riddance” to whatever masqueraded as our high season.
We should welcome Autumn. Its a time where things change from green to red, brown and gold. Artists love this time of year. Leaves drop from trees leaving lonely branches bare to the elements against a full range of bruised, grey skies. Pub doors get blown open by a leafy gust upon arrival and people spend their time dripping by the fire. The aromas of damp Barber, wet dog and smouldering socks fill the air – more dominant now smoking has been banned – at least it tempers the smell of cleaning products. (It does all sound a little pretentious, I know, but it is an evocative time of year and I'm a wordy type!)
Where the farm is concerned, I have sold 5 of this year’s heifer calves to my neighbour and plan to send two fattened young bulls and 3 bulling heifers born last year off to Ashford market on the 20th. Income at last!
We are also going to over-seed (if the bloody wind drops, that is) our largest silage field with a perennial rye grass mix to add some more sugars and protein to next year’s cut and plan to do this the old fashioned way – spread it with the fertiliser spreader and let the animals trample it in.
We also need to make more repairs to the feeding racks and make some more bedding space out of the straw shed by using old gates and a bit of ingenuity because we will be housing 60 animals over winter – last year we kept 50 – all part of the master plan of taking more animals to 24 months and older before we send any to slaughter. More time on natural feed = more flavour, and that’s what its all about.
I am so glad I found your Blog and a fantastic read! And very educational to the likes of me. Although born and bred in the wilds of Norfolk, I was surrounded by sugar beet, potatoes and assorted corn for most of the year. Although I did live in a house I hasten to add. Thank you for writing this Blog and I shall follow avidly!
ReplyDeleteHi...I'm very grateful indeed for your comments. I do try my hardest to keep the blog as farm-focussed and as interesting and light-hearted as possible even if I have to embellish things a tad...as much for my enjoyment in the writing as for the reader in the reading. I'll check out your jewellery when I get a mo. Do you sell it at Sandy's!?! Anyway, thanks again. J.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Jeremy and you've got a great writing style and I shall definitely stay tuned in! No, I haven't put any of my jewellery into Sandy's as I seem to be forever chasing my tail to keep stock levels up for craft fairs and markets and the odd commission here and there. Having airs and graces I was going to treat this year as a gap year and have a low-profile mooch about, but that hasn't happened ...lesson to be learnt there somewhere? Keep up the great work and bet you're glad the wind's dropped ....!
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