Summer days, beaches and a barn full of hay.

Its been months since I had the brain capacity, let alone the time, to sit down and download my photographs and thoughts into a logical digital order.

Mainly, the summer holidays stole all our time.  Long, lovely days filled with friends, family, sunshine and plenty of outdoor activities.  We have even been exploring the county somewhat and testing out the beaches.

For the first three weeks of the summer holidays we had back to back guests.  Mostly they came with small children (some 3 at a time!) and what a blast we had.  It was a challenge at times to keep on top of the catering, but everyone mucked in and cooked, picked, dug or harvested vegetables for us all to eat.  Even little Charlie Cook (nearly 2) helped to dig up the potatoes and had much fun washing them - I think he got muckier than when we started but who cared....it was all part and parcel of being on the farm.

We visited quite a few of the beaches along the north Devon coastline, each with their own charm and individual qualities.  Most days the sun shone and the sky was blue.  We watched the surfers, did some ourselves, got sand between our toes and went home salty, sticky and thoroughly exhausted, sun kissed and smiling.  Not sure we could say we've got a favourite one yet, but we'll keep at it and draw up a shortlist in time for next summer.

The small girl has had a particularly fun summer with a new pony to look after.  The deal was; she had to help.  And help she did.  She has learnt to use her muck fork with skill, can (almost) fill a hay net and is particularly excellent at washing out and refilling water buckets.  We did lots of riding and had friends over who enjoyed some riding too. 

After a nail biting month in July of watching the weather forecast - hour by hour - we finally saw the contractors come and go and leave us with over a hundred wrapped and stacked bales of haylage.

We were hugely disappointed at first as we were expecting hay.  Hay is a commodity we know; we can use, we can store and we can potentially sell.  Haylage, even though it's an ideal product for ponies allergic to hay (one of ours is) the bales are too large.  We will need a special grab on the tractor to be able to move them.  Once the plastic wrapper is opened, you have 5 to 7 days, maybe 10 to use the bale before it starts to spoil.  We will end up wasting more than we can ever use therefore it's just not practical for us.  We wanted hay and due to the weather, and relying on contractors, we didn't get it.   It would have been very annoying to have to buy hay this winter, knowing we have done nothing but grow grass in our meadows this summer.  

There was a glimmer of hope to make hay in one of our other meadows. The Ologist has been working hard to keep it nice, topping when needed and spot spraying the large swathes of docks and thistles. It paid off. We had a week of fine and dry weather very late in the season. We made the call, the contractors arrived and cut, turned and raked our hay and we finally got our harvest in.

The last one!

 We were thrilled, and absolutely exhausted by the end of it as we brought all the hay in ourselves, old fashion stylie, with the two of us and a 79 year old! Good old Uncle Ray saved the day and helped no end lifting and stacking the bales with the Ologist, one by one, onto our trailer and then back to the barn. I was the tractor driver in the main (minus a bit of trailer reversing that I need a bit more practise on), so it was truly a family affair.  We stacked it high and dry in the barn and now have enough to keep our ponies and any other stock quite happy for at least a year. Phew, double phew...and major pats on the back all round. The Ologist, who is firmly a shower man and quite allergic to baths enjoyed a long bubbly soak that night to ease the joints – as we all did. It took a few days to recover, but as one school Mummy said to me, “No pain, no gain.”  Never was a more apt phrase uttered.

Some bad news.  Mummy Bantam abandoned her chicks and joined the other hens back in their run.  She just took off from the stables where the temporary chick nursery was and joined the other hens.  She didn't return and went to roost that night back in the original hen house with the others.   We didn't attempt to put her back as we decided it was probably a calculated move on her part.  She had taught them to feed themselves, to peck and scratch, and after all they are now towering over her so I guess it was time to kick the teenagers out.

We set about rehoming them in the main chicken run but within the safety of their own pen, call it 'student digs'.  Introducing two new hens into an existing group can be very tricky and can upset the 'pecking order'.  It can lead to a whole lot of bullying which we wanted to avoid.  It all worked fine and seemed harmonious, in a hen sort of way. One day, after chatting to another smallholder who has kept poultry for some time, we took her advise and put them all in together one night after dark. The transition has seemed to have worked fine.

 Rusty and Sunshine are now happily integrated with our original hens. It will be a few more weeks until they reach point of lay, but that's ok as we struggle to keep up with egg production anyhow and regularly give away boxes to friends - or the postman if he's lucky!

We have new stock on the farm.  Gobble, Peck and Scratch.  They are Kentucky Bourbon Red turkeys, one stag and two hens.  And they'll be ready for Christmas so get your orders in.  Watch this space.  The woman we bought them from said she'd be interested to see if we did dispatch them for Christmas.  When I enquired why she would say that she replied that most people she sells her turkey poults to get quite attached to them.  In a way I can see why.  We've had them a week or so, and they are very sociable.  They follow me around the stables when I'm mucking out.  Then into the field to poo pick.  Then into the barn to sort out hay and bedding.  They chirrup all the time and talk to each other.  I've had to close our back door, which usually stands open all day unless it is pouring with rain, as they try to follow me into the farmhouse. 

The other new stock are 13 Zwartbles from our friendly sheep farmer.  They are in our one field that is safely stock fenced and are happily mowing the grass and fertilising the field for us.  There are more on the way.  They are very attractive as sheep go, with chocolate brown fleece and a white stripe 'badger' face. 

Autumn is upon us, we can see it in the hedgerows and I can smell it in the afternoon.  As I walk past the vegetable patch I can smell the warm earth mixed with the subtle start of decay as the plant material starts to die back.  Its a pleasant smell in my nose.  I like the smell of a compost heap when it is working and the heat starts to build up.  Its a real smell.  It is Mother Earth in her kitchen prepping for autumn. 

Talking of the kitchen, we have done very well in ours this season from our veggie patch.  Even though it was engulfed by weeds and we felt like we had lost the battle, we have picked and picked and enjoyed the fruitful splendour.  At present, the Ologist picks every three days from the raspberry patch, and no joke, picks half a kilo of fresh autumn raspberries at a time.  I have six kilos frozen already.  We are eating Raspberry Ripple ice cream, raspberry lollies, fresh raspberries scattered over breakfast cereal and yoghurt....I could do with a book entitled '101 Things To Do With Raspberries.'  If anyone knows of such a book do send me the link, please!  We keep finding courgettes that were missed and as a result we're eating stuffed baked marrow for supper.  The onions were a real success.  The tomatoes are still ripening thick and fast and the spinach is just cut and come again.  And again.  And again.    We are waiting to pick chillies and to see if the peppers will ripen a bit - I'm not keen on green peppers, but love the flavour of red and orange ones. 

Our 'grand plan' at the farm is starting to unfold.  We have engaged the services of an architect and he's been on site already for a few visits to measure up and get a survey completed.  As the autumn sets in we have resumed our programme of tree felling.  I am now a fully fledged tractor driver so it means we can achieve more as the strong man can keep working while the tractor/trailer gets carted away and emptied (still need to work on reversing the trailer tho.)   I can now see Dartmoor from my bedroom as a result of our recent felling.  Towards the end of the month we have contract work commencing on Phase Two of hedging and tree clearance in the fields to make way for more stock fencing.  We are hoping by the winter we should have nearly half of the farm securely stock fenced, and some nicely laid hedges. 

The other bounty I've enjoyed this summer are the flower seeds I planted in the spring.  Without too much effort I've enjoyed at least a vase a week of fresh sunflowers, cosmos and sweet peas.  Although the sweet peas came to an abrupt end - I think they got too hot in my growing room and I should have put them out much earlier than I did, I still had a number of pickings each week.  The small girl has also enjoyed helping me pick and arrange the flowers.  There will be plenty for the seed box to dry for next year and still plenty more left on the plants for the birds to enjoy over the winter.

I can hear the owl, it must be time for bed.  We call it 'Westyard Barney' - although its a tawny owl as it goes 'too-wit too-woo'.  When we first arrived we used to see an amazing barn owl, snowy white and majestic....on patrol at dusk.  The small girl named it.  Since then every time we hear an owl it is Westyard Barney telling the night fairies it's time to come out and paint the stars with sparkle dust....don't ask, its a five year old girl thing.