December 2008

Well, the frost has given way to rain and plenty of it. This is the worst weather for us on the farm because of the low lying nature of the land and yard. Everywhere gets flooded and we have pumps going to keep the yards from turning into lakes - we just don't have enough water wings for all the cows! Perhaps the effects of the rain were magnified by the fact that we had a gloriously large, full moon this month... did you see it? It was especially big because it was very close to the earth at the time it was full. Doesn't happen very often, but is awesome when it does.

So... December for us is consumed with preparations for other people's Christmas... so it's all hands on deck for turkey plucking and order sorting and bacon slicing and gammon packing and sausage making and market manning... it's a good time but very exhausting. We were blessed to be rejoined by two WWOOFers from earlier in the year, Lizzie, who came to pluck and dress turkeys (an interesting addition to her training as a vet!) and Jenni, who found herself without accommodation between a holiday in Scotland with her folks and her departure for packing round India. Fortunately the animals all behaved themselves and so they required the minimum of attention beyond the daily feeding routines. Wind Flower waited until Christmas Eve to have her calf and all arrived safely, easily and without our intervention. A little fluffy white heifer calf with long legs!

An extra to our usual seasonal descent into Christmas oblivion was the news that we have some people interested in partnering us with the natural Horsemanship magazine to take it forward, increase circulation and make it profitable! This is a very exciting opportunity that we hope we can work out in the new year.

So Christmas found us knackered (a rather overused expression here) but satisfied with our efforts and the quality of produce we and the animals had offered. We spent 2 weeks recuperating with a gentle daily routine of feeding animals, feeding ourselves, watching TV, sleeping and generally hanging out before going to bed... it was bliss and one we look forward to repeating next year!

As the year draws to a close, the barns have frozen for the first time in 5 years... a good cold winter feels like it's on the cards and might be a good thing.

We thank you for your company this past 12 months and wish you well for 2009.