Smallholding
Rhubarb / Roo / Ace
Sunday 21 March, 2021
Monday 15th March
March 15th is the day the Rural Payments Single Application Form (SAF) opens to farmers. I was tempted to stay up last night until midnight plus 1 minute and complete it then, but I waited until a more reasonable 10am. That’s it done for another year.
I took the dogs and walked the fields taking soil samples for pH, potash, phosphate and magnesium testing. I did three samples – Sheepfold, our five-acre field and Laing’s Field. I more or less followed the W pattern. I think. Dropped them off at the SAC office in Forfar, along with the soil corer and we should get the results next week.
Mulching / Weeding / Mutton
Monday 15 March, 2021
Monday 8th March
Steven was planning to be here today to scrape Sheepfold but he was otherwise engaged – it’s still a bit wet to be honest. Dave Laing, from whom we rent the 10 acre field, came down for a look and he’s going to run the mulching mower over it for us to take the rushes down.
Quick trip to East Pitkerro and a mega pile of paperwork, but all done.
Tuesday 9th March
Finished weeding the second flower bed at the front of the house and rewarded myself by taking Smokey for a walk.
Orchard / Bonfire / Aurora
Sunday 7 March, 2021
Monday 1st March
Paperwork day, so in the office. March seems to be coming in like a lamb.
Blizzard is almost sound. Which is great because I got the bill and the antibiotic was over £50.
Started feeding Roo, the BFL expecting triplets, and Niamh, because she’s old. Roo is the least friendly of the BFLs, so shedding off the two of them was a wee bit of a pantomime but it got done. I’ve kept them in the wee tup paddock overnight and will feed them again in the morning – hopefully, she’ll realise quite quickly that coming in is a good thing.
Duck / Greens / Couch
Monday 1 March, 2021
Monday 22nd February
Lovely spring day again. Linda found a basket of unidentified bulbs in the greenhouse so has planted them in pots. I think some are double tulips, so if they come, they will be lovely.
Picked up two bales of hay for here and a bale of hay and a bale of straw for East Pitkerro, to take down later in the week. I’ve tidied out the area where the ponies tie I and the hay is stored and it certainly looks much bigger. I’m wondering if we should concrete it as we planned or put down some sort of gravel bed and rubber mats.
Snowdrops / Sunshine / Spring cleaning
Monday 22 February, 2021
Monday 15th February
The thaw is well underway now. The ditch is high but running freely. I let the cattle out this morning but it’s going to be too wet to let them out again for a wee while.
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High but flowing.
Got the farm maps out and was pleased to see that we can take Home paddock for a pond (officially) and wildlife area without taking us below the 3ha minimum area for agricultural support. Contacted the firm that built the ponds at the golf course.
Snow / WC / More Snow
Monday 15 February, 2021
Monday 8th February
Forecast for heavy snow – hopefully we’ll miss it. Being so close to the sea, we’re a little microclimate and quite often the forecast for here turns out to be inaccurate – and usually not so bad.
Graham is getting on well with the WC
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The new WC is coming on.
The hens are right off their lay – no eggs in the caravan this afternoon.
WC / Manure / Rhubarb
Monday 8 February, 2021
Monday 1st February
It's St Brigid’s Day or Imbolc - the breaking of winter and the start of spring. Aye, right.
A further rummage in the pantry has flushed out three jars of Old Dowerhouse Chutney from 2015 and eight jars of not-very-good strawberry jam. I couldn’t think what to do with them until Dan reminded me that we used the others (there was a lot) when we cooked rhubarb for freezing – one jar of strawberry jam per batch of rhubarb. No additional sugar required and a lovely flavour. Sorted.
WC / Sheep scanner / Marmalade
Monday 1 February, 2021
Monday 25th January
Another sunny day – not as cold as yesterday. Took the two tup lambs to the abattoir – the owner said they were almost booked up for autumn so we had a think on the way back and have booked a slot in June 2022; we’ll castrate all the tup lambs and run them on to hogget.
Graham is demolishing the WC. It was a real outside toilet this afternoon.
A REAL outside WC.
Sheep / Smokey / Barn
Monday 25 January, 2021
Monday 18th January
A pleasant day, turning to rain in the evening.
The new paint didn’t take, so Tara and I moved most of the feed store “stuff” back in. It will take a few days to arrange it to our satisfaction. Graham the Joiner was here to view the planned renovation of the outside WC.
It’s now 21 days since Blizzard was served and there’s no sign of her coming bulling again so fingers crossed, she’s back in calf. If she holds, she’ll be due 8th October, which is a move in the right direction.
Holiday / Sheep / Feed store
Monday 18 January, 2021
Thursday 14th January
No diary entries for the first three days because I was on holiday. At home, but on holiday. Dan and I should have been in Anstruther for a week but with the Covid restrictions, of course, we couldn’t go. Tara had taken time of work to look after the smallholding – and it seemed a shame to disappoint her – so I had three days off. Hardly crossed the doorstep except Tuesday when we took hay to East Pitkerro. Read, built Lego, did do some SCBA stuff – but you know, I really feel the benefit.
