Diary

Festival prep; Peas; Pears; Apples; Poultry; CattleRSS feed

Posted: Wednesday 7 September, 2016

by Rosemary at 9:10am in Smallholding Comments closed

Monday 29th August

There was a slightly autumnal feel this morning but my, did it brighten up into a glorious day.

Moved the sheep and cattle to fresh paddocks and put a mineral lick in for the sheep.

There’s another Sasso with a bad leg so he’s isolated, as he was being bullied. We’ll have to cull him in the next 48 hours though.

Dan pruned the espalier pears in the vegetable garden. They've got a bit of fireblight damage but should be strong enough to overcome it with judicious pruning. A good crop in prospect this year.

Espalier pear treeEspalier pear tree.

This beautifully marked little chap was on one of the trees.

European Garden SpiderAraneus diadematus

I say little, he was quite big for a Scottish spider so Dan looked him up. It's a European Garden Spider, apparently quite common.

Tuesday 30th August

Lovely morning, if a tad breezy.

Lots of Festival stuff on this week – chasing up entries as the closing date is 2nd September. Also finalizing the programme of events and a myriad of other bits and pieces. We really need another body to help with the organization.

Mak seems to be back with Rosie – this isn’t entirely unexpected as he’s been out 17 days and I thought she was past her season when we put him out. If she gets in calf this time, we’ll still have a nice compact calving period.

While Rosie and Mak indulge, Granny Blizzard looks after Paulo.

Blizzard multi-sucklingBlizzard multi-suckling.

Cleaned out the hens’ caravan as it was a bit whiffy. It needs cleaned more often than the two wooden houses but it’s so easy to do.

Wednesday 31st August

Ooh, windy.

Dispatched the lame Sasso first thing this morning. Dan thinks it’s a better size.

Harvested some more peas, tedious but satisfying especially since the pigs *love* pea pods so nothing goes to waste.

Pea pods for pigsPea pods for pigs.

Thursday 1st September

Cleaned the chook. Not huge and a bit fatty. Probably go back to Hubbards next year.

Friday 2nd September

Spent most of the day at the Rare Breed Sale at Lanark, handing out Festival leaflets. It didn’t seem busy – it was on a Saturday last year (and will be next year, but earlier on 19th August). A Shetland bulling heifer sold for £400. It was good to catch up with a few folk as well.

Apple harvest has started, with the early cropping Discovery.

Discovery apple treeType your caption here.

It's a lovely apple, pale, almost white flesh often with a pink blush, crisp and juicy and a lovely slightly floral flavour.

We've got 5 of these, now about 5 years old so starting to crop well.

Saturday 3rd September

Beginners sheepkeeping course today.

Lovely folk, who all enjoyed the course. Sheep behaved beautifully, of course. Love Ryelands :-)

Moved the cattle to a fresh paddock.

Sunday 4th September

Cleaned out two henhouses this morning then went to Simon and Rachel’s wedding in the afternoon. Enjoyed the latter more than the former lol. 

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS