Weekend Away, Halter-training Calf

Work has been continueing apace with the new milking parlour. The concrete for the floors was delivered in three lorry loads which meant a very hard and heavy day for the Farmer, Sons and helpers but after all the effort the floors are smooth and clean and ready for the next stage which is setting up the stalls, hoppers and getting the electric done. Another month and I think we might be up and running with the first cows going through.

The Farmer and I had a weekend away recently to attend a wedding near Beccles in Suffolk. Suffolk is a very long way from west Wales. After a 10 hour journey we arrived at a very attractive country house which was the venue for the wedding as well where we were staying for two nights. The following morning having recovered from our trek across England we attended a humanist wedding in a grove of chestnut trees. It was very beautiful, simple and unpretentious.
Our journey back to Wales was broken by a spending a night, still in Suffolk, staying with the Lady Artist who spent a month with us last year in the cottage. A warm welcome and a peaceful evening of fine conversation in a beautiful garden in rural Suffolk was a perfect way for us to face setting off across England once again and endure the dreaded M25 (constant speed averaged 10mph!). We so rarely go on motorways and so find it somewhat stressful but our journey home was straightforward and shorter (!) and we were home just in time for tea. It had been a lovely weekend and just to get away was good as it was the first break we've had from the farm for about two and a half years.

Back here on the farm we are now getting ready for the local agricultural show which is to be held on Saturday 2nd September. As usual we are entering baking and children's art work, handicrafts etc. A first for us all though is an entry in the Young Handler (under 11yrs) with a Calf under 6 months class. Our 6yr old grand-daughter decided she wanted to do it and so she and her grandfather have been out every day for the past three weeks training one of our new calves to walk on a halter. The calf has behaved very well and trots along like a dog on a lead with her small attendant reasonably well in control. Grandfather will go into the show ring with her just in case the calf decides not go along with being in a public arena. Despite being very docile and amenable calves are very strong, even at 3 weeks old and can run quite fast if spooked.

Honey Harvest, More Silage, Wool Collection

A whole month has gone by since my last post and here we are at the beginning of August which in its turn promises to be as busy as July.
Amongst other things the Farmer found time to take the honey off from the hives when the weather was good. We have had bumper crop this year which the Farmer says is down to him having made time to manage the colonies better. He and I spent an evening bottling over 100lbs of honey and labelling the jars in order to sell it in the locality. It was very satisfying sight, a mass of new jars with smart labels. There is a great demand for local honey and its great that we are able to have enough to help feed that demand. As well as just harvesting the honey the Farmer has sent a sample off to have its pollen DNA analysed so that we know which plants and trees the bees use in the main. It will very interesting to get the results back. We know that there will be lot of clover and probably bramble as the blossom has been very good this year...I hope there will be good crop of brambles as a result after the rather poor hedgerow harvest last year.

Work continues with the new parlour. A heavy roller was brought in last week to level & consolidate the floors in preparation for the delivery of concrete which will be poured and levelled...a tricky process as it has to have a very specific slope in two directions for the water used to wash the parlour after every milking to drain away.

Second cut silage is in along with a triple-crop of oats, barley & vetches all nicely layered with first & second cut grass into a sort of silage lasagne. The cows love it!

We took our wool sacks to the collection point at the rugby club in our nearest town on the date and time specified by the Wool Board. The organisation was running very efficiently as we did not have to join a queue as is usually the case but were the only vehicle there, thought the lorry had large number of woolsacks already loaded. We send only two sacks and they are green to mark that the wool is organic. Conventional wool is packed into white sacks.

The holiday cottage is now fully booked out for the summer. So far,we have had lovely guests who despite the somewhat patchy weather have been able to discover west Wales in all its enchanting and verdant loveliness. With the weather being a mixture of sunshine and showers it is still possible to have great days out clambering over rocks at the beach or exploring wondrous castles.