News August 2012 to December 2012

New Policy

For a couple of years I have been putting a "blog" on our website - under the title of News.  I have been reasonably diligent in making sure the News section is up to date - whilst, I regret to say, sadly neglecting this blog.
I have now decided to rename the News section on the website and transfer it into this blog at the end of each month. And, as a one off, I have moved the entire contents of the existing News section over.  20/1/13

Farmer Christmas

Our first weekend with Farmer Christmas was a great success.  The weather was a bit grim on Saturday, which put some people off, but Sunday was a beautiful bright sunny day.  Not that the sunshine makes its way into Farmer Christmas' grotto - as he prefers fairy lights.
Everyone enjoyed themselves - there were lots of "good" girls and boys who were happy to tell Farmer Christmas about their wish list. He was pleased to note that the little black book that he always carries, to make a note of boys and girls who have been naughty, remained empty.
For most of the year Farmer Christmas looks after animals and generally helps out with all the preparation that is needed to make sure Christmas is always special.  But at this time of year - when Santa is working so hard - Farmer Christmas is always happy to help his cousin, listening to children's wish lists and passing them on to Santa for the big day.  2/12/12

Elaine Buffery

Those of you who have been coming to the farm for a number of years will doubtless have met Elaine Buffery.  Up until last year she was a regular help in the shop and kitchen but also could be seen, dressed up in her bee keeping outfit, helping Neil with his bee hives.  As a keen spinner and knitter she would often help out on our shearing weekends and, as she usually had some knitting on the go, I would often find her in the shop giving ad hoc lessons to customers who would pick her brains to sort out a knitting problem.  And then, on her days off, you might have seen her with her grandchildren or turning up with a box of ripe bananas which she had persuaded her local greengrocer would be better off given to our pigs, than turning black in his store room.

It was with great sadness that we took a call from her daughter on Friday, to say her mum had died that morning. Elaine had been diagnosed with cancer last year and it had rapidly spread.  She knew her time was limited but treated the disease with her typical humour and fortitude.

Elaine was a lovely, friendly, kind and generous woman. I can't remember a day when she wasn't busy making chutney or jam, perfecting her bees wax candles or mead or making cakes for the local village sale.  She was a powerhouse of energy and was always thinking of ways of helping us and so many others.  She was one of a kind and will be sorely missed by us all. 9/11/12

Cooking up a Storm

During the half term we ran a series of cookery classes for children (aged 4 upwards).  The event was different each day - from cake making to bread making, but the format was similar.  Each day the children would scrub up, prepare the food and then leave it in the shop while they joined Richard - the owner - on a tour of the farm.  While they were away the kitchen elves would make sure the food proved, cooked or cooled - depending what had been made and that is was ready for the next stage when the children finished their tour. It was no surprise to me that the cup cakes looked great - children seem to know what they like when it comes to cakes and being so close to Halloween there were lots of spiders webs and ghouls on the cakes.  But the real star of the week was the bread making.  Fourteen children turned out some of the most professional looking loaves I have seen in a long while. The smell in the shop was fantastic and very few loaves made it home without being nibbled on the way.  But that is the sign of a good loaf - I always think. 3/11/12

Annie Toy

We received sad news yesterday.  One of our sponsors and volunteers - Annie Toy has died. She was a lovely woman with a great sense of fun.  She had been fighting cancer for a number of years but last year, when she had a period of remission, she worked as a volunteer on the farm. She had visited the farm a number of times before she enquired about the sponsorship scheme.  She started by sponsoring Bridie, one of the Highland cows, but went on to sponsor the Greyface Dartmoor sheep.  She was from New Zealand and perhaps that was why she had an affinity with sheep.  So much so, she wanted to be buried in a woollen coffin and buried with a picture of her favourite sheep - one of our Dartmoors.

Asa  - Farmer for the Day

Imagine this .... you are just about to hit your 18th birthday.  The night before is Saturday night and you decide to go out and party.  Your friends make sure you have a good time and the next morning you're lying in bed, not quite sure how you got home or where you were before you got home.  There is a knock on the door. It's early... too early. It's your mum. "Guess what we've got you for your birthday .... We've arranged with Baylham Farm for you to be a farmer for the day! Get up and grab your wellies!"

And so it was that Asa arrived, slightly bleary eyed, at Baylham on Sunday.  He seemed to be taking it in good part - no sign of a hangover (oh - to be young!) and after a hearty breakfast he got stuck into a typical farmer's day. 

His verdict? - A big surprise and very enjoyable. His mum groaned as she heard he had milked goats, fed and washed pigs and sorted out lambs for sale. Oh no - she said - he is going to want to take them all home as pets. Well, it is his birthday! 30/9/12

Rabbie and Rory

The calves are now out in the paddock and are clearly having fun.  Farmer Neil phoned me from the field and asked me to bring the camera.  He had just spotted the pair enjoying the last of the afternoon's sun, under the willow trees.  Their mums were at the other end of the field, more interested in Neil topping up their feed ring than their off-spring.  So I headed off, down the field with the ipad under my arm.  Unfortuntely a bird heard me just as I got into position and took flight.  This scared the two little steers who suddenly realised their mums were a long way off. They both jumped up and ran off down the field.   Shame! 29/9/12

Fiona's latest - and the need for a major re-think

When Fiona eventually gave birth to her latest calf it was a boy.  Having just named Morag's calf, we needed inspiration so headed to the internet to ask for suggestions for names.  We also decided to research Scottish names beginning with R.  During our research we discovered that Rory (or Ruairidh - as it should be written) means red king.  This was a bit embarrasing - because we had enthusiastically called Morag's blonde calf - Rory.  So after a quick re-think - we decided to call Fiona's lovely red calf - Ruairidh and rename Morag's Rabbie.

Morag gets there First

Both Morag and Fiona have been expecting calves and we all thought Fiona would get there first.  But yesterday Morag gave birth to Rory - a handsome Highland calf.  He seems to be a blonde - which is a first for us.  And now, as I write, Fiona is following suit.  So far there are a pair of hooves showing. 2/9/12

Points mean Prizes

After an administrative hiccup (we mislaid the paperwork!) - we have finally contacted all the people who won prizes at our Farm and Food Fair.  There were prizes for the longest distance people could wang a welly, fly a paper plane and throw & catch a fresh egg.

The prize for guessing where Karl the bull would produce his next cowpat (do bulls produce cowpats or bullpats?) was left unclaimed as he did not do the business all day.  So we were unable to split the money raised with the punter who had bought the square of the field where the pat landed, nobody won and we decided the proceeds should go to a charity - in this case St Elizabeth's Hospice.  It was a shame not to have an outright winner but I hope everyone who took part is happy with the outcome

Dreadlocks

Farmer Neil has brought some of the cows in from the field.  They hate it.  In the summer they like to graze outside, eating the grass and anything more interesting they can find.  The only positive thing to be said for being under cover is that they are at the back of the shop and therefore all the visitors see them first, while they still have a bulging bag of grass nuts.  So that way they get more of a fair share of the grass nuts than they do when they are out on the field.  By the time most visitors find them on the field, most of the nuts have been eaten by the goats.

So - why are the cows under cover?

Well, Fiona the Highland cow, is pregnant and is about to give birth.  We calculate this should take place sometime the week beginning the 13th August.

Philomena is in because she really needs a good groom.  Her tats are so long, she looks like she has dreadlocks.

And Phoboe, the White Park, is in for a general health check and groom  She is nearly two years old and Farmer Neil wants to check that she is fully developed and able to have a calf of her own.

Hens Away!

Today the British Hen Welfare Trust arrived from Nottingham with 400 hens to be re-homed.  There was quite a kerfuffle as the hens were downloaded from the trailer into the bull pen to await their new owners. This would be the first time they were in daylight, with space to move where they wanted and straw to peck around in.  Clearly some didn't know what to do with these new surroundings and one or two just stood in their water trough just playing with the water around their feet. These hens have been reared in a battery-type environment (and although 400 hens seemed a huge number to me, they left behind a million more) and are now heading off to new homes in gardens, smallholdings and farms to start a new lease of life.  Good luck to them.  If you want a hen from the next rescue batch - contact the British Hen Welfare Trust http://www.bhwt.org.uk  5/8/12

Farmer for the Day

This year we have had a number of people taking up the possiblity of being a Farmer for the Day.  When we decided to offer this opportunity we thought the majority of takers would be people thinking about setting up a small holding or taking on some livestock.  But this year there have been a surprising number of youngsters wanting to have a go.  In the main the day has been given as a birthday or Christmas present - sometimes one they have chosen for themselves, sometimes a surprise.

Hannah - our latest Farmer for the Day

We have enjoyed spending the day with all of them very much.  They are enthusiastic, eager to try different things, hard working and a pleasure to be around. Hannah, who spent a day in July with us, ended her day helping Neil put our latest ducklings into their new home

Winnie, Tigger & Roo

Remember Hope?  She is a little wild duck that was hand reared by Andrew & Natalie and then released onto the lake in June.  We see her every day.  She seems to be having fun - although somewhere along the way she has decided she is a goose and spends all day hanging out with the grey-lag geese on the lake.

Last weekend Andrew & Natalie brought Hope's sibblings to start their life in the wild.  Having been brought up in a human environment they found the lake a little scary to begin with.  But eventually were persuaded to wander off and play on the water.  We have seen them since their release but I am not sure they have met up with Hope yet.

Last of the Summer kids?

Today Bryony, a pygmy goat, produced a beautiful little nanny kid. We video'd it -as the only way the goats get privacy is to give birth in the middle of the night, silently.  Once we have edited out the shakey bits it will go on the website.

It was amazing to watch.  Within 2 minutes of being born, she was up on her feet trying to feed. Astonishing - when you compare it to how long it takes humans to develop that amount of control of their limbs.

Bryony may be the last of the goats to kid this year - although there is one goat that still looks enormously pregnant. Timing-wise she has another 2 weeks in which she could give birth. But Farmer Neil thinks she has just put on weight and is not convinced she is pregnant at all.  20/7/12

Here Comes Summer

OK - the British summer is not really developing in a way any of us would have planned.  The memory of the occasional warm day bobs around on a sea of unseasonal rain.  There is nothing any of us can do to change it.  But often, as I sit at my computer, I can see the best way of dealing with it.  Young children rarely let bad weather ruin their enjoyment.  And sometimes I think they seem more at home, running down the drive, splashing in the puddles than keeping their sun hats on and being lathered in sun cream.

So the way forward for the summer is clear : Wear waterproof footwear, carry an umbrella and you just might get away with catching the sun rather than the showers.

Make sure you put the 29th July in your diary for the Farm & Food day.  Chef's demos will be under cover -just in case it rains and whatever the weather, there will be plenty to see and do.

Karl - the Knighted*

Last week Farmer Neil headed to Ditchingham, Norfolk and brought back Karl.  Karl (originally from Catfield)is a rather magnificent White Park bull who is now spending a few months with our girls.  We have never owned our own bull of any breed, so pregnancy is usually achieved by artificial insemination.  Things changed this year.  First we had Daniel, a rather gorgeous Highland bull.  I never saw him in action, but I did see him walking on the shoreline of the lake with Bridie.  They looked pretty happy.

Of course, at this stage the White Park cows could only look on.  But Daniel was returned to his owner in May and now Karl is here.  This means it is now the White Parks who can have lakeside walks with their beau while the Highlands look on.  17/7/12

* Legend has it that it was a succulent piece of White Park meat that was knighted by James I - and thus SirLoin was born.

The Naked Sheep .... there were lots of them

Our annual shearing festival was better than ever this year.  Although we can pat ourselves on the back for some of its success - the real star was the weather.  After a week of grim weather which saw most of the Jubilee festivities water logged, the cancellation of the Suffolk show and a cold, wet half term, Sunday 10th of June was, in comparison, a scorcher.  Despite the forecast for a decidely damp weekend, it didn't work out that way. The day before was dry and windy - which greatly pleased Farmer Neil as all the soggy fleeces dried off nicely.  Then, on Sunday, I got up at 6am to find the sun was already shining and it didn't stop til after 7pm.

So with that back drop, we were off to a good start.  This year we had even more spinners, weavers, knitters and felters than usual (and a big thanks to all the Guilds that kindly volunteered to show their skills and help others develop theirs).  We also had independent spinners, origami & paper mache specialists, bear builders, face painters and many other activities and crafts that made the day both interesting, educational and fun. And to top it all - the Baylham BBQ and Hell Hound, our local micro brewery, both proved very succesful additions.  21/06/12

Time Flies

I hadn't realised how long it was since I had added to my blog until I sat down and struggled to remember the password.  Once in, I then looked and could see my last blog sitting there, dated March 2012.  So - there is a lot to catch up on.  Lambing, piglet-ing, kidding and hatching ducks (I thought duckling-ing was pushing it too far) and that is just the births.  There have also been deaths - but not very many but, not surprisingly, no marriages.  But all of this has been covered in the News section of the website.
The main problem this year seems to have been space.  In the past, every year we have bred Kune Kune piglets and every year there has been a waiting list.  But last year was a disaster - nobody wanted to buy them.  Given that we always sell them as pets - partly because they are such characters and partly because they are so slow growing it is not commercially viable to feed them until they are big enough to eat, because it takes too long.  I am sure it is a sign of the economic times we live in that people are cutting back on the non-essentials and pets certainly fit into that category.  And so we find ourselves with rather a lot of young pigs needing space.  This would be a little challenging in a normal year but this is not a normal year.  This is the year Farmer Neil decided to re-form all the pig pens - mainly because the fencing was in such bad shape.  So the area that previously would have housed eight pig arcs and paddocks is now one big mass - no fences, no arcs just cordoned off from the public.  It is also the year that started with the driest winter on record and seems to be moving into the wettest summer.  So for months Neil was not able to get the old posts out of the ground or the new fencing posts in.  Although things have moved on a little since then - it has not been in a good way.  We are now struggling to keep the grass down in the areas where visitors can walk because on the days when it is not raining, the grass is often still too soggy to mow and strimming when mowing becomes impossible.  Tied up with vegetation control, Neil has had no time to get on with re-fencing.
So with lots of piglets and no paddocks Neil had to start getting creative.  First he moved a number of the piglets into goat paddocks - which was an inspired decision.  The pigs had so much to eat (as goats are, despite their reputation, picky eaters) and a wilderness to explore.  The goats, on the other hand, were re-shuffled and met up with goats they hadn't seen for years (as they lived on a different part of the farm) or, in the case of Peter the Golden Guernsey, learnt how to live with sheep.  Which also worked well - perhaps the fact that they are French sheep helped - as he was half-way there.
But there were still a number of piglets that needed housing.  So Neil came up with the not so inspired idea of putting them on the lawn.  At times the lawn has housed a small group of sheep, a convalescent ram or a single goat awaiting collection.  But none of these occupants could have prepared us for the devastating effect that 7 piglets, who have not yet settled down into their "grazing pig" trait, could create.     
I am not going to pretend the lawn was ever suitable for bowls but it was fairly smooth - just the odd mole hill.  Now it is like a war zone.  The area under the trampoline is particularly bad.  It is like the whole lot has just been rotavated.  And of course,  after rotavating you would expect to roll the ground and then lay it with turf. But something tells me that that isn't going to happen for a while.  Perhaps after the fencing has been finished!

Fingers crossed

It is raining and has been for much of the day.  I know we need it but I can't help thinking - why Sunday?  Why does it have to rain at the weekend when it could rain during the week and most people would be at work and hardly notice.
When it is so damp outside the temptation is to stay indoors.  But I was getting a bit stir crazy so I have just spent the last half an hour in the lambing tunnel, sitting amongst the lambs (it is one of the perks of the job). They are getting very naughty now.  As they get bigger, they get more confident and with confidence comes the desire to push the boundaries.  So whereas I used to be able to sit in the middle of the pen and only a few brave lambs would venture over to sniff me, chew my sleeve or try to nuzzle into my pocket - now they all try it.  And their antics begin almost as soon as I sit down.  Some lambs start to climb up my back, some to chew my hair (well, it does look a bit straw-like), while others jump across me, as if I am just a continuation of the straw bale.
So far these lambs have spent their whole life in the lambing tunnel - they don't know about the world outside, the cold winds, the rain and the grass.  But by the end of the week they will be out on the field, in a very different world. And for a few days they will be shell-shocked.  When we open the tunnel gates their mothers, who have been locked up for the last 6 weeks will make a dash for it.  Given the opportunity they will run as fast as they can.  Despite their colossal size and their huge udders, they will sprint along the track, towards the field.  Some will stop at the first sign of succulent-looking grass, others will just keep their eye on the horizon.  None of them will even think of their lambs until they reach the end of the track and the closed gate.  Meanwhile the lambs will remain, now traumatized, in the tunnel.  The stampede over, the door to the big wide world open, the lambs will be in a state of shock.  Their world has suddenly been turned upside down, their confidence vanished they try to hide in corners or stand their ground, bleating for their mum.  Then, little by little, one or two will go through the gate, a couple more will follow and before long a group of them will be on the track, trying out the grass and weeds.
Meanwhile, having munched their way through some of the tenderest shoots they could find and realizing they can't get to the field as the gate is closed, their mums will suddenly remember their babies. They will start bleating and retracing their steps, and before long, the whole lot will be bleating and looking around for their off-spring.  Then one will lead the stampede back down the track towards the tunnel and before long, mothers and lambs will meet, pair up and let themselves be led to the field.
It follows the same pattern each year but I never tire of watching it.  But as I sat in the tunnel this afternoon I found myself looking at these healthy young lambs and thinking how lucky we had been to have been spared the Schmallenberg virus, the latest disease to hit sheep and other farming livestock.  I crossed my fingers and hoped that the ewes that will be coming into the tunnel at the end of the week, ready for Easter lambing, will be as lucky.

Warming Up

David Millward's photo - thanks David

Warming up

In the weeks leading up to closing for the winter many of our visitors wish us well for our holiday.  Leaving the shop they will say something like "Enjoy your break - you deserve it" or "Bet you are looking forward to putting your feet up for a while".  Usually we smile and agree - but just sometimes we find ourselves saying - We are closing to the public, not having a holiday!.  But when we say that, it is usually because the weight of the workload ahead of us is praying on our minds.  Because closing to the public is just that .  Everything else on the farm carries on, all the animals still need to be fed, cleaned and cared for and all the jobs that we can't do when the public are there each day, can now be started.

We start the 3 month "downtime" with a plan.  This could be called the Preposterous Plan.  It lists everything we want to do but it takes no account of the fact that:

there are only 3 of us to implement it;

only 3 months to complete it;

downtime is the start of winter and the weather will make many jobs impossible.

Oh, and then there is Christmas right in the middle - with a magic combination of all the family descending on the farm to be fed and watered and all the farm helpers staying at home with their faimilies.

Sometimes, if the weather has been kind, one month into the plan will still make everything seem possible.  We will have made good progress with preparing the ground for new fencing, laying down a new foot path, demolishing an old field shelter but then the snows will arrive or one of us will get (and pass on) a virus. Something always happens to throw the plans off course.

So, like most people, we end up working really long hours for the few weeks just before we open.  By this stage we are working hard not because we are trying to finish off the list but because we are trying to get the farm in an orderly way, from the havoc created by starting item 1 or 2 in the list (items 3 to 20 never got a look-in).

And so it was this year.  

Close to the top of the list was to re-work the shop toilets and replace the pig fencing.

The toilet facilities have been unsatisfactory for a while - as there were three urinals and one toilet for the men and only one toilet for women/disabled and nappy changers to share.

So we arranged to have all the area re-designed and agreed with the plumber and builder that they would be out by the end of January.  Unfortunately - like most building works - this over ran and although most of the job was completed and cleared away by the 4th February, the final touches were finished on the 10th - less than 24 hours before we were due to open.

With most of the builder's rubble out of the way on the 4th, I started cleaning the shop, painting the toilets and shop and getting the shelves cleaned and the stock put out.  Brick and plaster dust are always a nightmare to clean up and the shop took much longer than I had hoped.

A large part of Friday was spent baking, with the remainder being finished on Saturday morning.  But by  Saturday morning it was clear that the drop in temperature overnight had led to all the water systems in the shop to freeze over. I finished the remainder work in the house, while everyone else tried to get the pipes defrosted.

In the end, it took all day to get the water moving.  Without any water for people to wash their hands we were unable to open  to the public. It was so disappointing and strangely ironic.  To have put so much effort in to getting the toilets finished - it was then not possible to use them because the water was frozen.

As for the pig fencing, I can still see the stack of fencing posts in the disabled parking bay.  They were delivered just before the temperatures dropped and the snows arrived.  We could no longer see where the posts were due to go, let alone make holes in the frozen soil.

So all in all, an inauspicious start to the year..... Things can only get better.  

3rd February - we must be nearly there - surely?!

It is the same every year.  We close at the end of October and it seems like we have all the time in the world to put in hand the maintenance jobs that aren't possible when the farm is open to the public.  November slips by, some progress is made and we all feel quietly confident that everything is possible.  Then December whizzes by- a blur of cooking, eating, shopping and entertaining. On to the New Year.
January arrives, slaps us round the face and demands to know how it is possible to finish all the jobs we have started before we open our doors mid February.
By early February and the birth of the first lamb, the full horror of the situation is all too apparent.  We have a week left and about 1000 hours of work to complete.  Yet again, we have taken on way too many jobs, assumed there would be no hitches and forgot to factor in that we are only a small team.
By the time we open, on the 11th February, some things will have to be sorted.  The lambing pens are ready and our first twins are happily leaping around the pen. There will be more.
The posts for the new pig pens are still in the disabled parking lot.  Yesterday's efforts to start driving them into the soil failed as the ground is now frozen rock solid.
As I write, the builders who have been changing the toilet arrangements in the shop (who promised me they would be finished by last Friday) are still very much here.  My efforts to clean and prepare the kitchen yesterday were thwarted by the fact that the plumber still hasn't finished the pipe work and therefore there is no water.
On the positive side, once we start lambing we have to check on the lambs round the clock. As I got up this morning to do the 3am check, I began thinking that it would be a good idea not to go back to bed, but to head to the shop and start painting. But the thought of my nice warm bed was too great.  I went back to bed and worried instead.  At this rate, this time next week, we won't even be going to bed.

The Year End

There is a strange disconnect between the world I see around me on the farm and the calendar.  Outside the grass is still growing, most of the trees still have all their leaves, there are raspberries on raspberry canes and roses around my window.  Yet, at the end of this week, the farm closes for winter.  November is only a few days away and yet I frequently see our volunteers out and about in short sleeved T-shirts.
Closing the farm to the public always creates a mixture of feelings: the end of another year; the beginning of the big tidy-up; a time to look at what we do and why/how we do it; time for a break.  Of course, the last of these really only applies to me - as the majority of my work revolves around the shop - serving, cooking and stocking up.  The rest of the farm, like all live stock farms, carries on as before  - the pigs still need feeding, Gigi and Grace (our pet goats) still need daily cuddles and at some stage presumably the weather will deteriorate and the animals will have to be moved under cover to avoid the worst of the winter.
But today - no need to think of the winter gloom.  The first visitors of the day are arriving. I better head to the shop and open up.

No angel

I am one of Gigi's greatest fans.  From the moment I saw her it was love at first sight.  Her mum, Geraldine, was my favourite animal on the farm and as she died giving birth to Gigi, I think I just transfered my affections.  There is something about Golden Guernsey goats that I don't get from other goats.  They are serene, gentle and very curious about humans.
However - Gigi was trying my patience yesterday.  She spent the day showing Grace - her half-sister - all the best places to nibble greenery.  I was too late to rescue my palm - it is now a stump.  All the sweet pea pods (that I had planned to pull off, dry and plant next year) have been eaten. And I seemed to spend the whole day carrying Gigi or Grace out of the shop.  In fact, even my extremely laid back cat was getting annoyed and could be seen batting Gigi whenever she came by.
So she was already not in my good books when I ducked into my flat to grab some paperwork only to discover she had relieved herself all over my leather sofa. YUK!
I suppose it serves me right - I shouldn't have left the front door open.  You would have thought I would be wise to the perils of an open-door policy on the farm, after the piglets came in and ate all the cat food.  But some people never learn!