Grass

Just started

Done (notice darkness)

If the winter was mainly concerned with wood, felling it, logging it and burning it, then the spring and summer have been concerned with grass. The wettest June on record has made it difficult and we had been trying to manage with manual implements. However, after a day with a scythe and a steep field it dawned on me that machinery was needed. Enter the Goldoni two wheeled tractor.

We have now had this little workhorse for just over 24 hours. In that time we have topped the big field and moved the duckhouse and contents. In preparation for the four new ducks who arrive tonight.

The large field would have taken days by hand. It is probable that, even if we got the weather, we would not have had the time to make hay. This is the next stage on the medium field. If we ever get a run of dry days we will try and take hay from the top field. We can then test out the power scythe and see if it works as well as the topper.

This field is an optical illusion.

This grass field is an optical illusion. If you look at it, initially, it looks very much like other fields. It looks as if it has grass like any other field. But look closely and you will see that the grass here is only two or three inches short unlike those long-haired hippy fields next door with their wavy, luxurious locks.  No, this field is an optical illusion. It looks gently sloping and benign. No matter how hard you look you will not see the steep slopes and slippery aspects. These are even more impressive when you traverse them carrying a razor sharp scythe. This field is an optical illusion as it hides its content. It looks boring and empty but up close it is covered in butterflies (mainly Meadow Browns and Red Admirals), crawling with frogs of all sizes and lively with beetles. This field's optical illusion hides its size. It looks small and compact, it does not look as if to cut it would take a walk of over eight kilometers to reach every part of its area.This field is an optical illusion. Looking at it you would not know that it had received four hours of manual attention with a scythe. Four hours of back-breaking labour leaving me with muscle pains where I didn't even know I had muscles. Four hours of rhythmic swish-swish, sweat-sweat, sharpen-sharpen, stagger-stagger, swish-swish (repetere ad agone) and it looks much the same as when I started.

We are now going to explore two-wheeled tractors.

For in seven days I will send rain on the earth ...

Will this rain ever stop? The wettest June is now being followed by the wettest July. It is a dreary reminder, to mull over miserably when you are trapped indoor, that one aspect of climate change for this area of the world was not just increased temperatures but increased rainfall. It has been so bad that the bees have been able to collect little and needed fed again this week. They were ravenous little mites and drank a pint of syrup over a period of two days. They are a fairly large colony but have little in the way of stores and we have no honey, as a consequence, in he supers.

The wet weather had another dismal consequence. The risk of fly strike is higher in this setting. The prospect of the sheep getting infested by maggots and eaten alive horrifies me and therefore we needed to apply prophylaxis. We assembled, by chance, a crack team of five adults with a variety of skills (medical, psyops, statistical, IT, communications and drama) and set to work It was pathetic to watch as this team was outrun, outjumped and outwitted by itsopponents. It took over two hours to round-up the sheep. There was then a short period of clambering, jostling and falling while the pour on was applied and the deed was finally done. Relaxing in the victory celebrations and filling in the medication log I noted that the instructions are quite clear on one point "repeat in 6 to 8 weeks". Interviews for the new team start shortly.

The mark of Maesneuadd

When the sheep were sheared last week they were marked as planned. Interestingly, in the process the original mark for the farm was unearthed. We have the original blue 'M' for Maesneuadd. It is tempting to use this elsewhere but Lola and Cosmo have been quite quick on their feet. All six ewes and the ram are looking well. They seem to have hefted to the far end of the large field but do roam the full extent and it does seem that the grass is getting shorter.

During the next month, if we get any dry and sunny days, we should try and take some hay off the top field. The last few days have been constantly wet although it has been warm, this is an unpleasant mixture for logging as the sweat pours and sticks to you.

The poultry have been fine. The chickens are still providing 8 eggs a day but we have reduced the layers pellets and increased the mixed corn to see if this will help this. It is too early to know if the incubator is doing anything other than heating some water, it is another 5 days until we candle the eggs.

The ducklings are getting used to their new surroundings but, again if we get some dry days, we hope to move them down to the hidden meadow. The pond we dug there has filled well and will be very suitable for them.