Category Archives: Farmblog

Why are all the good music radio programs on so late? This is a rant I’ve been building up to for a while so expect it coming your way soon, but Mixing It on Radio 3 is the most tedious … Continue reading →

I’d had a do-nothing-day today. The wind was battering the caravan turning the boiler flu (for which there is no boiler) into a sound effect for a really scary movie and I just fancied lying around reading. Then, at about … Continue reading →

Last weekend I went for a quick drink with Dave and Anita, a couple of old friends who happen to be civil servants in Winchester City and Hampshire County Councils respectively. While it never really occurred to me, the Island … Continue reading →

It’s the little things. Last weekend I brought back from my stash of stuff in Winchester a sheet and duvet cover. The idea was that now it’s getting warmer I can escape the straight-jacket of the sleeping bag and have … Continue reading →

Today started wet and stayed wet, the most heavy rain we’ve had here for weeks. But at least it’s warm rain and not too windy. M’s got a virus laying her low so we weren’t able to get the bits … Continue reading →

Y’know, keeping this journal actually has a use. While I was on the mainland last weekend I spent a bit of time tidying up the presentation of my three year old weblog and glanced over entries made in 2000. This … Continue reading →

Kneeling down, hammering in a nail, I spied two wellington boots walking along with a familiar gait. “Hello young man!” came the call. Fred-the-Farmer was in the house. This was good news as the chicken house I’d just built was … Continue reading →

Here is the recent news from the farm… Millie the cow has gone back into the field. Last week one of the other cows was sold so the total number of cows out there is still four with three calves. … Continue reading →

Okay, so I’ve been away and come back. While this is only the second time and it’s not very scientific to base assumptions on a pattern of one, I am experiencing something of a variation on the “once bitten twice … Continue reading →

Not being a seasoned cyclist by any stretch of the imagination I have, if not a mortal fear, a worry about the weather. If it looks like rain, I ain’t going out. Yes, I have waterproofs but the sweat that … Continue reading →

I’m off to the mainland tomorrow evening to upload this journal and the photos. These regular breaks do seem to affect how I perceive my time here. Admittedly this is only the second, but I’m so stationary most of the … Continue reading →

I’m getting worried about the lambs, although I’m trying not to get too concerned. They’ve been out in the field-paddock for a few days now and are still hanging around in the corner nearest the house during the day and … Continue reading →

The summer weather broke through today most gloriously. I took my regular Wednesday morning walk into Godshill to buy some cigarette papers and set up a standing order for the Saturday Guardian and was sweating by 9.30am. Oh, glorious anticyclone, … Continue reading →

Done it – one field of about 7-8 acres has been methodically swept by me for ragwort. Yay! Now I just have to sweep it for thistles. Boo! But first I’m painting the carport (actually a corrugated iron shelter) green … Continue reading →

What happened today then. Well, I allowed myself a small jump of joy as the top three quarters of the field are now clear of ragwort. There remains one dense patch at the bottom and a general sweep and then … Continue reading →

I didn’t think that lambs could yawn, but then dogs and cats do so there’s no reason why not. It would seem the lambs didn’t sleep last night as they’re sleeping on and off now, either in dozing sitting position, … Continue reading →

I keep forgetting about this, but Sandy the dog has been outside for the last couple of days. Considering a week ago she was in a critical condition at the vets after being run over, and that the vet had … Continue reading →

11.30pm and the lambs are still sitting in the same place as before. Thankfully it’s not too cold out with no wind so the poor dears won’t suffer too much, but I doubt they’ll get too much sleep. Me, I’m … Continue reading →

A big day for the orphan lambs – today they graduated from the holding paddock in the farmyard to the other paddock in the fields. They’ve gradually had their powdered milk watered down and reduced and have mainly been eating … Continue reading →

I just heard on the Shipping Forecast that a couple of bits of weather (I missed where or what) will be “moving north and losing their identities”. In all my years as a Shipping Forecast fan I’ve never heard that … Continue reading →