Abundance Of Fruit

Unfortunately it's not here but at my parents farm. I went for the first time in two months on Friday (I know I'm a bad son!) and the little orchard I planted years ago is doing brilliantly. Plenty of early fruit.

 My mum, the girls and me walked round eating different apples (discoveries and Worcesters) plums and greengages. I had to slow the girls down at one point or they'd get bad bellies!

 The early fruit seems to be doing the best in there this year although there is plenty of fruit for later in the season. I need to get the food drier out and start drying some again, and maybe think about attempting to can some! 

Has everyone else got a heavy crop of early apples?

Trying To Manage The Grass For The Sheep

I'm trying to manage what little grass we seem to have at the moment so we'll have some fresh grass to flush the ewes on when it comes time for tupping (that's not yet - I want to lamb late).

Two little helpers
(sorry about quality of my photos they're off my phone as my little camera has broken)

At the moment only the big field (about 6 acres) has any amount of fresh grass on. So rather than give them the whole lot I split it in half (where an old hedge used to be) using electric fencing. It's been a few years since I put any electric fencing up but I certainly hadn't forgotten how to do it. When I was at school in the autumn dad used to pick up my brother and I, we'd get changed in the school car park and then go move fencing in different fields that we rented. The girls enjoyed helping but I did make them walk along way - up and down with me each time they were pretty tired by the end. 

Then yesterday morning I got up early and got the sheep in, drenched them for worms and put them out on the fresh grass (all before the wife left for work at 7). A few are looking a little thin and have lost a bit of condition so I want to fatten them a little bit. I also need to be keeping a look out for a good tup for sale to run with my ladies soon. 

Happy sheep on new grass

Drench and gun

The old field was looking a bit bare

Settled in their new patch

Hopefully the two little fields I've just taken them off will recover enough now to have some fresh grass in a month or so. It's another juggling act and one where it will take a bit of learning. Each patch has different grass and conditions and it all grows back at different rates and is weather dependant so it'll take me a few years to learn how long each patch will last when the sheep move in and how long it takes to come back. 

Who else has to constantly juggle their stock into different fields to manage their grassland? Although it is more labour intensive it is a much better way to manage the land I have here and I'll get much more from the land in the long run because of it. 

What Can You do To Help?

Completely off topic but it's all I could think about last night.

I'm not a hugely charitable man, I know that, but there are some things that make you stop and think. The refugee crisis from Syria is one of those things. 

I can't shake that picture of that little boy, who is the same age as my eldest girl (3), lying on the beach, face down in the sand, out of my head.

Nor should I. 

The father, a man like me but from another country, lost his other son (5) and his wife that day. I can't imagine what he's going through. He's lost everything, he hasn't even got friends and family around to support him as he grieves. 

To ignore what is happening to other human beings on this earth is terrible and I do feel a little helpless as to what I can do to help. There is a good article in the Independent about five practical ways you can help and I hope you join me in doing something, however small. 

Summer Of Work Finished

 Today my wife goes back to work so I'm back looking after these two little terrors! 

The summer has been stupidly busy with plenty of (paying) work and still lots for me to catch up on even now.  I've did my usual and took on far too much and things here have suffered a bit. The garden isn't looking as good as it should be, but I have kept on top of looking after the animals and other projects like the porch have just stood still. 

My weekends are booked for quite a while yet with more work, it's a viscous circle really as I need to work for the money to do the projects but because I'm working I can't do the projects themselves! I'm sure I'll catch up at some point.

Who else is struggling for time to do things?

Fixing the Car When On Holiday

It had to happen whilst we were away, the car broke. Not seriously but the electronic boot catch stopped working, a bit annoying when you're on holiday and using the boot (trunk to the Americans) lots. Luckily it was just after I got all our luggage into the holiday house.

Now I've got no idea why this catch is electronic as the switch is just above the catch and a button would do the job just as well, but I guess a button has less chance of going wrong so a repair is less likely, or maybe I'm just being pessimistic. 

Boot stripped of covers

Googling the problem showed it to be a fairly common fault with two options an easy fix or a tricky one. I hoped for the first one and checked the fuses under the bonnet and in the boot. None had gone, this meant it was the harder fix. 

Switch at the bottom

I had to strip off all the covers to expose the switching mechanism. So I went and brought a set of screwdrivers and bits and set to work. I used a large flat head screwdriver to manually open the boot and then it didn't take me too long to have it all apart so I could see what the problem was. I think that the switch was pressing against the metal work of the boot and this caused it to stop working. So using my girls scissors I cut some plastic spacers out of a yoghurt pot and put them in before putting it all back together again. 

It worked fine then and we could get the pushchair out of the car when we wanted - a big deal when you're on holiday with two little ones! 

It's funny because the thought of taking the car to the garage to get it fixed didn't even cross my mind and I'm sure my wife didn't even think to suggest it! 

i guess I try to be as self reliant as possible on holiday as well as at home. (next time I'll take a few more tools with me though!)