Hidden Treasure

We have a large chest freezer, which is always too full to get anything in, but there's never anything I need for the day's meals (at least on the top bit I can see). In a burst of activity (and the need to find some space for a turkey etc) we emptied it this week  and did a bit of a stock take. This year may have been a poor one for fruit, but I found a stack of plums and damsons, and sliced apples and pears. I don't need to buy any meat for a while (several joints, plus bags of mince and stewing meat). And we've had some easy meals from the various Pyrex dishes I found in the depths - all mainly recognisable for what they were. So I'm now super organised - large strong carrier bags for each type of food. It's not always what it looks like though - I lifted out some lamb to make a curry tonight. But it seems it will be a beef curry.

Ever hopeful we have kept the caravan ready to go at a moments notice. But we know now we won't get away again till Spring. It's protected form the elements to a certain extent (in the "sheep building" - yes, I know we haven't had sheep for years, but old habits die hard), but still subject to heavy frost (see posts of June 2011 about the havoc it can cause), so we studied the manual carefully and followed the "winterising" instructions to the letter.

And a rummage in the caravan cupboards and lockers found more hidden treasure. As well as crisps and chocolate biscuits, a goodly supply of gin (3 types), whisky and whiskey, wine and sparkling wine. We could maybe have left them there till next year - but what if they froze and went to waste?

It must be Winter

The sun is shining.
The temperature is dropping.
Hedging tools are out.
And there's an definite agricultural whiff in the air.

The Weather

What can I say about it? We've not had the floods that have affected the South West, and Furness area, but the fields are so waterlogged that it's very difficult to travel round the farm. We've a few heifers still out, so thank goodness for the quad bike that means we can get across the grass to feed  them. The slurry pits are filling up and we could really do with some hard frost so we can get some muck spread.

The wet weather has also delayed Henry's decorating. On fine days he's been repainting the house windows, and yesterday he finished the last one (15th I think).

Worrying needlessly

For the past couple of weeks I had been worrying about Sunday night. We had tickets to see Bellowhead in concert at The Lowry (Manchester). We hadn't seen them live since April 2011, and with much regret and a certain degree of bitterness (on my part) had to forego our planned trip to see them at Harrogate in July (see the post here) when the rain stopped and the sun shone. So I had high expectations of this concert. I had the latest album, and had read "rave reviews" of the first week of their tour, but was secretly worried that I was expecting too much.

How wrong could I be - it was the best concert I had ever been to. It helped that we had seats in the middle of the front row, only a couple of yards from the band (and even closer when they danced on the very edge of the stage). They didn't just sing the songs, or even just perform them, they did so much more than that. I can't describe the experience, but for an nearly two hours the stage was a whirl of eleven musicians and twice as many instruments, waving arms and leaping feet.

We won't get a chance to see them again for a while, so I sneaked a couple of photos as reminders of a wonderful night.

Sorry, we were so near that I could only get 9 of the 11 in this photo!

As promised - onwards and upwards

 

Progress

At last the new classroom is emerging from a muddy hole.

So, next week it's onwards and upwards

What does it mean to you?

Last week on Twitter I mentioned STP.

Two people assumed they knew what it stood for - based on their lifestyle.

Strickley True Perfection
and
Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Or does one describe the other?

Don't worry if you missed the Tweet - I very rarely Tweet (though the Weather software sends a Tweet every 3 hours), so you're not missing anything.

Click here for one STP

Yesterday's Sale

Click here for a link to a report of yesterday's Dairy Shorthorn Show & Sale.

A Good Day Out

James has just come back from the Dairy Shorthorn sale at Chelford - with an empty trailer and a cheque in his pocket. As this was a Show & Sale, the cows were judged before the sale. Strickley Starlet 114th was Reserve Champion, and realised the highest price in the ring.

Many thanks to the Malkin family at Stone, and I hope they do well in your Organic herd.

But if you missed out and want come see what other stock we may have for sale, just let us know!

Cows for sale

The Autumn Show and Sale of the Dairy Shorthorn Society will be held at Chelford on Monday 5th November. The catalogue can be viewed online - click here. If you would like any more information about the Strickley entries, please let us know.

Weather Report

Click HERE to see the latest statistics from Strickley