Strickley

Update

2012-01-28T09:56:00.003Z

This morning the weather is a bit more seasonable - cold (well coldish) and clear. The warm wet winter presents different problems to last year (ice and snow). Work in the fields is more difficult, and in some cases hazardous - eg hedging on a steep slippy banking - but has to be done if possible. We do have some very wet fields (good in drought years), and yesterday set to and made great improvements in one of them Henry and James cleaned out about 220 metres of Strickley Beck (in The Meadow). It was running very slow, but is now flowing as it should be. Several eels and fish were picked up in the clearing, but returned to the water.

We're not really moaning about the weather - but it is something that farmers tend to do. We must be greatful it's not as bad as it was in 1940 - click here to see what a real winter was like at Strickley.

Meanwhile the builders have continued on the new toilet block and are almost ready to begin on the roof.

Congratulations

2012-01-23T07:48:00.000Z

Congratultions

to Victoria on getting a job

Well Done

on going out and finding it yourself

Good Luck

on your first day

Another fine frosty morning . . .

2012-01-16T11:26:00.002Z

. . . so it's good for muck spreading, but not so good for blocking. But, as promised, here's an advert for our builder.

Making the most of the weather

2012-01-15T11:39:00.000Z

Another fine sunny day, so Sunday or not, we're making the most of it. You may remember that last year we grew two fields of Tritcale, undersown with grass. We got the Triticale in September (see Blog post for 2nd September) and the grass was left to grow on. Trouble was the Tritacle stalks were still there - if you drive along the Old Hutton road you can't fail to see them. I think we hoped they might rot away. Or that the wintering sheep might nibble them (they had too much sense - ate the grass instead). So today we're doing something about it - James has the flail mower and is "topping off". Hopefully once cut down, they'll break up and rot away.

Meanwhile - I'm trying to prove "you're never too old to learn". We've had a piano for over 40 years and I can't really play it. I can read music to a certain extent (recorder and trumpet at school), and I can pick out a tune with my right hand. I can even do the left hand (on it's own). But doing both at once is a bit of a challenge. So I've temporarily swapped one keyboard for another to write this post.

And finally - if you see a large bird swooping over Strickley today, it's the Harris Hawk back again (see posts in November)

Earlier today

2012-01-14T08:04:00.000Z

An amazing sky this morning - photo taken about 7:45 from the step, looking over the top of Wellbank towards the weather station on top of the hill.

Concrete and Clay (well, almost)

2012-01-12T16:35:00.000Z

Monday was more or less fine all day, so the concrete arrived for the new toilet block. We're just doing the initial site preparation and digging out (and moving a few things around with the Manitou), but it's now down to our builder.

I know that it's a small structure, but by the concrete was poured and levelled it looked even smaller.

The weather improved all day yesterday and by today the sun was shining! So work started on the blocking.

Our builder, Will Nelson of Old Hutton is going to park his van differently next time, so you can see his name and contact details. All exposure is good advertising.

By the end of the day the building was taking shape.

And while this work has been going on, there's been plenty of farm work as well - seasonal jobs (muck spreading and hedging).

And finally, I couldn't resist including this clip from YouTube

New Year, New Project

2012-01-07T10:59:00.003Z

For once it's not raining, so we're digging out the footings for our latest project - a small toilet block for when we have school visits etc. It is too cold for spectators to hang about outside, so just one photo today. You can look at the plans on the SLDC website, and (weather permitting) I'll be out there with my camera on Tuesday when the concrete is poured.

Recycling

2012-01-05T15:28:00.003Z

This morning it's a Christmas tree.
This afternoon it's firewood.

Classification

2012-01-05T13:16:00.001Z

This morning the Strickley Herd was classified. This is done by an independent classifier. This link explains most of what is involved and the benefits to the breeder. (It talks about Holsteins, the principals apply to all breeds).

Once again we are pleased with the overall results, and these are a few of the highlights. The results are uploaded to the Dairy Shorthorn Society's Database, so clicking on the names will show you all you ever wanted to know. I'm not sure when today's details will show up - sometime soon I hope.

In no particular order:-

Strickley Lily 13 VG85

She was the Junior Shorthorn Champion at 2010 Westmorland Show.

Strickley Starlet 51 EX94 (again)

Strickley Starlet 94 - a new excellent - EX90

(note the spelling mistake on the database - Starley not Starlet)

You'll notice on the Shorthorn site, that some cows have "stars" - clicking here shows the full "league table".

As well as our Dairy Shorthorns we have a couple of Brown Swiss, and this was the first time that any of them have been classified.

Strickley Her Linde 87 points

Weather records

2012-01-04T13:46:00.001Z

Just a quick reminder, in case you've forgotten (or never realised) that our yearly weather records (and of course all time records) only show data from 8th June (see post) when we setup out new weather station. The previous 6 - 8 months with the old equipment had been very hit and miss, so we started with a clean sheet.

Into 2012

2012-01-01T17:26:00.000Z

It's been a while since my last post (Christmas is coming, but are we ready?) - the answer is, of course we were. Because it doesn't matter if every little thing is done perfectly and on schedule - but that we all find time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Christmas Day was very traditional with turkey (and all the trimmings) - a joint celebration between Strickley and Wellbank. Do farmers get a lie in on Christmas Day? No, of course not. But they do get up at a different time - even earlier (so they have more time off during the day!). So after the traditional snooze in front of the fire (while pretending to read a book) it was back out to milk etc.

Over the past few days farming has continued at more leisurely pace than usual (partly because it's been so wet and muddy that no hedging was possible). Victoria and the boys are now at Strickley and yesterday all nine of us went bowling at Morecambe. I think I've been once since the Sixties, but I still managed the first Strike (and the only other one was from Henry!). After a meal out (KFC - a first for me) it was back to work. We didn't stay up to watch the year move onto 2012, but had an early night to prepare ourselves for partying tonight..

We've cooked and baked all day and now have a spread for about 50 (though there will only be 15 of us). And after supper I've a raft of party games (from Pass the Parcel and Musical Chairs to Keys on String and Mummies).

So, a Happy New Year to you all. May it bring everything you hope for and deserve!

Christmas is Coming . . .

2011-12-19T10:57:00.000Z

. . . but are we ready?+

The food and drink is sorted (more or less).
The cake is made (still to ice).
Cards are finally printed, written and sent (running out of yellow ink so our grass looks a bit blue).
Presents bought (quite a few still to wrap and deliver).
Tree brought into hall and decorated (and for the first time, I held back and didn't use all the baubles).
Trees in bedroom windows (one set of lights already replaced).
Sitting room tastefully decorated (i.e sparsely).
Kitchen decorations on kitchen table (maybe making it to the beams tonight).
Slurry pit level lowering (tractor and tanker going past the window as I write).
update - now abandonned re heay rain
And later today I'll be getting right up to date with bills and paperwork so I can, hopefully, forget about it for a while.

North West Herd Competition

2011-12-17T08:35:00.001Z

Earlier in the year Stephen Girvan from Northern Ireland judged the North West Shorthorn Herd Competition. Over the course of several days he travelled round our region (from beyond Dumfries to Weardale and down to South Cumbria), looking at whole herds and individual animals. And last night was the culmination when we held our annual dinner and prize giving. Fifty Shorthorn families converged on the Greyhound Inn in Shap, and after dinner were entertained by the Dairy Shorthorn president Graham Madeley, updating us on the Society and giving an insight into his childhood, and Stephen's reminicences of his tour of our region. He then presented the cups and certificates. He said he couldn't please everyone - so he pleased one person - himself.

NORTH WEST HERD COMPETITION 2011

JUDGE STEPHEN GIRVAN

CLASS 1 -BEST LARGE HERD

1st WinbrookHerd - G A & D W Dent

2nd StrickleyHerd - W H & K M Robinson

3rd BrafellHerd - J Teasdale

4th WhitchesterHerd - C Hall

CLASS 2 -BEST SMALL HERD

1st BriscollHerd - I Coulthard

2nd MoorriggsHerd - S Armstrong

3rd ScreelHerd - S Wilson

4th OakthwaiteHerd - M Dobson

CLASS 3 -YOUNG STOCK (LARGE HERDS)

1st WhitchesterHerd - C Hall

2nd Winbrook - G A & D W Dent

3rd StrickleyHerd - W H & K M Robinson

4th BrafellHerd - J Teasdale

CLASS 4 -YOUNG STOCK (SMALL HERDS)

1st ScreelHerd - S Wilson

2nd NewparkHerd - D Craig

3rd MoorriggsHerd - S Armstrong

4th TahunaHerd - D Jackson

CLASS 5 -BEST HEIFER IN CALF

1st WinbrookDewdrop 129th - G A & D W Dent

2nd Whitchesterheifer - C Hall

3rd StrickleyAthena 5th - W H & K M Robinson

4th MoorriggsStarbud 2nd - S Armstrong

CLASS 6 -BEST HEIFER IN MILK

1st MoorriggsLady Barrington - S Armstrong

2nd WinbrookDewdrop 128th - G A & D W Dent

3rd NejayJD Anne - I Coulthard

4th KirkbrydeGoldie 2nd - M Robinson

CLASS 7 -BEST COW TO HAVE CALVED TWICE

1st BriscollGraceful Lady 3rd - I Coulthard

2nd StrickleyStarlet 94th - W H & K M Robinson

3rd WinbrookRoyal Kathleen 19th - G A & D W Dent

4th BrafellLady Laura 11th - J Teasdale

CLASS 8 -BEST PROGENY OF ONE BULL

1st WinbrookDiamond - W H & K M Robinson

2nd WinbrookGilly - G A & D W Dent

3rd MarleycoteLucky Man - C Hall

4th MoorriggsCosmic - S Armstrong

CLASS 9 -BEST BULL ON PRODUCTION AND INSPECTION

1st BreckneyGregory - S Wilson

2nd NejayAmazon - W H & K M Robinson

3rd MiddlebankendDigger - N J & C Barker

4th MoorriggsCosmic - S Armstrong

CLASS 9a -BEST BULL ON INSPECTION ONLY

1st BreckneyGregory - S Wilson

2nd LisnamulliganStar - M J Dobson

3rd MarleycoteLucky Man - C Hall

4th NejayAmazon - W H & K M Robinson

CLASS 10 -BEST COW ON PRODUCTION AND INSPECTION

1st StrickleyPansy - W H & K M Robinson

2nd WinbrookVi 114th - G A & D W Dent

3rd WinbrookPeeress Rose - G A & D W Dent

4th WinbrookDigitalis 2nd - N J & C Barker

CLASS 10a -BEST COW ON INSPECTION ONLY

1st WinbrookVi 114th - G A & D W Dent

2nd WinbrookPeeress Rose - G A & D W Dent

3rd WinbrookDigitalis - N J & C Barker

4th StrickleyPansy - W H & K M Robinson

By a Babbling Brook

2011-12-12T12:01:00.000Z

A couple of short clips of deer early one morning (sound and vision!)

Warm and cosy

2011-12-12T10:15:00.001Z

At last - a sitting room that's warm enough to sit in without extra heaters and layers of jumpers.
We lit the new stove at dinner time on Friday and by evening we were enjoying what seemed like a new room. We've declutterd a bit (all the ornaments and stuff are still boxed up somewhere and the Chesterfield has gone to a new home via Freegle), and rearranged some furniture. There's no TV or HiFi etc, but we do have music. With the magic of a wind up gramophone and a crackly 78, Robert, Chris and Izzy were able to dance to "MacNamara's Band", then entertain us with excerpts from their school Nativity plays.

And on Sunday afternoon when the visitors had gone I could shut myself in and (almost) not here the farm work going on outside

Almost there . . .

2011-12-09T11:24:00.001Z

The new stove for the sitting room arrived this morning (just two weeks late) and is now setup in the "new" fireplace. Despite our best efforts the room is full of dust and the parquet floor has almost disappeared beneath footprints. The furniture is still piled up at one end and there are chairs and boxes in other rooms (I was amazed to realise we had 10 dining chairs downstairs). Christmas starts about 3 o'clock this afternoon when Rob, Claire, Izzy and Quinn come for the weekend, so so frantic cleaning is in order. I'll take another photo when it's tidied up, but here's one to prove we're getting there.

P.S. - decoratting is postponed to a (much) later date.

The fields are empty . . . .

2011-12-07T11:28:00.001Z

. . . except for the wintering sheep.

We've just brought in the last few heifers and everything is now squeezed into the buildings. No more going round the wet and soggy fields to check stock - but more to feed and muck out.

And Christmas is coming to Strickley.

The cake is in the oven (at last). And I'm printing out Christmas cards. Last year I thought that when I retired I would be much more organised and on top of things. Not so. We've also put up four Christmas trees in the front bedrooms. Rob, Claire, Izzy and Quinn are coming up this weekend so we're trying to have at least a little bit of sparkle.

New Project update - the wall is plastered and today the builder is fitting the plate thing that goes in the chimney and pointing all the stone work. But - we've been a been let down by the stove supplier (not the retailer who is doing everything he can) who keeps putting back the delivery date. Plans to be finished by Friday look totally unrealistic now. After the stove is fitted there's a mountain of cleaning and sorting to do.

New camera - more features

2011-12-06T13:33:00.001Z

I'm sure you've been missing the wildlife pictures over the past few months. After the original camera met with an unfortunate accident in September we claimed on the insurance. We sent the camera away to be assessed and it was declared "not worth repairing " - or words to that affect, and we had a cheque from the NFU. We didn't rush into getting a replacement but did a bit more research than last time, now we knew a few pros and cons. Eventually we decided on a Bushnell Trophy Cam. We shopped around and found a good deal (it even included a bear guard - and you don't know what might be lurking down the wood). But it was such a good deal that it had sold out - but, instead they sent the new improved version for the same price (but no bear guard). This version has more bells and whistles and we are still trying out the different options and settings. One great advantage is the built in screen, so we can check the images out "in the field" (with the old one we had to bring the SD card up to the house). It also has a microphone, so the videos come with sound! We've tried it in a couple of places round the pond and these are some of the results so far.
And the next ones should be better quality!

Note - I forgot to save the settings when I set the date and time, so the date, time and moon phase are wrong. And note - it even shows the temperature when the photo/video was taken.

Badger

Yet another retreating deer

Pheasant

Fox

Pheasant

Jay

First Snow

2011-12-05T09:34:00.001Z

Half past nine last night - but look back at the Blog for this time last year to see real snow.

Hedging

2011-12-02T15:24:00.001Z

It's that time of year when we try to get our hedging done. Henry and James have been out in the bitter cold today, in the field we call "Bottom Field at Over Bleaze". All the fields have up to date field numbers (eg SD5488 3273) but these are only ever used in anger on Defra/RPA or HLS etc forms. Some names have stayed the same for years, but some are more prosaic and modern. If you click here, you'll see photographs of most of them, with the original and current names.

So just so you can visualise what's been going on today, here are a few photos.

Sexual stereotyping

2011-11-30T11:39:00.001Z

Much as it pains me to say it - I think I have been conforming to a perceived sexual stereotype lately. The work on the sitting room fireplace is progressing (steadily - not fast) and should be finished by Christmas. While I am present for discussions on stonework, plaster, chimneys and flues etc, I know that I don't have strong opinions on what's behind the whole look. As long as it's sound and won't need touching for the next fifty years or so, I'm happy. But while I maybe can't visualise what is going on in the chimney, I can visualise how the room will look when the builder has left and dust finally swept away. It will be warm and cosy, with comfy chairs and no clutter. Thick dark red curtains will shut out the wind and rain and strategically placed lamps will light up the pictures and few pieces of china we've brought back in. But in my mind it's not the existing chairs and settees. Over the years we've acquired a fair few chairs and own four settees and six armchairs of various degrees of comfort. And the comfiest are not always the best looking (no disrespect to my late mother - but the washed out terracotta colour was a definite mistake). And now I've seen a sofa on EBay that is just meant to be in our sitting room. The deadline is looming and it's near enough to pick up. I can just see it in the sitting room. If we get rid of the uncomfiest settee (a low backed Chesterfield that you can't fall asleep on), it might squeeze in. Or so I thought. Maybe spatial awareness is male thing, as when we got out the tape measure it proved (almost conclusively) that it's too big. The sticking point seems to be the piano. When I got married I wanted three things I never had as a child - a dog, a real Christmas tree and a piano. We don't have a dog now, but still have the other two. I bought the piano for 50p at an auction in 1970 and I'm loathe to let it go. What we need is an extension.

Moving On

2011-11-28T14:05:00.001Z

The Land Rover and trailer have been busy today - moving cows and heifers about. Some - a batch of fifteen heifers - are going down the road a bit to their winter B & B. We haven't the space inside to house all the stock so some get to go on a winter holiday a few miles away. And like travellers everywhere, they need to take their passports. A few clicks on the BCMS website and Defra knows where they are.

But for four older cows it was a one way ticket this morning. These tickets are given to cows for various reasons - sometimes if we can't get them in calf. The oldest of this batch was 13. She had 10 calves and produced over 84000 kg of milk. At this point I should say "enough to fill Wembley stadium" or "20 double decker buses" etc. But I've no idea. I'm sure you get the gist, that it's a lot of milk, and it illustrates one of the traits of the modern Dairy Shorthorn - longevity.

New Homes Ready For Occupation

2011-11-25T14:36:00.001Z

Following the government's announcement on housing, we've been doing our bit. There's a range of sizes and choice of location (especially selected to suit the new occupants). All handmade from locally sourced timber.

So if you're a small bird looking for a new home - we've got 56. Larger birds are also catered for, with 6 Barn Owl boxes and 5 Tawny Owl boxes.

Small mammals will have to go on a waiting list - there's 30 Dormouse boxes still to set up.

New Project - Day Three

2011-11-21T15:23:00.001Z

In the absence of a small boy or Dick Van Dyke . . . .

New Project - Day Two

2011-11-20T13:11:00.001Z

Give a couple of farmers the tools of mass destruction, and they can't wait to attack a fireplace and wall that has stood innocently for a long time. The photographs below show the "progress" as the fire surround and then three fireplaces are removed. The air was a bit thick with dust towards the end, so they are not the clearest of images. We're ready now to start the making good and construction. The aim is to plaster above and round, but leave the actual opening as stone (and a bit round it). More updates to follow over the next few days.

New Project - Day One

2011-11-19T13:25:00.001Z

For a while we've had a plan in the back of our minds to improve the sitting room, so we would use it more. In Summer it's a cool retreat from the heat of the day and the hustle and bustle of farming, but in Winter (or even Spring or Autumn) it's too cold to sit in comfortably. There is a coal fire - but you need to light it first thing in the morning to get the room warm enough by evening (and then it only really heats half the room). So, following on from the success of the stove in the kitchen we are putting in a wood burning stove.We've spent quite some time this morning boxing up and removing to safe places the myriad of collectables (some just of sentimental value) and pictures. Not all of them may come back - I'll never be minimalist, but perhaps it's time for "less is more". Small furniture has been moved or stacked, cupboard doors sealed and everything shrouded in a "high density dust sheet" (to quote the packaging - though to me it looks like flimsy plastic).

Tomorrow the fun begins when Henry attacks the existing fireplace, before the builder comes to create an opening for the new stove (ordered yesterday and due at the end of the week).
The absolute deadline for finishing is Christmas - so loads of time!

A New Project

2011-11-18T18:16:00.001Z

And this is the "before" picture

It's that time of year again . . . .

2011-11-14T10:36:00.001Z

. . . . when all the cows queue up for the hairdresser. Wendy and her Clippaholics team (07785 971 614) are here to give them all a Winter Clip.

Only trouble is, when they come into the parlour tonight, will Henry recognise them? Especially as he is usually looking at the business end.

11th November

2011-11-11T07:58:00.001Z

In Remembrance.

One of many

This is my father's elder brother, who died in Singapore aged 21.

Forgot to say yesterday . . .

2011-11-10T10:25:00.003Z

. . now that most of the leaves have fallen (and it's a good fine day) we've started hedging.

Return of the hawk

2011-11-09T14:18:00.000Z

A couple of pictures of the Harris Hawk you may have seen over Strickley this morning.

Dairy Shorthorn Bull For Sale

2011-11-05T13:43:00.001Z

including Strickley Zonda
(click)

More birdwatching

2011-11-04T16:18:00.000Z

This is becoming a frequent visitor to the feeders in the garden, but I'm usually too slow getting the camera out. Snapped it this time - but only the once, then the battery ran out.

Hawk Eye

2011-11-03T09:48:00.003Z

Did you see a different bird swooping over Strickley this morning? Not one that comes to our bird table, but a Harris Hawk. His handler (is that the right word?) said he was only interested in rabbits, so was surprised and pleased when he got a carrion crow.

I saw a strange car pull up outside the house, and wondering who it was peered out the window, and got quite a shock when the driver got out, rummaged in the back and stood up with a large bird of prey on his arm. (He had already seen Henry down the yard)

11111

2011-11-01T09:23:00.000Z

It's a new month and I've been looking back at last months weather. I've been using the same software for several years, but keep finding new reports and features (maybe they really are new, or maybe I've just not delved deeply enough before). This picture is a screen shot of "Local Climatological Data". There are some empty columns (either we don't track, or have no previous records), and I'm not absolutely what some of it means - but it's here for those of you who like numbers.

Improving the environment

2011-10-29T14:59:00.000+01:00

As you may know we have an HLS agreement (clickfor a link). This is a sort of descendant of the Hedging Initiative,Countryside Stewardship and other schemes - which Strickley has been involvedwith for many years. We already had an ELS (Entry Level Scheme), then OELS(Organic Entry Level Scheme), before being accepted onto the HLS (Higher LevelScheme). It's a ten year process and we've spent a lot of time getting thisfar. Some of it rewards us (by payments) for what we are already doing (hedgingetc), and some encourages to do more. Over the past few years local schools andplaygroups have spent time at Strickley, but now they do so in a morestructured way (led by Michelle). Over the winter we hope to improve thefacilities.
Next week we will be starting hedging (we used toreckon we did a mile a year), now the leaves have mostly fallen. This pastweek, as part of the scheme, we have been felling a group of trees in the wood.These are conifers that were planted about 40 years ago and now the tree canopyis too dense. So down they've come, to let in light and encourage vegetation togrow underneath, providing a habitat for flora and fauna

We've also been busy on The Lots digging out two small ponds to encourage differentwildlife - e.g. Redshanks (apparently we're on the flight path) - pictures tofollow when/if we take some.

And of course muck is always with us, so plenty of that had been flung aswell

It really is the World Wide Web

2011-10-22T15:49:00.000+01:00

We've been using Google Analytics for about a week now, tracking and analysing visitors to our main website and to this blog. I've a long way to go in getting to the bottom of all the features, but a quick click on the standard reports shows a surprising range for countries.

This data is for the main website (the Blog is tracked separately at the moment - though there is an overlap with links from one to the other)

And if your geography is a bit rusty - that's

Australia

Canada

Germany

Guatamala

Hong Kong

India

Ireland

Philippines

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States

Vietnam

Some visitors come direct - i.e. type in strickley.co.uk. Others follow the link from this blog. Some people follow links from other websites (e.g. shorthorn.co.uk or weather-watch.com). But quite a lot "Google" us. We can see what keyword they searched on - and it's not all farming related. The spelling in the list below is as input by searchers.

blackthorn tree

buttercups

charlotte, ia poor farm

cowslips

cuckoo flower

dairy shorthorn

dairy shorthorn cattle

dairy shorthorn prefection ten

dairy shorthorn sales uk

dressed poultry chicken

dust and stones

garlic mustard

harebell

holly flower pictures

how to dressed chickens

iris yellow

pearson william robinson

robinsons dairy dingle liverpool 8

rodway organic shorthorns

shorthorn bulls head

shorthorn.co.uk

strickley

strickley farm kendal

www.strickley.co.uk

strickleys

yellow irises

But rest assured - we don't know who you are, or your IP address. I just find it fascinating that someone the other side of the world is reading about us.

Don't be scared, but . . .

2011-10-16T14:09:00.001+01:00

. . . we are watching you.

I've just discovered a new "toy" - i.e. something else to fiddle about with.

Google Analytics

Assuming I've got it setup correctly, and inserted the right bit of code in the right place on the Blog, Strickley main website and Weather page, I should be able tell how many people visit them. And a lot more besides. I've a bit of a learning still to do, but the results so far seem to be accurate.

For instance, yesterday some from Bristol, using Windows and IE 8, with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 visited us. I even know their ISP.
And then was someone from Leicester looking at the weather on an Android phone. I even know the make of phone.

I hope this isn't worrying, but if I, with no previous experience, can find out all of that with a free out-of-the-box tool in 30 minutes, what are the real websites picking up about our online behaviour?

Well, I'm off to fiddle about some more - so keep visiting us (to give me some data to analyse)

Dipping a toe in the water

2011-10-14T18:16:00.001+01:00

. . well, several legs actually.

As part of our HLS agreement we have had a few local schools visit us. And by the next ones come, looking in the pond will be easier. We've assembled a "Dipping Platform" and Henry and James have prepared a place for it and today it was lowered into place and firmly fixed. This video shows how useful our tele-handler is.

And in case the video doesn't display correctly - here are a few photos.

In, Out, In

2011-10-11T09:17:00.001+01:00

Over the past week the milk cows have been going out during the week, but there have been a couple of really bad days when we've kept them inside. And now the time has come to say, enough's enough, and stop the trek through muddy gateways. We also brought a batch of calvers in, so the winter routine has definitely started.

Whatever the weather . . . .

2011-10-06T09:01:00.005+01:00

. . . there's always plenty to do.

The brief misplaced spell of summer has been and gone, and the only reminder is the big stack of bales. But wind and rain (and there's been a lot of wind) don't keep farmers indoors. This week almost every animal at Strickley has been moved around. The cows have finished off the grass that was undersown the Triticale and are now in The Teapot Field. Groups of calves have been shuffled round and have new grass to graze. And we've sorted out the bulling heifers. The first group should be calving in summer and go into the herd (with a few to sell at the Penrith Sale) and the next group calving a bit later (with a batch for sale in the autumn).

School visits have stopped for now, but we're improving what we offer ready for next year. We're lucky having the wood and pond and have bought some picnic tables and benches for outdoor activities. There's also a pond dipping platform, which is ready to be lifted and lowered into place.

And whatever the weather, you're never more than a Click away from checking it out. We're now exporting the data to four different places.

So, you can see all the latest details and historical analysis on put main weather page - updated every 15 minutes

Weather page

Or read summary on the top of this Blog - updated every 10 minutes

Blog

Or see how we compare with the rest of the country on WOW - updated every 15 minutes

WOW

And we've joined Twitter. I've never really seen the point of telling the world the mundane details of your daily life, or reading other people' random thoughts. But partly as an exercise to see if I could, and to keep my brain active, I've set up our weather software to send a Tweet three or fours times a day (I'm still fine tuning the schedule). As each Tweet is limited to 140 characters, it's a slimmed down report. This is it's first day, so it's probably still a work in process. But if you're a Twitterer, you can "follow" us (StrickleyFarm) - but don't expect any non-weather Tweets.

Twitter

More deer

2011-10-03T09:50:00.002+01:00

Who needs a fancy remote sensor wildlife camera, when Victoria was able to take this yesterday in deepest Leicestershire (well, not so deep - Bradgate Park).

(And if you're wondering about the dearth of Strickley wildlife photos - the camera had an unfortunate incident involving a bike, a coat and hard concrete. It's currently in the hands of the NFU)

A productive week

2011-10-01T11:40:00.000+01:00

Looking back we seem to have done a lot this last week. The long (or longish) dry spell may have come late in the season, but it was very welcome. On Tuesday we mowed about 60 acres of third cut, and we now have 140 extra big bales stacked ready for winter. Big Bale silaging seem to run to a different tempo to clamp silaging. From the house I don't see a constant stream of tractors and trailers rattling through the yard, and there are less mouths to feed. Most of the work is done out of sight of the house and it can happen that the various people involved work alone. It started with James mowing on Tuesday, then Henry spent most of Wednesday rowing up. (See the videos in May posts). Wednesday afternoon the contractor arrived to bale and wrap (all in one machine). Henry and James worked till dark on Wednesday and Thursday shifting the bales to our compound. And that's another difference to the earlier silage cuts - "working till dark" was after 11pm in May, but is now only 7.30 pm.

Also on Thursday we sorted out the batch of cows that we have sold to a farm near Gargrave. They had some last year and are very pleased with them, so caught up with James at the Dairy Event to see if we have some available this year. We've done our calculations and know how much stock we can house over winter. There were three newly calved and twelve due in the next couple of months. They have gone to another Organic farm, so as well as the passports, CTS movement, pedigree certificates etc, they need Soil Association transfer documents. A lot of paperwork. All went well and the carrier came for them yesterday afternoon, in time for milking at their new home.

Other fine weather jobs this week have included sawing up wood and replacing slates on the house roof (the Manitou comes in very useful - long and high reach).

And finally a quiz question - "When was the October temperature record set in March?"

Click here for the answer (about third of the way down)

Update - record broken today

Here comes the sun

2011-09-29T11:43:00.000+01:00

At last! The summer we were hoping for, and a chance to get the remaining fields of grass.

And it's not just the sun and mower that are out again - but Henry's knees. After being hidden by jeans for a couple of weeks - it's back into shorts.

Yesterday did mark the end of the season in one way - it was our last school visit until Spring. So the Strickley Education Suite can revert back to cattle pens ready for winter.

Here we go again

2011-09-27T16:49:00.001+01:00

Well, it hasn't rained since 02:30 am yesterday, so the mower has been unearthed again and James is whizzing round the fields for third cut (as I expect a lot of farmers round here are doing). There's 60 acres earmarked for big bales. The forecast is good (at least until the weekend), so it should have a chance to dry out a bit before the baler comes. Though with a long queue of farmers wanting his services, he's eager to get started as soon as possible.

Our apple harvest is underway. The apple tree that some friends gave us for our Ruby Wedding suffered in the recent gales and most of the fruit dropped off. We managed to get most of it ahead of the rabbits. We've an older tree of cookers in the field - not Bramleys, but don't know what they are, and Henry has picked a small batch. There's loads more - plus the pears - to get after we've dealt with the silage. First things first.

A Bit of a Hectic Week

2011-09-23T14:48:00.002+01:00

I'm not too sure why, but this past week seems to have been a bit hectic. The weekend after our holiday I did as little as possible (slowly coming down to earth). There was no cooking to do - the Aga was out till Sunday, so cold meat and cheese for dinners and one takeaway and one meal out didn't take much effort. But by Monday I had to buckle down and tackle some paperwork and pay some bills. My massive bakathon before Kendal Show had dwindled to a couple of small cakes, so the tins needed replenishing.
On Tuesday morning we sold two cows to a new breeder, who is planning to make cows' milk cheese as well as his sheep milk cheeses.
In the afternoon someone else came to look at our cows, with a view to buying a batch of new calved ones. They'll be leaving Cumbria for Yorkshire next week.
On Wednesday our vet came up to finalise some of the documents and reports we have to include in our upcoming RDPE grant application. Everything is almost in place now, just the final bits of paper due in next week.
On Thursday Michelle and James "entertained" a group of school children. The morning was spent down the wood and round the pond (a much more interactive version of what was called a Nature Walk in the Olden Days), and the afternoon round the buildings. We were lucky with the weather - the best day of the week.
Today Henry has been to Lancaster Auction with a batch of bull calves. We haven't the resources to rear them ourselves, so sell on when they're about a month old. So tonight there will be a bit more milk in the tank, with less hungry mouths to feed.
Henry's been out to meetings twice in the evening (it should have been three, but for a clash), and tonight we're babysitting - James has just found out he's won £50 in the New Hutton 200 Club and is off out to celebrate.

Back Home

2011-09-17T12:17:00.002+01:00

Warning - this is a rather long rambling post. It's typed over a couple of days, so doesn't reallty flow - sorry!

Last Saturday we were up at five and left the house at half past. This was according to my carefully planned schedule for our Irish holiday. Normally when we go away we take our caravan, and leave when we're ready (i.e. when Henry has finished work). But this time we had a deadline - time and tide don't wait for us and we were booked onto a ferry leaving from Craigryan. I had worried about a lot of things that could go wrong, and the first on my list was missing the boat. I imagined traffic hold ups, roadworks, slow moving wagons etc., and allowed plenty of time. In the event none of these happened and we were lined up waiting for the ferry in plenty of time. We sat in the car in the allocated lane and watched the boat come in and unload.

The next of my worries was parking in the boat, and would there be room for me to open the door and get out. But of course there was no trouble at all. (I've taken lots of photos of the boat at request of Grandson 4).

We were lucky (or maybe not everyone wanted to see the sea) to get seats right at the front (bow or pointed end) and could look out over the rather choppy sea. Worry number 3 concerned seasickness, but either the pills worked or we're not susceptible.

We even relaxed enough (well, it was only really me who was worried) to have coffee and cake. Gradually the clouds lifted and we could see the Irish coast. More photos for Fletcher to show the front opening and us driving off at Larne.

We drove south round Belfast to our friend Helen's near Millisle. This was the start of a reunion of seven girls who first met 44 years ago at Edge Hill College. Unfortunately one of the others was on holiday and poor Liz fell and broke her ankle the day before. But with husbands and partners we were still a lucky party of thirteen. We were the last to arrive and Helen gave us a quick tour of the Ards Peninsula and I tried to take as many photos as possible. Not all have come out as well as I hoped, but this is one of the best - the harbour at Portavogie (I think!)

We drove past sandy beaches and rocks, through Ballywalter, Ballyhalbert, Portavogie - where I think I took this (George Best lived (and drank) round here).

Then cut across to Portaferry. This was were we saw the first obvious signs of the affects of the recession. Whole streets were boarded up, but there were still impressive houses overlooking the lough. We watched the affects of the tides and winds on the water, which generate electricity through SeaGen - click on the link which explains it better than I can.

I took more photos from Windmill Hill then we drove back up the side of the lough to Helen's house. We were staying in a nearby B & B, but met up with the rest of the party for supper, drinks, catching up and to play Canasta. When we were young penniless students we regularly played, and some had kept it up over past 40+ years. Henry and I hadn't played for about 15-20 years (and not in pairs for much longer), but after a quick reminder of the rules it came back and despite my rustiness and recklessness I came out a winner.

Next day on Sunday we headed up north, through the outskirts of Belfast and up the Antrim coast. By now the weather was definitely worsening and though the views were dramatic, it was not a day for photographs, so here's a link to the route we took. We cut across from Coleraine to Limavady to the shelter of our hotel, where we were spending two nights of luxury - still with our party of what someone called "recycled teenagers". On Monday the weather was no better, as the tail end of Hurricane Katia hit Ireland, but we decided to head west into Donegal. We were armed with a map, SatNav and camera and set off for foreign parts. With no border controls the first time we realised we were not in the UK was when our phones beeped to tell us we were "roaming" and the speed signs changed to kph. We wandered up the west coast of the Inishowen peninsula. We had no real route planned and just followed what looked like interesting roads. Eventually we saw signs to Malin Head, which looking at the map, seemed to be at the end of the world. We stopped at a small gravelled viewpoint and looked out over the Atlantic. By now the wind made opening the car difficult, but in the interests of photography I got out and leaned against the car to try to steady myself. The photographs don't do the experience justice, but as I was buffeted by the wind and rain on all sides I was pleased with what I got.

So, back in the car, close the door and prepare to head back to civilisation and shelter. Disaster! The car wouldn't start. It seemed to be the same, or similar symptoms, to the problem we had earlier in the year when we were in the caravan. That time we were on a campsite near Carlisle, knowing our exact location, and called the AA who were out in 30 minutes. This time were on an unmarked road (before we stopped, the SatNav seemed to be placing us in the middle of nowhere), that may be one of several on our map (no road signs for the past 5/10 miles) and nothing but the sea on one side and unoccupied wilderness on the other. We could see a white house in the distance but nothing else. Could we call the AA? We had a signal on the phone (but can't get it one in our house!), but as we were in a foreign country, didn't know whether they could help - and how could we explain where we were? We got the handbook out. Sat and panicked a bit more and tried the car again. Nothing. Panicked even more and tried one more time - a flicker of life and the engine started! Deciding our luck wouldn't last any longer, we headed back down the track and found the quickest route back to villages, towns and safety of garages etc. We didn't dare stop the engine and I breathed I sigh of relief as we crossed back into Northern Ireland.

We put our troubles to the back of our minds (out of site, out of mind in the car park) and enjoyed another good night of food, drink and nostalgia.

Next morning, after another lie in (could get used to it), we said goodbye to our friends who were flying or sailing home. We had another two days in yet another posh hotel. We took our cases downstairs and Henry went to fetch the car nearer. He was soon back - but with no car. Dead again. This time there was no hesitation. I called the AA. In about an hour a local AA man had started the car and advised us to get the battery looked at. He led the way to a tyre place about a mile away and they confirmed the battery was definitely useless. Twenty minutes and £96 later we were on our way again. We went back up to the coast road, vaguely following our map. We headed for Magilligan Point (passing the prison and firing range), where we could look over to part of Donegal we missed the day before). For once the sun was out and the sand was golden.

Still following the map, we ended up at Bushmills and the distillery. The next tour was due in 10 minutes so things were working out for us. We've been round a couple of other distilleries, but this was the most geared up for tours - a good insight to what was happening (it was all working), but very safe. And of course, as all tours do, it ended in the shop. And of course you have to buy something. A good job we have a whisky drinker in the house (but in this case whiskey).

We continued down the coast, detouring down a side road to Ballintoy. By now the weather had closed in again but that made the seas look more dramatic.

We had hoped to visit The Giants Causeway, but our delayed start (re car) and several detours meant we had to miss it this time, as we were heading for our next hotel. We also missed crossing the Rope Bridge at Carrick-a-Rede (not that I would have been crossing it), but stopped off a bit farther down the coast and got it on film.

Another hotel, another good dinner and glass (or two) of wine, another good sleep and another good breakfast. Next day we planned a different tour and thought we would drive round Lough Neagh, getting as close to the shore as possible. This was a less successful day - it was more urban and industrialised around the main roads, and when we ventured off onto minor roads we had a tendency to get lost (partly because of a complete lack of signposts on the myriad of junctions). When we passed a building for the second time in 30 minutes we thought we were destined to drive the same circuit all day. We had been looking for Washing Bay (no reason - just saw the name on the map). The weather was getting worse and we knew our hotel room was warm and dry with a comfy settee, so we put the postcode in the SatNav and took the more or less direct route back.

One more night of comfort and luxury and then a leisurely breakfast and drive to the ferry. For once the sky was blue and the sun was shining. The sea was calm and the crossing on the P & O Express only took an hour. The journey back from Cairnryan was not as restful as last Saturday - much more fast-moving traffic. We stopped off near Dumfries, and were back home by 5.30 - just in time for Henry to feed 50 calves (or did I mishear, and it was 15?).

We had let the Aga go out so the house was cold, but after supper at Wellbank we were glad to be able to sleep in our own bed (there's nothing like it). Henry planned to clean out and service the Aga ready for winter, so yesterday was still cold, but much earlier than last year we lit the wood burner and now it's almost too hot! This morning Henry has sorted out the Aga and by tonight it should be up to temperature and I can start to cook again, after nearly a week off.

I called this post "Back Home", meaning we are are back at Strickley, but in some ways it could mean I was back home in Ireland, as my great great grandmother, Elizabeth Cormack, was born there in 1821

Oh dear. . .

2011-09-09T11:26:00.000+01:00

. . . we haven't captured any different wildlife on the remote camera.

a nosy deer

a very nosy deer

a retreating deer

Back from the show

2011-09-08T18:41:00.002+01:00

A day of mixed weather and mixed fortunes - at least one of which was very welcome.

It's rained on and off all week, with the forecast for Thursday veering from scattered showers to intermittent rain. In the end it was fine enough for the judging (mostly) and wet enough to drive a lot of showgoers into the cattle tent. Before mentioning the highs of the show, I must say something about the lows - well, one very deep low. Getting the stock off the field was a nightmare. The problem started with the wet field where the cattle wagons and trailers were parked. Once one got stuck, it held up all the rest. And of course everyone wants to load up and go at once (especially dairy herds who have to get back for milking). There isn't much room for several trailers to park near to the cattle lines; it's a bit like trying to pour a large amount of liquid through a narrow funnel - and it's a bit of a free-for-all. We had two trailers (for seven cows and all their stuff) and the first one got in and loaded reasonably quickly (then joined the queue to get off the field), but it took James an hour and three quarters to get from the parking field and loaded up.

However, I'm sure it's something that will be looked at. And there's nothing we can do about the weather (except moan!).

But the show is really about the stock, and there was a good showing from five Dairy Shorthorn breeders. I was in and out of the tent (dodging showers), taking photos and noting down the results. I think these are accurate, and apologies for any errors and omissions.

Maiden heifer under 18 months on show day

1 - John Handley - Beacon View Starlet
2 - GA & D W Dent - Winbrook Cactus 13
3 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Oak Barrington 27

Heifer in calf under 3 years old on show day

1 - G A & D W Dent - Winbrook Cactus 11
2 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Telstar 14

Heifer in milk to have calved under 3 years of age on show day

1 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Lily 13
2 - G A & D W Dent - Winbrook Jill 146
3 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Starbud 42

Cow in calf

1 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Starlet 94
2 - G A & D W Dent - Winbrook Vi 114

Cow in milk having calved 2 or more times

1 - John Handley - Beacon View Ann
2 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Duchess 29
3 - W H & K M Robinson - Strickley Starlet 98

Cow in milk having calved 3 or more times

1 - N J & C Barker - Winbrook Digitalis 2nd
2 G A & D W Dent - Winbrook Jill 140

Best group of three animals

1 - W H & K M Robinson
2 - G A & D W Dent

Junior Shorthorn Champion - Strickley Lily 13

Champion Shorthorn - Beacon View Ann
Reserve - Strickley Lily 13

Judge - Richard Baynes

Strickley Lily 13

Record rain

2011-09-06T08:05:00.003+01:00

It's only eight o'clock in the morning and already there has been an inch of rain since midnight (not to mention the half inch yesterday). We had anticipated a bad night and kept the cows in - the first sign of approaching autumn/winter. Another sign was the disappearance of Henry's legs yesterday - after months of wearing shorts for work he's back in jeans.

A Big Day

for Izzy!

who starts school in Belper today.

Good Luck

Just because you make a plan. . . .

2011-09-04T08:42:00.000+01:00

. . . doesn't mean it will all go according to plan.

Yesterday after unloading/stacking the straw bales Henry briefly popped into the house before going out to get a new calved cow and calf. He put his waterproof jacket back on and felt something bite the back of his neck. He rubbed it and a bee fell off. It was painful so he immediately put some antihistamine cream on and went to get the calf. He was back in about 10 minutes, looking and feeling decidedly odd - tingling, itching, unable to hear, face swelling. We quickly decided that it would be faster for me to drive him to the hospital than wait for an ambulance. Five minutes later I dropped him at the door and went to park. He staggered into what used to be called either Casualty or A & E (now "Primary Care Assessment Unit", said "I've been stung by a bee" and was instantly surrounded by nurses. By I got in he was being wheeled into "Resuscitation 1". He was quickly assessed and given IV Piriton and injections of Adrenalin and Hydrocortisone and connected to a monitor. Over the next three hours he gradually returned to normal and after an ECG was allowed to leave (armed with pills for the next few days).

We were lucky that we can get to the hospital quickly, and were told with such an extreme reaction we did the right thing in not waiting for an ambulance, as time really matters. Henry has been advised to see his doctor as soon as possible for a prescription for an Epipen to have at home and in the car and tractor etc. If it happens again, a self-injection can give you an extra 40 minutes.

Westmorland General Hospital may not be like "E.R." (it's my Guilty Pleasure - I'm watching the entire series on Sky) or "24 Hours in A & E", but they've never let us down and deserve all the plaudits they get. And they don't mind if you are wearing dirty smelly work clothes.

I think we need a plan

2011-09-03T11:17:00.001+01:00

Earlier this year we decided we wouldn't do any shows, so we could have the chance to get away for a holiday. Showing takes up more time than the one day at the showground. There's a lot of preparation in getting the stock to look it's best on Show Day - from haltering and ensuring they will walk quietly round the ring and present them selves well, to clipping and trimming so they look their best. We don't seem to have had much extra free time, but both Strickley families have managed a few days away.

The one exception to the No Show rule is Westmorland County Show, which we have been going to since 1875. Last year was a bit complicated as James took two cows to the Dairy Event in the same week, and travelled straight from the NEC to the Westmorland Show. This year ought to have been easier with no showing, but James has been asked to judge at the Dairy Event so will be away for as long as last year. At least he won't have to worry about transporting any stock. He has been asked to send a photo of him looking smart (for the programme/catalogue?) and after ferreting about, this is what we found. So if you're there, you'll know who to look for.

So the plan is:

This morning - finish stacking bedding straw onto top of the silage pit
This afternoon - delivery of organic feed straw due,to be unloaded and stacked on top as well
Sunday - Happy Birthday Michelle (a significant birthday!).
Sunday/Monday - Milk Recording (see a future post)
Monday morning - back to school for Michelle.
Monday afternoon - James leaves for the Dairy Event (NEC, Birmingham) in my car.
Tuesday - just another busy day, including baking for the show
Wednesday morning - back to school for Robert and Chris
Wednesday afternoon - Henry and David take all the show stuff to the show field, including the in-calf cows, using the Landrover and a tractor
Wednesday evening - take the milk cows and more feed etc. James arrives back from the NEC in my car. Leave the Landrover James and the cows at the show field and bring my car back to Strickley.
Thursday - very very early start. Milk and feed etc. Go to show as soon as possible
Thursday evening - back from the show. Have a celebratory (or commissary) drink. Fall into bed.
Friday - unload all the show stuff and put away for another year.
Saturday - another early morning start, but this time up to Scotland to catch a ferry. Yes! We're going on holiday.

I may have got this all wrong (probably not listening when I should have been).

At last

2011-09-02T14:45:00.001+01:00

At last it has been more or less fine for a couple of days and we have got (most of) the Triticale. We've been weather watching all week, waiting for the contractor to get to us, and for the weather to hold out. We just made it, as by we were on the last field it was raining again. If you've been driving along the B6254 you'll have seen which three fields we sowed. None of them are exactly flat, all having challenging slopes. The undersown grass also made the going a bit tricky. The big machine has been and gone, and most of the crop is in the big pit on top of first cut grass. A small part of Wellbank that comes down to the yard is still waiting for (a) drier weather and (b) someone with the nerve to mow and maybe bale.

I was there with my camera and camcorder, but it wouldn't be fair to post the video, as it was mostly of when the combine got a bit stuck. But here are a few stills that show it in action.

And a few when it was parked up in the yard

Setting up the camera

2011-09-01T09:42:00.000+01:00

Having caught an otter on film, we thought we would try another location. There was evidence of something round the pond, so James set up the camera in a likely spot. You have to fix the camera to a suitable tree/branch etc, switch on and walk away.

This is James caught on camera just after setting it up

And the first shot of something else

I think we need to fix the camera lower down

And finally, James coming to check the camera

A big day for Fletcher

2011-09-01T09:32:00.000+01:00

. . .who starts school in Wigston this afternoon.

Good Luck

(and to Victoria)

End of summer?

2011-08-29T09:34:00.000+01:00

It might still be August - and even a Bank Holiday - but the signs are there that summer is coming to a close. When I opened the back door this morning one of the last brood of blackbirds was sitting on the step. Before I could get my camera it had been escorted by his father to the top of the shippon roof. I don't think there's anymore in the nest - it's all gone quiet - but hopefully they'll be back next year.

It's been a very good year for swallows, with more than ever swirling round the yard. But now their gatherings seem to have more purpose and you can almost hear them planning the trip south.

Our Triticale is turning more golden and the ears are drooping. If all goes to plan we'll get it in (as wholecrop) by the end of the week. We use a contractor with the specialist machinery, and if possible I'll get some photos, or videos.

Meanwhile, today is Judgment Day. The judge for the North West Shorthorn Society's Herd Competition is with us. At least it's fine and sunnyish - and I think the stock is looking good. Watch this space for the results in December.

In The Groove

2011-08-25T11:56:00.000+01:00

Grooving in action

The smooth concrete round the parlour, yard and cattle housing can be hazardous to cows (and humans), so we have got someone to carve criss-cross grooves. The cost will be a worthwhile investment if it prevents injury to even one cow or heifer.

I was going to put a link to a relevant song - but there are too many to choose - "In The Groove", "A Groovy Kind of Love" etc, but in the end went for these two related songs (nothing to do with cows, but songs about cows slipping are hard to find - and I like them!)

First clip

Second clip

Wild Plum Jam

2011-08-23T17:33:00.000+01:00

I'm sure you all know how to make jam - but just for the record, this is more or less what I did to turn our wild harvest into a row of golden pots of jam.

8 lb wild plums (I used yellow - it will be red next week)
8 lb of granulated sugar (no need for special jam sugar)

The plums were frozen so I put them in a large jam pan on the slow plate of the Aga. When they thawed I moved them to the hot plate and stirred and cooked till they were soft and mushy. I then whizzed them about with a stick blender (so the stones were separated). I poured them through a large colander and wiggled and pressed until only the stones were left. I returned to the pan, added the sugar and kept on the slow plate until the sugar had dissolved. I then moved the pan to the hot plate and brought to a rolling boil. There was quite a bit of scum, which I skimmed off. I boiled for about 15 minutes and tested on a cold plate. It seemed to be setting so I poured into heated (bottom oven) jam jars and sealed with screw tops. I kept tightening the lids while the jam cooled. From the 8 pounds of fruit I got fifteen and a half jars.

I think 8 pounds of fruit is as much as I can do at once, as it did rise up to the top of the pan when boiling.

It's fine, it's sunny (at the moment)

2011-08-22T12:07:00.001+01:00

. . . so it's out with the mower again.

Just big bales this time - the pits are full (with just enough room on top for the Triticale)

At last!

2011-08-20T17:19:00.001+01:00

We knew they came visiting - plenty of piles of evidence - but we've never seen one till now. The camera has been out of action for a while, but now in full working order, James has set it up. We've several photos of James' legs, then this one -

and now you see it -

Part of the view was obscured by the camera strap, so next time it will be even better. (We also have several photos of pigeons and herons)

Not quite a forgotten skill

2011-08-20T12:30:00.000+01:00

Years ago, in what seems another life, I used to make jam (from our raspberries, currants and gooseberries, and any free fruit I could find)., but I don't think I've touched a jam pan for over 20 years. But the freezer is full of our wild plums (red as well as yellow now), so I've made a cautious return to preserves. Just in case I'd forgotten whatever skill I may have had, I started with a small amount, and we now have seven pots of Wild Plum Jam cooling on the table. It looks OK (and the various drips and splatters taste OK), so we'll try it on fresh bread tomorrow morning (home made of course).

Plus ca change. .

2011-08-15T16:23:00.000+01:00

. . . but it's not always, "la meme chose".

Today Henry and James took three new calved cows and heifers to Penrith Shorthorn Show and Sale. In "The Olden Days" this was a much bigger event, but it's still going strong. There was plenty of interest round the ring and we got the two highest prices with two of our cows. Overall we were very pleased. I stayed at home, so there are no photographs - but here's one of Strickley Goldie 4 at Penrith in the 30's (I think). And that's one thing that's not the same - it's a long time since we had cows looking like that. Look at photos on our website to see the changes in breeding.

Selling three in-milk cows means there will be less milk in the tank tonight, but we've just brought in a cow that calved last night, and two more are on calving.
Calvings and new calves in the herd - that is "la meme chose".

Holidays - nobody said it would be easy

2011-08-11T07:52:00.001+01:00

Holidays - a time to relax and not have to worry about anything.

Not necessarily true.

Remember earlier this year when Henry and I had four days in the caravan? No hot water, intermittent cold water, broken fridge, car troubles.

Then last month Rob, Claire, Izzy and Quinn came to Strickley for a relaxing few days. Izzy being a young girl who knows what she likes to wear, packed her own case. A pity she didn't see (or not see) it being put in the car. Or maybe it was just a ruse to have to buy some more clothes? But we can't really blame Quinn for the puncture on his buggy.

But worse than this, James and family have had to pack up their tent and come home early from Wales. A broken tent pole means the holiday is cut short.

Good Luck Victoria when you go camping in a couple of weeks!

Recipe of the Day

2011-08-09T15:21:00.003+01:00

WILD PLUM FOOL

A large bowl of freshly picked wild yellow plums
Several spoonfuls of sugar
One pint of fresh full fat raw organic milk
4 eggs
Caster sugar to taste
I desertsp of cornflour

Put the plums and sugar in an ovenproof bowl in the Aga for about 30 minutes (checking regularly, in case it's one of the Aga's hot days).
Set aside to cool (on a granite table in a cool pantry is best)
Heat the milk.
Mix the eggs, caster sugar and cornflour.
Pour on the warm milk.
Return to the pan and whisk until thick and cooked.
Set aside to cool.

When the plums have cooled a bit, bash about with a wooden spoon to loosen the stones (and if you have a heavy duty processor whizz for about 10 seconds).
Push through a colander (or sieve if you're really really keen).
Return the puree to the processor and whizz till smooth. Add the cooling custard.
Pour into small dishes (or larger depending on your appetite).

Enjoy for supper and freeze the excess.

Fruit Harvest

2011-08-09T12:06:00.000+01:00

Today marks the start of our fruit harvest (not counting the strawberries in the pot by the door). A few years ago we planted some Blackthorn in a hedge, and up till now we've had no cause to doubt they were Blackthorn. But this year we have an abundance of wild plums - both yellow and red. We picked a few samples and checked (on Google of course), cautiously nibbled and marked them as fit to eat. The yellow ones are ripe and almost ready to drop, so this morning Henry took the Manitou down and picked three bucketfuls. They taste as plums should, but there's too many just to eat - so this afternoon I'll be trying out a few recipes and freezing. There's loads more, and the red ones (which taste much better) are not ripe yet. Next month it will be apples and pears (we've still got some in the freezer from last year, so I'll have to try to get on top of them).

A sudden rush of calves

2011-08-04T16:02:00.000+01:00

Last autumn we were feeling pleased when we PD's a batch of heifers and they had all held. Well it's come back to bite us on the bum - they're all calving at once. We've had over 30 in the past three weeks. It's almost like block calving and we've gone from Henry been in the house at 5.30 pm some days, to 7 pm (calving/fetching cow and calf in/moving calves to make room for more etc). But we're not really complaining; no calvings = no milk = no income.

You may have noticed I keep fiddling with the weather - the latest being a summary at the top of the Blog. Today I added the forecast to this. It's updated every 10 minutes, so it's not too out of date. Of course you can see the full statistics and analysis by clicking on the link on the right.

This week's comings and goings

2011-07-30T13:06:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday - Victoria, Elliot and Fletcher (for a week of country life and "farming" - which for Fletcher means following Grandad about)

Thursday - Rob, Claire, Izzy and Quinn - a chance for all the family to be together for the first time in a year.

Friday night - cousins Martin and Jo, with Georgia and Alex - camping in the Paddock

Saturday morning - the Leicester family back home (in time for Elliot to go to see Real Madrid play Leicester City)

Saturday morning - the return of our Blackbird! When we got back from shopping she was sitting on the nest in the porch. Apologies to Ginger Cat for the unfounded suspicions.

Tin Anniversary

2011-07-28T07:26:00.000+01:00

Another hot and sunny day - just as it was 10 years ago when James and Michelle got married. I'm reliably informed that 10 years = tin.

And also celebrating (though only one year) our friends Martin and Sue

Still growing

2011-07-24T16:58:00.000+01:00

The bulk of the grass may be in the pits, but the Triticale is still growing -

Mow, mow, quick quick mow

2011-07-24T13:21:00.000+01:00

Blink and you miss it.
By 12:30 - just in time for dinner - second cut was in the pit.

The speed of silaging always catches me out. I'm sure in the Olden Days it took much longer. On Friday I shopped and filled the fridge with cold meats, pies and cheese, ready for endless lunch (and supper) boxes. I baked and filled the tins with cakes that don't collapse when carried round in a tractor. I even topped up the baking this morning. Now it's all over and the fridge and cake tins are still full. But it's better to over rather than under cater, and none of it will go to waste.

Here we go again . . .

2011-07-22T10:46:00.002+01:00

. . . the grass has grown again, and it looks like being fine for a couple of days, so James is mowing the first field for Second Cut.

Missing

2011-07-18T13:20:00.000+01:00

MISSING

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BIRD?

Last seen Friday 2nd July (when the family left the nest)

Partner seen Sunday 10th - tidying the nest for 3rd clutch

Main suspect

Landlords very concerned

Heavy Rain

2011-07-16T10:37:00.000+01:00

. . . or what you don't see on our Weather Page.

When the rain rate is calculated to be at least 0.30 inches per hour, we get a special ticker message on the Weather Console. This isn't sent to the PC or Web, so I have tried to take a photo of it. It's a bit difficult as the console screen is highly reflective and shows the reflection of the camera unless I tilt it, and of course it reflects flash and room lights. So, with all these excuses, this is the best I can do. The rain rate has been higher (see the third image down on the website), but this is what it was when I caught it -

Changing the habit of a lifetime

2011-07-14T13:34:00.000+01:00

A confession.My name is Kathleen and I'm a Hoarder.

I've been a hoarder almost all my life (and if I could have spoken out in my pram it would probably have been all my life).
I've got shelves of children's books from the Fifties (as well as almost every book I've bought since then - and yes, I do go back and reread them).
I've got my dolls (and their hand made clothes) and toys that weren't given away by my elders and betters.
I've got some of Henry's toys - train set and Bayko; but no one complains about that.
I'm storing (on behalf of our children) lots of their toys, books and games. But this is easily justified when the grandchildren come round.

Over the past forty one years we're acquired a vast amount of crockery etc, from my great great grandmother's Breakfast Set, Seventies dinner sets and mismatched cast offs, to Ikea sets. Not much has been thrown away. The advantage (and disadvantage) of a big house, is that there's always somewhere to put stuff. Recently I rescued a lot of plates form the cellar that I had forgotten about, and today I discovered another hoard at the back of a deep cupboard. Then there are the dishes piled high on top of cupboards - too high up for me to reach and use. But today I decided enough's enough and started to tackle all the surplus. I assembled everything and sorted it -
a - too cracked and broken; throw away
b - OK, but I don't really need it - Freecycle it
c - why am I not using this! Put in a handier place.

I've got a wheelie bin in the kitchen and I've been throwing stuff in all morning. I've also been washing, polishing and photographing the stuff for Freecycle.

Could this be a new leaf, a start of a new ruthless me? Time will tell.

No problems this time

2011-07-10T14:48:00.001+01:00

You may remember tthat when we went away in the caravan a couple of weeks ago, things didn't go exactly to plan.

Since then Henry has been fixing and improvising and as everything looked good to go, we went away for a 2 night retest.

We now have hot and cold running water, the fridge running on electric, and the bed support fixed (that collapsed last time out) and no problems with the car. We even had some sunshine (as well as thunder storms) and were able to cook and eat outside (some of the time). I was given a break from most of the cooking as Henry took over. But, I was still the sous chef and quartermaster, being in charge of meal plannimg, shopping and food preparation. . . . .

Mixed bag

2011-07-08T12:03:00.000+01:00

We seem to have had a very mixed bag of weather this week - very heavy rain, bright sun, high winds (but no hail or snow). At the moment the unsettled spell is not really bothering us as we're in between grass cuts. As the temperature has stayed quite high, it means it's very "growy" and the grass, and especially the Triticale (now about a metre high with the ears well developed) is growing fast.

The Strickley Convention Centre has become a classroom this week. As part of our HLS agreement we are encouraged to host educational visits (ie we get a small grant). Michelle has spend a lot of time and energy in preparing for these and yesterday two groups of children from Old Hutton school had an interactive tour of the buildings and learnt where milk comes from, experiencing the smells and sounds involved (including dressing up as cows and going through the parlour). There's two more visits in the next few weeks and more planned in the future.

And finally - Get Well soon to Elliot, who yesterday broke his thumb playing football (I thought you were supposed to use your feet?)

More family history

2011-07-04T17:37:00.004+01:00

I subscribe to Ancestry.co.uk and so get numerous emails re records etc. They're usually nothing to do with our ancestors but following the link to "Probate Calendar" in the latest one, I did get some results.

The free access runs on Friday and I won't be subscribing (to this set of records) so there may be no more details

No fortunes left - but till interesting!
(The photos are ours)

National Probate Calendar

Note from Ancestry.co.uk

Missing volumes:

Our collection covers 80 years from 1861 to 1941. We currently do not have the books for the years 1858-1860 and there are some gaps for the years 1863, 1868, 1873, 1876, 1877, 1883, 1888, 1899-1903 and 1910-1911. However, we hope to add records for these years as soon as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great great grandfather (possibly) 1799 - 1879

(no photograph)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great great grandfather's brother 1801 - 1869

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great great grandfather 1799 - 1882

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great great grandfather 1817 - 1883

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great grandfather's brother 1848 - 1897

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great grandfather 1839 - 1912

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great grandfather 1843 - 1928

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry's Great grandfather 1862 - 1931

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kathleen's great great great grandfather 1831 - 1909

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kathleen's great great grandmother 1853 - 1931

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kathleen's great grandfather 1877 - 1935

Kathleen's great grandmother 1875 - 1936

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The birds have flown

2011-07-03T09:19:00.000+01:00

Sometime late last night, or early this morning, our blackbird brood has flown. The nest is empty and I hope the four fledglings are safe somewhere, out of the reach of Ginger Cat and magpies.

This is the last picture I took (Friday dinnertime) when the most eager was flexing his feathers.

Last they had three broods, so watch this space in a few weeks.

Back to work

2011-06-29T10:35:00.002+01:00

While we were away last week (relaxing in the sun, or not) James was busy painting and tidying up round the yard. Last year we had several events at Strickley (culminating in our Ruby Wedding Party) and had a massive tidy up and clear out. This year is quieter - but it does us good to have a reason to get back into shape. Last Friday Natural England held a training session here (training them, not farmers) and we provided the land, and somewhere inside (in case it rained). So we cleared out the "new" building across the yard (stanchions etc painted red by James) and provided coffee and cake (thank you Michelle - master cake maker). We put a dish out and asked for donations for Endmoor First Responders (who now cover New Hutton).

On Saturday the building was in use again (perhaps we should call it Strickley Conference Centre, Or Strickley Hospitality Suite?) when Kendal South Choir held their own fundraising event. It was a miserable wet and cold day, but 30 odd brave souls were led on a farm walk by Arthur, and then were joined by the less hardy (including us) for a barbecue. If only it had been on Sunday, when the weather began to perk up.

By Monday the weather was looking settled so we mowed a six acre field for big bales. This is more or less the last of first cut. * We got the bales last night and today James is moving them from the field to our Big Bale compound.

This morning Natural England are back with another group of trainees and have the benefit of seeing the farm in sunshine.

Over the years we've accumulated several garden chairs, some off Freecyle and Freegle, which are useful for these sort of dos. So, if you're investing in posh new patio furniture and wondering what to do with the old faded stuff, think of Strickley Conference Centre.

* Updated - ignore what I said about finishing mowing - we're at it again this afternoon

Holiday Diary

2011-06-23T17:23:00.000+01:00

Sunday morning
Quick dash to M & S to pick up a "Dine in for £10 Meal".
Last few bits loaded into the car and caravan - including in the boot, a bucket, sponge and large can of water.
Drive very slowly down the lane and onto the road. As we headed off up the road, all the muck picked up from the lane flicked off the wheels and onto the front of the caravan. (The cows come up and down the lane every day and inevitably add a few extra messages to the mud already there).
We drive onto New Hutton Lane and pull in at a wider bit. Henry gets to work with the water and sponge, and clean and gleaming once again we head off up the motorway.
About an hour later we were set up at the Caravan Club Site at Englethwaite Hall. Everything connected, plugged in and switched on.

Mid afternoon I noticed an ominous gurgling noise. A quick look under the back seat confirmed the worst - the repaired water heater was leaking. We assume that something expanded and/or shrank as the water got hotter. So, Henry was back to wiggling and wriggling with the various connections, and eventually managed to isolate the water supply, so it bypassed the heater. We had water in the taps again, but only cold. Never mind, we have a gas cooker and a whistling kettle.

Sunday evening - enjoyed a nice M & S meal, watched a DVD and dropped into bed.

Monday morning

Up late. Leisurely cooked breakfast. Boiled water to wash up.
Quick dash to the supermarket to stock up on food (taking it all with us would be far to organised), then back to SIT OUT IN THE SUN! This was what I at least had come on holiday for. The weather held all day and we were even able to cook outside. (Chicken stir fry in a Wok on the barbecue).

Slight problem - we noticed the fridge light had gone out, and sure enough it had stopped working. It can run on electric, battery or gas. As it's easiest to just plug it in, we always just use mains electric. Henry fiddled about with with wires and fuses, but it stayed off. So, out with the instruction book and find out how to run it on gas. Very surprised when it worked! Ice on the go for G & T.

Tuesday morning.

Up late again and another leisurely breakfast. Not as sunny as yesterday. In fact no sun, just showers. Never mind. We planned a drive round the high fells to the east, stopping off for a bit of shopping in Hexham.
12 ish - went to start the car. No joy - battery completely flat. So, we made the most of the subscriptions we've been paying all our lives, and called the AA. They were very helpful, and kept us informed of arrival time etc, and in just over an hour we had an AA man on site (are they still called Patrolmen?). He connected his gizmo to the battery and confirmed it was dead. He connected some serious looking jump leads and checked that it was charging and that it was holding it's charge. He also confirmed that nothing was draining the battery when the car was switched off and locked. He reluctantly admitted that he didn't know what caused it. I think not knowing really upset him. So we thought we ought to get the battery checked at a battery place and went to ATS on the outskirts of Carlisle. We had to wait in line as they fixed/fitted various tyres on other cars. At this point I began to regret coming out without a book. When we got to the front of the queue, they too were puzzled. They confirmed the battery was OK and holding its charge, and couldn't say why it had suddenly completely discharged. They recommended an Auto Electric company nearby. They were very helpful, and as it was by now warm and sunny, I sat outside on a rock while they did their diagnostics. No obvious answers as to what happened, and we agreed with them that we wouldn't know if it was now OK, until it went again.

They day was getting away from us, so we whizzed down the motorway to Cranstons at Penrith, had a drink and cream scone, and bought some fish for supper. By we got back to the caravan the weather had reverted to showers so we cooked and ate inside (Salmon and smoked haddock in watercress sauce, with savoury rice). The TV reception was a bit erratic, so we settled down to a favourite DVD - The Italian Job. Can't beat it!

Wednesday morning.

Yet another lie in and leisurely breakfast (getting to be a habit!). A quick check of the car and it started first time. More and more rain, so we tried to escape it by car. No luck. It seemed to follow us. We drove through places we'd never been to before, but the rain never left us. We nipped into Waitrose at Hexham and treated ourselves to a ready meal - "Thali banquet for two punjabi". I was a bit worried that it might be too hot for one of us as it was classified as "two chillies". No need to worry - it was the least spicy Indian meal I'd had, and one of the most disappointing. Should have cooked ourselves again!

Thursday morning.

The final lie in (and only toast for breakfast - no eggs and bacon left) and then packing away ready to come home. As we disconnected the gas from the fridge, we tried the electric again. Worked first time! By 11.30 we were on our way and now the caravan is back in the Paddock (waiting to have the water looked at again) and I'm waiting for the Aga to be lit (it's a man's job) so I can get warmed up!

PS - I'm sorry for the hit and miss grammar in the post - I've been adding bits and pieces all afternoon, and it never really flowed.

PPS - another disappointment - the books I took! I ordered a set of books from The Book People that I thought would be light enough for holiday reading, but still at least slightly gripping. Wrong choice - 10 books for £9.99 might be a bargain - but not if they're Agatha Raisin books by M C Ballard. I shouldn't have believed the reviews.

Back on track

2011-06-18T14:37:00.000+01:00

As far as we know the caravan is now in full working order. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet we managed to find a refurbished (i.e. sprayed blue) tie rod for the water heater. Henry put it all back together again and miraculously there were no bits left over. So he reconnected the water pump and switched on. Oops! still a leak (but not as bad as last time). More wriggling and wiggling and he discovered the new part was ever so slightly longer (or was it shorter?) than the original. But some extra washers secured it and it's all now back together and connected. (I was busy babysitting so missed most of this).

The last hurdle was hook up the car and test the lights and indicators etc. It's very rare that it all works first time - but this year is the exception. Last night Henry washed the car - it had more white spots than actual bodywork, and then put it in a building out of the way of birds. So, we're now ready to go at a moments notice (which is how it's supposed to be).

Looking forward to next March, I've booked tickets to see Chris Rea at Harrogate. It seemed to be a bit of a faff - several sites had "pre-sales" when you could get tickets a day early if you were registered. But they all seemed to offer blocks of seats in the less well favoured blocks. I held back until yesterday and then booked direct with the box office, managing to get the same seats as we had in 2010 (so we know they are in a good position).

Have you been looking at our "new" weather page? The new station and updated software seems to be working very well. I'm confident that the results are accurate (no more tropical temperatures as the sun beat down on an exposed thermometer), so I have registered with WOW. This is a Met Office site (Weather Observations Website) and shows weather information across the country. Our site uploads to them every 15 minutes, and a quick look on the home page shows the range of temperatures. (It can be changed to other variables). It's a new venture, so it has had some issues (e.g. performance), but is better now. Click here to see for yourself. You can zoom in and drill down to see details of all the sites. If you know where we are, we're easy to find.

WOW site

Congratulations

2011-06-16T07:14:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to James

who last night successfully completed his assessment to be a First Responder.

Click here to read all about this vital organisation

And not only but also *

Happy Birthday James!

* you need to be a bit older than James to remember that

One man went to mow

2011-06-14T08:28:00.000+01:00

The rain has stopped, the sun is shining, so last night James mowed about 12 acres. The plan is to big bale it later today or tomorrow. There was a very heavy dew this morning, which is slow to dry, so it may be later rather than sooner before we can get on the grass.

Ups and Downs

2011-06-13T10:16:00.003+01:00

Having a caravan means (in theory) that we can get away at the drop of a hat. It is always ready to go (in theory). No one will have borrowed bits off it for agricultural purposes (in theory). And everything will work as well as it did last year (in theory).

Having got first cut silage we have decided we can get away for a few days next week, so we went to check out the caravan. For some reason the battery had been removed to put on the old digger. We got it back in and connected and tested the lights. No good. We tried another battery. Still no good. Now, the battery can either be charged externally with a battery charger, or onboard using the caravan's Zig charger. This also keeps it charged when on site and connected to the electric. Every day last week batteries moved between the caravan and battery charger, but never managed to get the magic needle on the control panel to flicker. After much poking about under cupboards we found some fuses, changed one and Hey Presto we had battery power.

Next issue to overcome was the oven. It's always been a bit temperamental - switching off while cooking supper and we have resorted to using tape to hold in the switch to keep it on. Henry thought he should look into it and that maybe the jets were bunged up. So after disconnecting everything got to work with spanners and sockets. At one point it got a bit serious as something was unscrewed that shouldn't have been and it took much ingenuity with a long piece of wire to get it back together again. So it's working again - at least as well (or not) as before.

The last thing to do was to check and purify the water supply. Seasoned caravanners (and we should be called that after 35 years) know to drain the water system before winter. But we're too optimistic - expecting to get away one more time in autumn, or too hopeful - "it'll be alright" - and don't always get this done. Remember the temperatures last winter (minus 15 in December)? When we put the pump in a can of water and turned on the tap, the water ran out quickly - but not into the sink. The inevitable had happened and something had blown on the water heater and water was leaking fast. After much wriggling and wiggling Henry got the water heater out and discovered that a vital tie rod had sheared. No problem we thought, we'll look on the Internet and order a new part. Not as easy as we thought. It seems that this heater hasn't been made for eight years and there are no new parts. So we started looking at caravan breakers and eventually found a site in Wales with the part in stock. I rang up this morning to check if the website was correct and then ordered the part. It should be here in a couple of days, and assuming it's the right bit and we can put it all back together again it will be all systems go. A lesson learnt - always drain the water before winter!

All the hassle over the weekend was making me feel a bit low, but an emailed alert this morning lifted my spirits way high -

So I'll be on poised to click at 09:00 on Thursday. Something to look forward to next year. At least I don't have to check my working rota now.

Weather in France

2011-06-10T09:54:00.000+01:00

If you've been reading the comments to recent posts, you will have seen updates from our cousins in France about the weather there. I thought I would gather them all together -

19 May 2011 18:34

Here in Charente-Maritime, France, it's been wall-to-wall sunshine since the beginning of March (only 50mm of rain since 01/03). We are now in "stress" conditions for farmers - no irrigation, no forage available, farmers selling their milking stock for slaughter because they have no feed.

Welcome to global warming?

27 May 2011 18:44

Thought I'd give you an update from Charente-Maritime after another week without rain.

You look to have some good silage there. Farmers here claim their first cut (about 4 weeks ago) was of poor quality,: and that the grass hasn't grown since. Some Mayors are now allowing farmers to cut and harvest the verges of the small lanes. Other farmers are cutting any fallow piece of land with anything like grass on it for fodder. Our large pasture opposite, which has not been "farmed" in the last 12 years to our knowledge, yielded a meagre 2 round bales. We've seen small traffic islands being cut. It's crazy. The grass - or whatever - is clearly of poor quality but the farmers are desperate for fodder.

Last weekend they blocked local motorway slip-roads, met up outside the Prefect's office, and blocked the roads to the beaches. This latter was important.

AS they argue, tourism is important here (we are N° 3 in the most sunny departments in France), and the visitors have been flocking here to enjoy the weather. Tourists also need water. They are getting it, farmers are not. (Crops are about 3/4 weeks ahead of normal, so maize needs water now).

The only good point is that fishing, especially Oyster fishing (our oyster beds are the largest in France) don't need fresh water - yet. Oysters grow in estuaries, so need both salt and fresh water. But the current mix of each is said to be OK.

The rain forecast for yesterday and today didn't appear. Showers are forecast for Monday. We'll see.

7 June 2011 18:49

May I give you a late - but final - update on weather, etc in Charente-Maritime?
We hadn't had rain since 01/04 (5mm). Saturday 04/06 it got hotter, and hotter: 36°C in the shade, and humid (it was unbearable outdoors). Then, about 8,45 in the evening it started raining; then the lightning and thunder; then the downpour. By 10,15, when it had stopped, we'd had 18mm. Wonderful! Since then we've had a couple of light showers only but hope for more.

Final tales: Farmers locally have been harvesting winter-sown barley for about 3 weeks now. Normally they burn the straw in the fields to help the soil; but this year have been asked to save it for stock and milk farmers. The local paper reported that one farmer was burning his straw, when he was visited by about 15 other farmers, who "took him aside to explain his responsibilities". So polite French farmers. ....
We have trials farm locally where they are piloting Sorghum, noted for its hardiness against summer drought. But it needs water to germinate: and, with our dry Spring, it hasn't germinated.
River fishermen and oyster farmers are now complaining about the low river levels: worst ever. So, it looks like fewer gifts from our fishing neighbour; and more expensive oysters. How will we manage?

Back online

2011-06-09T17:46:00.003+01:00

Last night I got the new weather station talking to the computer. And this afternoon I have got the computer talking to the website.

So if you click on here you can see how hot/cold/wet/dry or windy it is at Strickley. Or you can open the Strickley Weather tab below the picture of cows and click on the link on that page. Or - click on the link on the right - "Strickley Weather" - so many ways!

As I said yesterday, we have moved to a completely different weather station. It came with it's own software (Weatherlink) which I thought I might use. But I don't like the look of the charts and graphics. It's very "blocky" and almost childlike. I know that design is very subjective (and I'm not the most artistic in the family), but I prefer something subtler. But of course looks aren't everything, and I thought it didn't show as much information as I'm used to. The information was there; but not always where or the way I expected. Maybe I've been hasty, but I've gone back to the software (Weather Display) I used before.

The data now should be much more accurate and I'm confident will continue to flow seamlessly.

I'm still tinkering with the web setup - there's things I want to tweak a bit, but the basic data will stay the same.

Just a word of warning - the updates to the website only happen when my computer is switched on. I won't be leaving it on all night. So between about 10 pm and 8 pm there will be no updates. (The timings may change, depending on how late I stay up, and when I get up ).But the data is stored on the weather console, so as soon as I start up the program all the overnight data flows to the computer and onto the website. And - we've started with a clean sheet from Day One. The history doesn't show on this version.

If you have any comments please let me know.

Weather watching

2011-06-08T16:37:00.001+01:00

Or, once a weather girl, always a weather girl.

When we finally called it a day with our old weather station last month, we sort of said "never again". I stuck it out for about two weeks then admitted to my cravings and ordered a new system. We've taken a bit of a leap and invested in what promises to be a much better system. It's well regarded by weather watchers all over the world and should give many years of faithful service. One of the problems with the previous setup was the location. While the Teapot Field was handy, it was also slightly sheltered by the house and buildings. It was originally put there to transmit to the computer in the office at side of the house. But that computer is also consigned to the scrap heap, so we had a blank sheet to start planning on.

So the new setup - a Davis Vantage Pro 2 - is up on top of a hill (about 130 metres above sea level), on a purpose built pole (7.5 metres), with the anemometer at the top and the other instruments half way down. It's fenced in by the hedge in Plucker and transmits the data to a console in the kitchen. Currently that's as far as it goes, but in the next few days I'll get it set up to connect to the computer (slight problem with USB connectivity at the moment) and then onto out website.

And this is the view looking west from the weather station, down towards Morecambe Bay

Evidence

2011-06-03T17:06:00.001+01:00

This (taken yesterday), shows evidence of which two creatures at Strickley?
(ignore the finger - there just to show scale)

Sorry it's only sound and vision

2011-06-02T12:57:00.004+01:00

Or maybe you're glad it's not in Smellyvision.

Click here to watch on You Tube

Once again I had problems uploading straight to Blogger.

It's the first warmish sunny day for ages - but the whiff in the air is a bit too strong for sitting out

Done and dusted

2011-06-01T08:46:00.000+01:00

All of first cut is now in the pit and sheeted up. So, there will be a rather agricultural whiff in the air as we spread muck. The promised heatwave never arrived, but we were lucky with the weather. While it rained round about us we managed to keep dry. In an ideal world we would like a few more dry days to get the muck on, then some rain to wash it in.

Working late last night

2011-05-31T07:20:00.000+01:00

After a couple of days off (rain and a road closure at Natland) we've started on the final first cut acres. James mowed until dark and is finishing off this morning, ready for picking up later today.

And in the porch our Blackbird family were back, also working till dark, adding another layer to the nest, ready for the next clutch.

One fine day

2011-05-28T08:47:00.000+01:00

I forgot to say last night, we snatched another 20 acres of silage yesterday. Cut in the morning and picked up in the afternoon, with Henry rowing it up just ahead of the chopper (in case we were caught out by the rain).

There's still about 40 acres to go, but I don't think we'll get any today (still raining) which will be a relief to those of us wanting to watch a Football Match tonight.

And, for an update on the lack of rain in France look at Derek's comment to the post with the video on earlier this week.

Empty Nest

2011-05-26T11:17:00.000+01:00

The blackbird nest is now empty - breakfast time this morning there was just one chick left. And when I looked out just now he seems to have made a bid for freedom. He (or she?) has not got far - still in the porch, underneath the nest. Maybe he hasn't quite got the hang of flying (and he doesn't look very aerodynamic). I hope the parents know where he is and guide him to somewhere safer. It's a tough world out there. There's a ginger cat that hangs about and a handsome, but threatening, magpie staking out the bird feeders.

A Day In The LIfe

2011-05-25T22:23:00.001+01:00

or Twenty Four Hours From Strickley.

First - apologies about the quality of the video (the original high definition version is much sharper - but still the same content, with the same shaky camera work - my hands were very cold), but I can't upload too large a file. And, in the end the only way I could get it to work, was as a link to You Tube.

Click here!

It's 9.30 pm and the pit's a lot fuller than in the video - 57 acres of grass. Now all we need is another two fine days to finish off.

Watching

2011-05-25T11:54:00.001+01:00

It's a day for watching -

Birdwatching - much activity in the porch (see below)
Silage watching - video camera in hand, I'm stalking the men at work (video later today)
Weather watching - will it stay fine so we can get all the grass we've got down? I think it could be a late night

Just because you've left home, it doesn't mean your parents won't look after you!

And if I had still been at work I would have missed all of this!

First away

2011-05-25T10:40:00.000+01:00

Ready to leave the nest?

2011-05-25T07:34:00.001+01:00

and don't leave your wellies underneath the nest!

It's fine and sunny (mostly) . . .

2011-05-24T17:09:00.001+01:00

. . . so what are we up?

Apologies for the quality of the video, but as we have such a slow broadband connection,

I've uploaded a very low definition version.

Archived weather

2011-05-24T14:42:00.003+01:00

While we cannot show what the weather is like today at Strickley, we can still show what it was like in the past 5 years (from March 2006 - when I dipped my toe in the website water).

So, if you want to see what it was like back in the day (what on earth does that expression mean?) click on the "Archive Weather" link on the links list on the right. Or click here. It's not quite as tidy as I wanted (I've tried to omit blank graphs etc).

When you're on the Archive Weather page, scroll down to where it says "click here for daily averages/extremes to date for the month". Then go to the bottom of the page (control/end is a quick way) and select the year/month you want.

Sorry it's a bit messy. But watch this space for further updates.

Weather report

2011-05-23T11:57:00.001+01:00

We've no technology - not even a windsock or bit of seaweed - to corroborate, but today seems to be the wettest day for ages and it's very very windy.

Wind and rain

But if you're commiserating with us, check out the comment from Derek to a post a few days ago. No rain at all can be worse.