Charlie the bull leaves the farm.

Charlie our old simmental bull is leaving the farm today. He has been a really good tempered old thing so we are quite glad that he isn`t going far.
In fact he is going to the adjoining farm. We have sold a belgian blue cow as well so he wont get upset travelling alone.
Julian a young farmer is buying him. He used to work for us so he knows Charlie and Star the cow well.
This morning I telephoned DEFRA and asked about getting a movement licience for a farm to farm transaction. Lorna downloaded it on the computer for me. It has been quite a worry not being able to sell animals in the last couple of months. I have also been waiting to buy some new rams. We had to use a couple of older rams we were going to sell in order to ensure that our lambing would begin in early January as usual. I am now hoping that three suffolk cross rams will be delivered tomorrow. The old boys are looking quite tired.

Back to square one.

I heard with absolute horror that foot and mouth was back yet again. Farmers are really fed up and desperate with this news.
I have 15 prime steers ready to go to the store market at Liskeard. We have just had a pre movement TB test done on them. These results stand for 60 days. If we don`t sell them in this time we will have to pay for another test to be done.
The older bull is due to be sold after spending 3 years with us. The young bull is now old enough to work and I never like to keep 2 bulls in case they get together and fight.
The foot and mouth have put a stop to all these movements.
I was hoping to bid for 2 new rams yesterday at the market but of course that was cancelled. Our 6 old boys need a bit of help with the ewes. They will just have to soldier on.
Simon and Nigel have finished harvesting the oil seed rape thank goodness. It is horrible stuff to handle. If you spill a little bit it runs away like water. It not only gets in your boots but in your socks as well. Hopefully a lorry will take it away quite soon.
I don`t think we will grow any next year I much prefer growing oats.

Educational access.

For the last two years Lorna and I have been doing educational access tours of the farm. WTheree are doing this through The Country Stewardship scheme. Schools, clubs and familys are all welcome. Visits are totally free. We like parties of six or more although if you are only two people we can usually find someone else to join you. Visits are casual, we can walk around the farm chatting about crops and animals as we go.Small children find the baby animals fascinating, especially the lambs in the very early Spring. The ponds are also very popular, it is quite amazing what can be found by just dipping a fishing net into the water.There are newts frogs and toads. Dragonflies are magnificent swooping around like little aeroplanes.
If you would like to visit when you are in Cornwall you can telephone Lorna on 01726 870655. We look forward to seeung you one day.

Adders and slow worms.

At my fathers house he has a large piece of slate propped up against a sunny hedge.Underneath is the home of a large family of slow worms. There are fat pregnant mothers, and slimmer males. There are also small babies two or three inches long and as thin as a piece of parcel string. One day I looked underneath and was shocked to see a dark brown snake. I jumped in surprise thinking it was an adder.When I had a closer look I noticed a yellow mark just behind it's head. What a relief, it was a grass snake. We have never seen one in his garden before and wondered what it was doing there.
I wondered if they ate slow worms. If so it would have to be relocated , perhaps to our ponds. We looked them up on the internet. It seems that mice, frogs ,slugs and snails are the favourite food so that was a relief.
Chris my husband and I went picking sloes to make some sloe gin for the Winter they are big and juicy this year, we thought we would pick a few blackberries as well to go in the apple pies.
We were happily pottering along the cliff tops picking some nice fruit when Chris said "Look out there's an adder" Lying curled up in the path was a large adder. It looked at us then slithered at speed into the undergrowth. They do look malignant. I really don't like them at all.
I thought to myself that the gin was quite drinkable without the sloes and the apples would be fine without the blackberries,so we went home. We have since been out picking but this time on a cloudy dull day when adders are in their nests.