After various discussions and helpful comments I think we can safely say that winter has begun. ( even if some of you say it doesn't officially start until some later date) We've had more winter in the last week than we've had in some whole years and the countryside is stunningly beautiful. It's a photographer's paradise out there and I've just spent ages filing masses of images taken over the last few days.
Yesterday evening we went to the village pub for a St. Andrew's night ale and the talk was very much of the weather and how we were all coping. Our most difficult job in this weather is keeping the out-wintering cattle supplied with water. When they're fed silage they drink a lot and we don't have mains fed troughs on the farm so water is taken out to the field by forklift truck in large tanks which are then used to fill the water baths. A tank of water might last several days, but keeping the whole system running at this time of year means checking it regularly and if necessary, defrosting it, which can involve all sorts of precarious antics involving burning newspapers while trying not to melt the plastic tap!
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| taking a water tank out to the cattle |
The garden to the front of our house is a large area of rough grass and trees surrounded by beech and hawthorn and it's looking very pretty just now. I took these photographs this morning when the sun appeared between snow showers.
The roads have been very quiet although I think the occasional bus is running and our road is still passable if you have a 4WD. We have a Subaru which is great as long as the snow isn't too deep, but we can easily walk to the village or, if necessary, bumble along in the wee tractor!
The postman appeared for the first time this week but I can't see the bin lorry making it along here tomorrow. I think the village school is closed for the week which is quite surprising as most of the pupils live within walking distance, but I think it's perhaps because the teachers live elsewhere and can't make it to the village.
I spent most of this morning baking and making soup. Yesterday I made a huge pot of stock from two pheasant carcases and I used that to make vegetable soup today. I baked some soda bread with sesame and sunflower seeds, and it was still warm when we had it with our soup at lunchtime. Delicious!
Please, when you have a moment in between watering cattle and making stock, would you e-mail me your soda bread recipe? Thanks. Just bought a fabulous cookery book by Darina Allen called 'Forgotten Skills of Cookery' - you would love it.
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