Farming Friends

My husband came downstairs the other night and said that he had just seen a bat fly past the study door.

“A bat?!” I said, “That can’t be right. Tell me what happened.” And so he did.

As my husband sat at the computer, he saw something fly past the door. It caught his eye because it was larger than a fly. Anyway he didn’t think too much about it until it flew in the other direction confirming that he had seen something and it wasn’t a fly. When he got up to investigate a bat flew across the landing.

So what did my husband do? He closed the door on the bedroom where he had last seen the bat.

I couldn’t quite believe my ears. A bat in the house. I went up to investigate myself. I gingerly opened the door and was confronted with nothing.

In fact it wasn’t until the following evening that the bat reappeared. The first I knew about the reappearance was when my husband came down to say that he had just shut a bat in the bathroom.

My parents were staying for the weekend and so Steve, dad and I (armed with camera as this was obviously a photo opportunity not to be missed) rushed to the bathroom. We opened the door and all squeezed into the narrow and now somewhat overcrowded bathroom.

Yes indeed there was a bat in our bathroom. The bat had landed on the window ledge but as I attemped to focus the camera before we let it out the window, the bat decided it would fly around the bathroom.

As it circled the ceiling, I ducked down and didn’t see much except the floor in the bathroom, which I’m pleased to say was clean! I’m especially pleased as my nose seemed to be practically touching the floor as I tried to dodge the bat. Needless to say I didn’t manage to get a photograph of the bat.

Whilst I was inspecting the floor for dirt (my excuse anyway!) my dad and husband managed to open the bathroom window and let the bat fly out safely and untouched by human hand.

We have often seen bats in the barns at night although never one in the house, but then as they say there is always a first time for everything.

Locks Park Farm is a small organic farm in Devon, with sheep and beef cattle. Paula farms Locks Park Farm with her family and also writes very interesting, informative and entertaining posts all about life on her farm which I thoroughly enjoy reading. I am thrilled that Paula decided to appear on my guest appearance spot. Read this fascinating account of the cattle at Locks Park Farm and learn how to cow watch at the same time……

Cow watching may sound to you a bit like paint drying, but believe me it’s akin to a soap opera. And herd dynamics are totally fascinating. This is a short précised post on a subject I could wax lyrical on!

Ours is a closed herd. This means I don’t buy in any cattle except for a bull about every three years. It’s well established through the female line with daughters, grand-daughters and great grand-daughters now running in the herd. I do my best, within the limitations of our land, management and so forth, to respect the animals’ natural behaviour.

Jennifer and Julie governed the herd in tandem for many years. They had set roles. Jennifer was the traditional matriarch, the top-ranking cow, and Julie the ‘scout’ cow - it was she who would decide where and when the herd should move. Unfortunately Julie is no longer with us and this, along with the sale of some older cows, upset the social order. Jennifer lost her confidence for about a year, but has since re-established herself as head cow with another governing body, consisting of Desiree, Severn and Warbler.

High ranking or senior cows are much more confident, if sometimes rather aloof towards their herdsman. He or she (the herdsman) has to establish a place in the herd too; ideally at the top of the tree! Since I’m tiny beside the cows, weighing less than a tenth of their bulk, I need to ensure they respect me (without fearing me) so I can manage, move or treat them on my own. Nowadays I’m able to separate off a single cow and calf from the herd and lead them away, demonstrating the degree of trust that has developed over the years.

Interestingly the bull acts only as a visual and audio deterrent. He’s the herds’ ‘ego’. Out there ready to shout and display himself in his full glory if there’s any threat or excitement. But he has no say in the running of the herd. This is a matriarchal society. Our current bull is huge and impressive but has the character of a rather bumptious schoolboy…the young calves enjoy teasing him without fear of reprisal!”

If I take a cow or two away from the herd for more than a few days, on returning them fights will break out as the cows test each other’s strength and will, and redefine their place in the pecking order. Things soon quieten down, and from then on confrontations over choice grazing or lying space are avoided as subordinates simply walk away with little more than a look or nudge from higher ranking individuals.

Calves from high ranking cows are generally more outgoing and confident than their peers. When daughters come back into the main herd as bulling heifers they demonstrate a mature calmness. Though still at the bottom of the herd’s social structure they don’t exhibit nervousness when in direct confrontation with superiors. After their second calf they usually begin to test and take on roles of government. Hermione, one of Desiree’s daughters, has just started acting as a scout cow – shouting and walking the gateway to let me know that the grass is running short.

Some of my friends may think me odd with my passion for leaning on gates and watching cattle, and I am of course, but with good reason!

Cow Watching By Paula @ Locks Park Farm.

If you have a farming story, memory or farm visit that you would like to share then please send me your story and I will happily include it on a guest appearance post.

In days gone by our farmhouse vegetable patch was brimming with rows of veggies. It was my husband’s Grandad’s domain and he was very proud of it. Every year he would enter his veggies into the village show and if he didn’t have any fine specimens then it has been said that he would nip down to the local shop and buy a couple of onions to show, but this is only hearsay!
When I moved to the farm, my intention was to restore the vegetable garden to it’s former glory however the last few years have seen me fighting a losing battle against the long standing enemy of the gardener, the weed. The weeds grew rapidly in this part of the garden despite digging, digging and more digging!
So this year the boxing gloves (I mean gardening gloves) were well and truely on and I entered the garden or should that be boxing ring, with renewed vigour and the will to win over this area of land and reclaim the soil back from the champion weeds! I again attacked the garden with a stint of digging but after many hours of back breaking work with little results to show for it, I decided to bring in the big boys, ie the farm machinery.
My husband used the farm digger to dig over the veg plot and root up the offending weeds leaving the weed free soil underneath.
Once the soil was clear we then had to use the power harrow to level the soil. I don’t think my husband has ever had to power harrow such a small area of land before. The tractor and implement only just managed to manoeuvre into the space.
When the land had been cleared and levelled by the farming equipment, I was able to plant the many seedlings that had germinated in my greenhouse. I planted row upon row of vegetables and was very proud of the neat and well organised vegetable plot. Finally farmer’swife (with a little bit of help) had defeated the weeds. Courgettes, butternut squash, garlic, cauliflower, cabbage, sprouts, onions and broccolli were all happily growing in the weed free vegetable garden, that is until that fateful night in June when we received a phone call at 2am to say that flood water was heading our way. By daylight, my thriving vegetable patch was awash with flood water and the plants remained submerged in the water for nearly a week.
After the water subsided, most of the plants perished. The only success of the flooded vegetable garden was the two courgette plants that survived and have provided us with many tasty courgettes that have been turned into lemony courgette salad, mince stuffed courgettes, courgette soup and most unusually, courgette cake! A victory for the courgette. I think thats flood water 1, courgette plants 2!
Following the flood, I became a little despondent and couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm to regrow the veggies I had lost. So as the vegetable garden began to feel neglected, the weeds began to creep back. It’s amazing how quickly they can grow and the recently farmed vegetable garden once again became a jungle of weeds. This is the situation today but do not despair my next plan of attack is raised beds, so I’ll let you know who wins round 2!

My new friend Trisha lives on a farm and loves to feed the birds. She has recently set up a website called Bird Table News which tells you all about the birds that are visiting her garden and the food that Trisha is feeding them. Birdy Trisha, as she likes to be known, has kindly written a story of her childhood memories of living in a rural community. Her memories will transport you back to the 1950’s…

When I was nobbut a lass growing up in a wolds village there were two farms on the main street who milked cows for a living. The two herds of cows were walked through the front street of the village twice a day - from the fields to the milking parlour and back again. The roads were used by tractors, cows, bikes and people then. Cars weren’t masters of the roads as they are today. The milk was taken away in churns. Now both dairy farms have gone, as has the butcher, one village shop and the village pub.

Village life in the 1950’s was lived in the slow lane yet as school children we were kept very, very busy -

Chalking out the lines and playing hopscotch
Playing ball together
Skipping - either with a small skipping rope or with a group - what were those rhymes we sang as we skipped?
Playing in a sandpit in the garden
Playing mudpies with old pans and cups
Rollerskating
Putting a collar on the rabbit and taking it for a walk
Playing in a den inside a garden hedge - and listening to birds.
Thinking back to my childhood days I remember how we were told stories about birds that we believed were true. Here are a few things that I remember -

Birds Being Able To Foretell The Weather

• Robins - If robins chirp sadly near the hedge then that means bad weather is coming, even though the day may be bright and sunny at the time. If a robin is seen chirping happily on a topmost twig, even if the weather it bad, this means good weather is coming.
• Pigeons - If pigeons gather on the ridge of a house this means there will be a storm of wind or rain

Who needs the television weather forecast?!!

Birds To Signify Fortune and Good Luck

• Cuckoo - It’s good luck if you have money on you the first time you hear a cuckoo in any year.
• Swallows - We were told it’s lucky if you have swallows building thier nests under the eaves of your house. Bad luck will follow if the nests are disturbed or are left by the swallows.
• Rooks - The same thing was sometimes said about rooks. If there is a rookery near your house then good luck will stay with you. If rooks suddenly leave their nesting site bad luck will follow.

I remember the last bit of folklore about the rooks very well. Nearly every farm had a rookery attached to it. Now I live near a rookery, and as much as they annoy me when they land on my bird table, I would miss rooks and crows as they come in to roost and miss them circling around.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my memories.  Trisha.

Childhood Memories By Trisha @ Bird Table News

If you have a farming story, memory or farm visit that you would like to share then please send me your story and I will happily include it on a guest appearance post.

My husband’s family have lived in our village for many years and his grandparents were often seen at key events, so as the new farmer’s wife I felt it was my duty to continue with the family tradition of attending the village functions. The harvest festival service at the church was to be my first public appearance, however one of the farm animals had other ideas about how I would spend the evening. The farming story I am about to share with you is a true story that occurred in October 2004 so read on the find out exactly what happened….

(more…)

I thoroughly enjoy reading a lovely website called A Growing Delight and learning all about life in Australia through the eyes of Alice and her family. Alice belongs to a writing group and back in August she wrote the story you are about to read for her writing group. She has kindly sent me her wonderful heart-warming story to share with you all, so sit back and enjoy reading about Gordon the farmer and the blind visit…..  (more…)

Every Monday I try to post a guest appearance farming story that I have been sent by one of my readers. Today’s guest appearance is a little different as I wanted to share the thrilling news that I have actually had one of my farming stories posted as a guest spot on another site. Curtis from Growing Thumbs, who appeared on my site with his memories of milking the cow, invited me to share an occasion when I have used farming equipment in the garden. Curtis has written a great introduction to my story, “For some time now. I have been reading a very well put together blog called Farming Friends. It is a very informative and fun blog about Farming and Gardening. Sara puts you right in the action with all her adventures in farming life.”

My story, which is a true story, is called The Vegetable Garden Under Attack. If you would like to read it then visit Growing Thumbs Guest Spot now and then pop back and let me know what you think of my true story.

If you have a farming story, memory or farm visit that you would like to share then please send me your story and I will happily include it on a guest appearance post.