Uses and abuses of quince

We have been regularly getting a good crop of quinces and this year is no exception. Although it might be tempting to do so when picked straight off the tree, they can't be eaten raw with enjoyment like an apple or pear; they are hard and bitter. Quinces have to be processed in some way to make them palatable. 

So-called 'quince cheese', or membrilllo, is worth the effort as is quince jelly. Quince 'and something' jam also goes down well and visitors will often leave with a jar. Quince added to apple pies are extra appetising. They also go well in apple crumble. Janet adds a star anise and some orange zest as well, plus an oat-based topping, which all really elevate an otherwise ordinary dessert.  

All of these approaches make good use of the quince and one of, for me, its major attractions. That is, the fruit's fragrance which you can sort of taste.

This year Janet tried something else as a means of utilising the quince and extending their enjoyment beyond harvest time. Quince chunks seeped in a syrup solution with cloves, similar to what might be done with pears. With the addition of ice cream or custard, an easy dessert.

   

Shepherd's Calendar

Today we commenced the start of a new sheep keeping year. The breeding ewes were joined by the ram. Some sorting out was needed first. I had to bring all the ewes into the barn and separate out the three ewes that were unintentionally 'caught' and produced July-born lambs, as well as the three lambs of course. 

The remaining ewes (nine of them this year) were led out to the field where they will remain for the rest of this year. It is a slightly smaller field so the ram has potentially less chasing to do.

I then had to separate out one of our two rams who will service the ewes. This will be his first year on the job. Always a trickier operation as the two rams tend to stick close together and are more pushy and stronger compared to the ewes. Some deft manipultaion succeeded in extracting the correct ram who was led off to join the ewes. He will remain with them for exactly 4 weeks so that we know more or less when to expect lambs to arrive and the likely final date: 7th March to 3rd April 2025, give or take a couple of days - sheep usually give birth within two days of the expected date of delivery. The regular gestation period is 145 days.

The three ewes and their Summer born lambs were put into a separate area to continue to put on condition.

Our second ram is being hired out to a Wiltshire Horn sheep keeper in Lavenham, as he was last year with good results.   

This is a cycle that is being repeated all over the country and one that has been much the same for centuries.

Ewes before being sorted

Bluetongue on the spread

In describing last weekend's visit to the Wiltshire Horn Society show and sale with a friend, I mentioned in passing recent concerns about Bluetongue disease, particularly in East Anglia much of which had been placed under a restriction Zone. The very next day after the sale one of my friend's sheep began to display indicative symptoms. A DEFRA vet visited (its a notifiable disease) and Bluetongue disease was subsequently confirmed, and in this case the sheep in question died later in the week. 

With further cases being reported the Restriction Zone has now been extended to include all of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Greater London, Surrey and East Sussex.

Although Bluetongue disease can affect all ruminants, sheep are more likely to show obvious clinical signs  than cattle if they become infected with bluetongue virus. Signs of bluetongue in sheep include:

• ulcers or sores in the mouth and nose
• discharge from the eyes or nose and drooling from mouth
• swelling of the lips, tongue, head and neck and the coronary band (where the skin of the leg meets the horn of the foot)

The Bluetongue virus is transmitted by biting midges of the genus Culicoides  and not normally from direct contact with infected animals. There are different strains of the virus which vary in their potential seriousness. Peak midge populations occur during the late summer and autumn in Europe and therefore this is the time when Bluetongue is most commonly seen.  The midges can be carried very large distances on the wind (over 200km) and this has been the primary way Bluetongue is introduced into new areas. It was once largely confined to tropical and sub-tropical areas but climate change has made it an increasing problem in temperate regions.

Our vet has offered a vaccine which although might not prevent the disease can mitigate symptoms. Otherwwise all that can be done is remain vigilant and hope for the weather to change so it is less conducive to midges. 

Our ewes today with a one of the 'accidental'
July born lambs to the left. 
All look healthy.

Wiltshire Horn Sheep premier show and sale

Saturday last I had a rare day away from the smallholding to attend the Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society show and sale at Stoneleigh livestock market near Rugby. I went with a friend who lives near to us and who also keeps Wiltshire Horn sheep. He had planned to take some sheep to the sale but Suffolk, and also now much of the eastern counties of England, is designated a Restriction Zone because of recent cases of Blue Tongue disease which affects ruminants. Its now a big problem for sheep and cattle farmers who are in the Restriction Zones as it is currently illegal to move livestock to a non-restricted area with only a few exceptions to the rule.

Anyhow, the show and subsequent sale went off well and there were some good examples of Wiltshire Horn sheep on show. The prize winning sheep were sold at the higher prices as might be expected. The winning bid for the top ewe was 650 guineas.  

Co-incidentally, DEFRA last week designated the Wiltshire Horn a Breed At Risk. This means it is a rare breed that is vulnerable to disappear. This would be a particular shame given that it is a primitive breed of sheep thought to have been the original sheep breed introduced to Britain by the Romans. 

Once common, Wiltshire Horns are not a breed that commercial sheep farmers nowadays keep. They are noted for being self-shedding so their fleece is not very suitable for wool production. They are an excellent meat breed but take longer to grow for the commercial market. The survival of the Wiltshire Horn breed relies on smallholders and small scale farmers to keep the breed going.

First placed ewe lamb

 

Family day out in Thetford

 

August on the smallholding

A second brood of swallows this year has hatched in the nest in our barn. This is the third year running that we have had swallows nesting there. These look like they are soon to fledge. They have a few weeks still before their migration to Southern Africa sometime in September. It is a delight to see the adults swooping in and out of the barn feeding their youngsters. 

With the combines busy and straw bales being collected in the neighbouring fields, and our own harvesting of fruit and vegetables, together with the daily warm sunshine, it feels very August.

Apricots - a personal record

Last year we doubled our apricot production by 50% from one fruit to two fruits. This year it has been a relatively bumper result. There were about twenty fruits growing but the birds and those that dropped before they were ripe left us with eight worthy fruits. 

This year has not been an easy one as many fruit and vegetable growers will attest. It been due to a combination of wet and relatively cool weather, coupled with long periods of overcast conditions. Sunshine has been missing for the most part.

Berry fruit (blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries) have been quite modest this year. Redcurrants have been very poor. Stone fruit such as plums, greengages and walnuts look to be very fruitful this year. Hence the apricots.

After a slow start greenhouse plants are doing very well.  The best results outside are the potaoes which were a beneficiary of the wetter conditions although a close eye is needed to check for blight which can also flourish in wet weather. At the moment we are enjoying Charlotte potatoes, digging them as we need them.

Out of season lambs

This morning I scanned the field where the ewes are currently grazing, looking out for our small young dog Zelda who has of late taken herself off to be with the sheep. Milling around the back legs of one of the ewes I saw something small and white, not small and fawn coloured. It was a lamb. This was most unexpected. I went across to check and it had not long been born. It had been licked clean and was suckling, but the afterbirth was still trailing from the rear end of the mother. All looked well. It was a ram lamb and a single. They appeared to be bonding well so there was no need to bring them in.

How did this happen? We had decided not to lamb this year for a number of reasons. The two mature rams we have are kept separate from the ewes and, moreover, not even in adjacent fields to avoid the temptation for them to jump a fence. The answer is that the culprit was a ram lamb (no longer with us) who we kept with the flock longer than we would normally do so. In the past we have castrated ram lambs (this has to be done within 7 days of birth) for this very reason. But in the last few years we have simply separated them out when weaning them, knowing that they were shortly destined for the abattoir.  

We had a closer look at the rest of the ewes and we identified two or three others who looked possibly in lamb. Fortuitously, we have two separate bloodlines within the flock and so hopefully any pregnant ewes are not too closely related to the ram lamb responsible. 

I am now regulalry checking for more surprises. And thinking ahead, contmplating how best to manage tupping in the Autumn. 

Smooth Hawksbeard

There is a grassy area along our entrance drive that has been a sea of lemon yellow of late and when the sun shine is on it the effect is amplified. I have to admit that it was an area I had not got around to mowing and now I'll intentionally delay mowing it for a little longer.

The dandelion-like flowers are about a foot high. This group of plants I find quite difficult to identify because they have many similarities so you need to inspect them in some detail to be reasonably sure of their identity. They are easy to ignore because most of them are very common. The group includes Hawkweed, Hawksbeard, Catsear, Hawkbit and of course Dandelions. 

My conclusion (I might be wrong) was that the flowers in the photograph are Smooth Hawksbeard. Common but with its own distinct identity which is worth taking the trouble recognising. For good measure I have added an arty moving image.

Mock Orange moment

The last two or three weeks I have been enjoying the powerful jasmine-like scent emanating from a huge philadelphus (Mock Orange) bush. It is at its strongest in the evenings and at this time the flowers stand out even more. The flowers are very attractive, pure white with yellow stamens. Each year the philadelphus flowers profusely for a few weeks about this time of the year.

Our shrub is about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and 15 feet high and stands alone on a grassy area to the side of the house. I have cut it back with a hedge trimmer a couple of times, a rather indelicate approach admittedly,  but otherwise have left it to its own devices. Given its size it provides a useful screen to the house. 

If the philadelphus is pruned it needs to be done in the Summer after it has finished flowering, taking out some of the older stems. Winter pruning will result in the loss of the following year's flower buds. In a border or garden situation judicious pruning is needed to contain the shrub and promote flowering. Our one has the space to be allowed to free range.

When it is not in flower the philadelphus is a bit on the dull side so perhaps not the first choice in a small garden. There is a golden leafed cultivar, 'Aurea', which might be more garden-worthy. But if space allows the philadelphus offers a delightful few weeks each year to enjoy it.

Sheep shearing with Jess

Our Wiltshire Horn sheep are back from a nearby farm where the farmer lets me have some extra grazing for a couple of months each year. This is very helpful as it allows me to rest our own fields and gives time for fresh grass to grow.

Wiltshire Horns are a self-shedding, primitive breed of sheep so shearing them is not usually necessary. However, we have a few sheep in the flock that don't fully shed or are very slow to shed. The best ones in this respect will fully lose their fleece within two or three weeks. However, with our increasingly hot Summers and the ever-present risk of fly strike, I decided to have them sheared this year, or at least those that hadn't already shed.

I called on Jess who comes from a livestock farming family not far off. She is the youngest of three sisters who offer sheeping shearing services at this time of the year. Jess has only just finished agricultural college but is demonstrably experienced at handling livestock. She did an excellent job with our small flock.

Another litter

Another litter of piglets born today, coveniently at 1pm. A smaller litter of six, so all done by about 2pm. All went smoothly with no need for any significant intervention. I checked on progress during and after birth at regular intervals while doing other jobs about the smallholding.

As soon as they are born piglets will instinctively search out for one of its mother's teats to suckle. In large litters this can be a bit of a scramble with one on top of the other depending on whether they have located a teat on the 'upper deck' or the lower.

The photo below is of one of today's pigets about 15 minutes after birth, firmly latched on.

Cheery marsh marigolds

Halfway through June and all in all things are a little behind because of the cool weather. Even the courgettes in the vegetable plot, which normally take off once planted out, seem to be at a standstill. The potatoes, however, have grown exuberantly and are already beginning to flower. They have taken advantage of  the wet Spring.  

In the flower borders and odd corners there is always something to catch the eye. For me at the moment it is the Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) which edge part of our small pond. So bright and cheery in the overcast conditions we have been experiencing recently.

Twelve little piglets

A litter of 12 British Saddleback piglets born a few days ago. They are still at the stage of staying tucked in next to mum or in a single heap in a corner of the farrowing house under a heat lamp. I don't normally use a heat lamp at this time of the year but it has been a bit on the cool side with temperatures dropping overnight. They are all doing well as is their mother. We also have another sow who is due to deliver any day now.

Poppy fields

Despite the rather overcast and relatively cooler weather we have been experiencing poppies are popping up everywhere. Not far off there are some fields full of poppies which, covering such a large area, look very impressive. The timing could not have been more prescient. 

I was unable to stop and take a photo so here is one from the year before last of a nearby field of perhaps 10 acres with the same effect. It had been ploughed during the Winter after a crop of wheat and then left fallow the following season. Seemingly out of nowhere a field of poppies appeared. 

Problematic pigeons

One of our most problematic pests when it comes to vegetable growing is wood pigeons. They are here in abundance probably because we are surrounded by arable land which provides them with a field day. But they are astute enough to spot choice greenery. It is not possible to grow any brassicas without protecting them with netting of some sort. 

The last two seasons they have also taken to shredding newly planted dwarf French beans, leaving bare stalks behind. They were never previously a target. After sowing, growing, potting on and eventually planting out the French bean plants, to see them disappear in a day or two you can't help but feel a little piqued towards the pigeons.

This year I was going to net them but instead I made a pigeon scarer. At least that is the effect I hope it will have. I cut out a rough shape of a large predatory bird from a piece of black plastic and attached it to a pole with a length of stiff wire. This keeps the 'bird' gently hovering over the French beans even with barely any breeze. I'll soon know if it works.

 

Gustav Klimt, Beth Chatto & Geometry

The Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) is perhaps most well known for his stylised portraits of females, including sometimes using gold leaf in their composition. He also painted many landscapes in the second half of his career and I am quite drawn to these.

I was recently looking (online) at Bauerngarten or Farm Garden  which he painted in 1907. It captures the natural, colourful beauty of a meadow which modern farming practices have more of less extinguished. Like his portraits Klimt's use of strong colours and patterns is evident. 

Bauerngarten Gustav Klimt

One aspect of this patterning which is discernable is the central triangle formation. When I saw this I was reminded of one of the planting principles of the late Beth Chatto. Anyone who has a keen interest in gardens and garden writing will be familiar with Beth Chatto and her famous garden in Elmstead Market near Colchester which is still going strong under her posthumous guidance. She was particularly noted for her 'ecological' approach to plants and planting so that the plant's natural habitat is the primary determinant of where it should be planted in order to thrive: 'right plant, right place'. 

Another of Beth Chatto's planting principles was the asymmetrical triangle with taller plants at the rear and a medium sized and still smaller plant on either side in front. This pattern is repeated in a bed using staggered planting triangles of different dimensions and plants of different textures and forms. I should think this approach is now common currency for flower arrangers and garden designers.

One of Beth Chatto's flower beds displaying variations in form and texture. This photograph
looks to have been taken in late Summer.
Photo source: Archive of Garden Design at The Garden Museum https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/

It is no coincidence that earlier in her gardening career Beth Chatto was an innovative flower arranger, and in much demand for giving demonstrations to flower clubs and other organisations. She was also  influenced by the Japanese ikebana approach to flower arranging so knew a thing or two about effective plant combination. She was skilled in translating the geometric principle to the garden which was in fact noted for its naturalistic style. Just like the Klimt painting.

Hatching plans

So far this Spring we have successfully hatched 10 quails, 18 hybrid  chickens of one variety or another and 8 Norfolk Black Turkeys. Our hatch rate for the turkeys has been relatively poor this year for reasons we are not sure about. We have another clutch in the incubator. In addition, we have bought in 20 day old broiler chicks.

The incubation period for each poultry group varies: 16-18 days for quails, about 21 days for chickens and 26 days for turkeys. Janet oversees this part of the proceedings. They need close attention in respect of temperature, turning. timing and humidity. 

We hope for the incubated eggs to hatch within a day or two of each other. The newly hatched chicks can remain in the incubator for 48 hours as they have enough nutrient from their egg to see them through. The problem is if you open up the incubator and the humidity level suddenly drops the membrane enclosing an unhatched chick is likely to 'shrink wrap' it and make its survival doubtful. Sometimes we find a half-hatched chick which we will keep in the incubator and hope for the best. This happened over the weekend and a late hatching chick eventually got free of its egg and joined its clutch siblings. It is rather sprightly and a testament to its determination to survive.

Once the poultry are hatched I take over and see them through the stages of their time in the brooder, weaning them off heat and eventually transferring them to their outside house and enclosures. And also dealing with their rapidly growing appetite and need for water. 

We have a turkey that is currentlyy broody so we have left it to its own devices sitting on a few eggs. In the past we have found that once hatched the turkey does not always remain interested in it chicks so we need to be alert for when they hatch so that we can take over parental responsibility if need be.

 

A newly hatched quail

The Season of White

For me May is one of the most enjoyable times of the year to be out and about in the English countryside. I think of it as the 'Season of White'. This is not strictly true as it is also the time of the year when bluebell woods are at their most impressive. But in the open, uncultivated countryside, at least, white predominates. It is when Cow Parsley lines the verges and Hawthorn, or May Trees, are in full flower. When they are situated together en masse it is strikingly effective. The whiteness of the flowers stands out all the more against the backdrop of fresh greens from the newly emerged leaves of trees and the lush Spring grass. 

There is a muted simplicity in May-time beauty. A very different visual effect from the self-conscious planting of garden borders with their increasingly vivid palette as the year progresses. 

This morning, in the field opposite us, I passed by an unpruned Hawthorn (photograph below) which, was probably at one time long ago part of a field hedge, in full flower (six week's later than Blackthorn). It gave off a familiar pungent scent which I rather like. In the Autumn it will be covered in bright red berries until the birds have had their share.

Here is my poetic eulogy to May.

Cow Parsley 

From my window I can see

A woodland edged with cow parsley.

Frothy blooms, billowing white 

Gleaming bright in the morning light.

Above the hedge, in company,

May trees flower and shine with thee.

Beneath the trees snowdrops rest,

Now white bells of the lily guest.

It needs no Capability,

Nor Jekyll choreography.

No need to visit Sissinghurst

To marvel the white palette burst.

Nature’s abundant elegance

Springs up from unplanned happenstance.

But left to flourish at their will

A pure splendour will surely spill.

The joy of seeds

There has been a step change in the weather over the last few days. After a prolonged cold spell the daytime temperatures have jumped from single figures to the low twenties and that chilly northern wind has turned away. I've made a start on planting out the greenhouse plants. Tomatoes, peppers, chillies are now in situ. Aubergines are lagging behind a bit so they will follow later. 

Also in the greenhouse are a range of seed grown hardy and half-hardy annuals destined for the borders and the cutting garden. Most of these have now been pricked out or potted on. Some have been moved to the cold frame, still protected but away from direct sunshine. Those in the greenhouse have to be carefully tended because the afternoon sun generates quite hot conditions even if the temperatures outside are still modest. This causes the compost in the modules or small pots to dry out quite quickly. Watering them has to be done carefully, usually in the cooler mornings and the early evenings. Water droplets on plant leaves act like a magnifying glass and can result in scorching as the sun shines on them. I always water the thirsty tomato plants at the base of each plant to avoid this problem. Watering the greenhouse now becomes part of the daily routine through to September.

Growing plants from seed is a constant wonder whether for food or looks. Here are the tiny seeds of Nicotiana sylvestris (Tobacco plant) sown in a 3 inch pot. Too small yet to prick out. By the end off the summer each of these seedlings will be 3 - 4 feet high with large paddle-like leaves and displaying pure white trumpet shaped flowers 3 inches long.

Fruit of the vine

I recently planted a new dessert grape in the greenhouse. We had an established one until the year before last. It was the well-known variety, Black Hamburg. This produced a heavy crop each year of smallish, sweet black grapes. Two main stems were trained in parallel along the greenhouse roof which also allowed the hanging fruit to be easily picked (if you were tall enough). However, the grape died early in the Summer rather suddenly. I did not observe any signs of disease or infestation prior to its demise. 

Lack of moisture was an initial source of suspicion because the grape was planted in one corner, inside the greenhouse. It is frequently suggested that the best approach is to plant grape vines outside of the greenhouse and to train the vine in so that the roots benefit from natural rainfall and soil moisture. However, this approach is not practical with our greenhouse as it is constructed with large 4' long sheets of toughened safety glass. Greenhouses with standard horticultural glass have much smaller panes which could be omitted or cut into. In addition, there are no louvre windows which could be a convenient route in for the grape stem.  If the loss of the grape had been due to a lack of moisture, however, I would have expected the leaves to begin to wilt and leaf edges turn brown. But neither sign appeared, so it remains a bit of a mystery.

The replacement grape is another well-known variety, Crimson Seedless Red. These, too, are sweet and and on the smaller side but have the added attraction of being seedless. In a matter of a few weeks it has already put on more than 4' of growth which I have confined to two main stems. These will be trained in the same way as Black Hamburg had been. It is worth noting, though, that Crimson Seedless Red is a recommended variety for growing outside in the UK.

Training and pruning is important and continual attention to this is well-rewarded . Every side branch which grows from the vine and bears fruit is pruned to make it bear more fruit. Side branches are otherwise cut out; they soon wither and are thrown on to the compost heap. The branches that are retained will bear much fruit and in time we can expect bountiful harvests. 

An impressive looking bunch of
Crimson Seedless Red
grown in 'Wiki Land'

Potato plantings 2024

I finally planted out the seed potatoes today. I kept to tried and trusted varieties this year except for one I grew for the first time last year and we thought was worthy of repeating. This was the main crop variety Caledonian Rose. I was late harvesting them because of last year's eye problems but when I did, well into the Winter, they were virtually blemish-free. Caledonian Rose proved to be a good all-rounder in the kitchen, too. They also stored very well. This is an important quality for us as we aim to grow enough potatoes to see us through the year. 

So, for this year's potato plantings:-

Charlotte x 2 rows

Red Duke of York x 3 rows

Caledonian Rose x 3 rows

Pink Fir Apple x 1 row

Caledonian Rose
Photo courtesy of Kings Seeds 
https://www.kingsseeds.com/home

When Great Trees Fall

After a welcomely clement weekend it has turned cold again. Yesterday we had very strong winds and intermittent rain and hailstones. Not so nice for us nor for any tender plants beginning to poke their heads above the soil.

We also had a large poplar tree go down on our boundary. This is the third tree on our holding to fall due to the weather since last Autumn. We have occasionally lost a tree during a storm but three in a short space of time is a bit of a niusance to say the least. It involves a lot of chainsawing and clearing up afterwards, and also the task of processing the debris. There is a lot of brush to dispose of whilst the logs suitable for the log burner have to be stored somewhere to dry out and season. With three trees down in a relatively short space of time this is proving a challenge. 

When we lose a boundary tree they usually fall on to the neighbouring farmer's field. He has been most helpful in helping to deal with it, inluding pulling the tree clear of the boundary dyke with a tractor. The trees tend to fall his way because of the direction of the prevailing winds and the way the trees lean. Yesterday's tree, which was about eighty feet high, fell in our direction, however. The photograph below shows the top half of the tree. Apart from clearing the tree there is some fencing that needs replacing as well a metal field gate which took a battering. It is rather a distraction in what is a busy time of the year on the smallholding.

   

At the same time there is a tinge off sadness for what was a substantial tree and the space it once filled. Although I would not regard this poplar as a 'Great Tree' it does bring to mind a poem by Maya Angelou.

When Great Trees Fall

By Maya Angelou

When great trees fall,

rocks on distant hills shudder,

lions hunker down

in tall grasses,

and even elephants

lumber after safety.

When great trees fall

in forests,

small things recoil into silence,

their senses

eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,

the air around us becomes

light, rare, sterile.

We breathe, briefly.

Our eyes, briefly,

see with

a hurtful clarity.

Our memory, suddenly sharpened,

examines,

gnaws on kind words

unsaid,

promised walks

never taken.

Great souls die and

our reality, bound to

them, takes leave of us.

Our souls,

dependent upon their

nurture,

now shrink, wizened.

Our minds, formed

and informed by their

radiance, fall away.

We are not so much maddened

as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of

dark, cold

caves.

And when great souls die,

after a period peace blooms,

slowly and always

irregularly. Spaces fill

with a kind of

soothing electric vibration.

Our senses, restored, never

to be the same, whisper to us.

They existed. They existed.

We can be. Be and be

better. For they existed. 

First asparagus of the season

Today I picked our first bunch of asparagus of the year from our asparagus bed. Always a good sign that Spring is well underway (although today's cold and windy weather did not feel like it). I'll be picking asparagus regularly now for the next six or eight weeks. We have visitors this weekend so they are in for a culinary treat. 

 

What happens to our weaners?

We had two litters of piglets last December, 17 piglets in total. We do not usually have problems dispersing them by the time they are weaned. Often it is to people buying two weaners at a time to grow on for the freezer (we would never sell one on its own unless the buyer already has some pigs). We usually grow on two a year for ourselves  for the same purpose and sometimes we grow on some for people who have asked us to reserve for them a half pig of butchered pork. Others want them for breeding.

It is always especially pleasing if our weaners are bought for future breeding stock. As it happens, for our December progeny, 15 of the 17 have been acquired for that very purpose, mostly to those seeking pedigree British Saddlebacks, which is the breed we keep.  

From an earlier litter, born last July, there was one boar piglet which looked particularly impressive. We decided to grow him on to see if anyone might be interested in a breeding boar when he was more mature. This has proved to be the case and he is shortly moving to Scotland to a British Saddleback breeder.

 

At the end of 2023 there were in fact only 96 registered pedigree British Saddleback boars in the whole of the UK (and 347 registered pedigree sows) recorded in the annual British traditional breeds census carried out by the British Pig Association. Its important that there are enough people, often smallholders, keeping the rare and minority pig breeds going.  

One of the problems with such small numbers is that the gene pool is relatively small and so breeders have to be aware of the bloodline of the breeding pigs they acquire to minimise any problems of inter-breeding. Paradoxically it is growing rare breed pigs for meat that ensures the survival of the breeds.  

Easter on the smallholding

 It is Easter Sunday. We are going to have an easy day on the smallholding with just essential tasks to do. Lamb for dinner.

Blackthorn

Our long front boundary hedge of about 200m is made up of hawthorn and blackthorn with a bit of dogwood in places. Because I keep it fairly well trimmed we only ever get a light scattering of flowers along the hedge. Blackthorn flowers at this time (hawthorn comes later). The white blossom is very attractive and a welcome sight on untrimmed hedgerows as Winter turns to Spring.

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is not usually regarded as a garden-worthy shrub. It is certainly valued for its hedging capacity and, for some, the sloes that appear in the Autumn to make sloe gin. But the one inch long thorns which set hard in Winter are quite vicious. I have had the experience of a thorn penetrating the sole of my wellington boot and stabbing my foot before when trimming the hedge. Blackthorn also has a reputation for suckering and spreading if left untamed. During the Summer, after the flowers are finished, it is not, to be frank, a shrub that is readily noticed.

Blackthorn might be regarded as a bit of an underdog as far as shrubs or small trees are concerned. But just a hundred yards away there is a fifteen foot high blackthorn that has been left to its own devices and is now in full flower. It looks stunning.

Spring Dawn

Our apricot tree has been in full flower the past week or two, the best its ever been. The blossom arrives well before any green leaves appear. So far there has been no frost to spoil the flowers - we may yet get a crop for once this year! The pink blush flowers are very pretty but delicate. They don't last long and sure enough today's wind and rain will hasten their demise. 

There is a Tang Dynasty poem by Meng Haoran 孟浩然 (689 - 740) which captures a similar observation. But perhaps the poet was referring to the fragilty of life or the transience of youth or the impact of hardship. Who knows? My hope is for apricots.

Here is one translation of this poem:-

Spring Dawn

Sleeping in spring not feeling the dawn,

Birds can be heard twittering everywhere.

The night comes bringing the sound of wind and rain,

Do you know how many flowers fell?

 

Ask the Fellows who Cut the Hay

I've recently read a book I came across titled Ask the Fellows who Cut the Hay by George Ewart Evans. It was first published in 1956 and is based on interviews of farm workers and villagers from the village of Blaxhall in East Suffolk. It contains much detail on day-to-day life. Many of the interviewees were reminiscing about farm and village life in the early part of of the Twentieth Century and therefore the book is a valuable contribution to agricultural history and of rural Suffolk in particular. George Evans wrote a number of books on a similar theme which I hope to also track down.

This book reminded me of the rather more famous and much acclaimed book Akenfield by Ronald Blythe which now has the status of a Penguin Classic and also inspired a film of the same name. This work too was based on interviews of residents in a Suffolk village. 

I felt an urge to re-read Akenfield which I enjoyed doing so very much. There was one passage that made a particular impression and, among other things, added to my fascination of the history of droving and the role of drovers.

Anyone who keeps livestock will be familiar with the challenges of moving animals: from one field to another, or loading them on to a trailer, for example. In my experience pigs are the biggest challenge. Sheep have a strong herding instinct and generally keep together and follow one another. If necessary, when loading a trailer, a bit of cajoling can help. I go through this process every Summer when I take them to a nearby field that a farmer friend lends me for extra grazing. I wouldn't risk driving them along the road!

With adult pigs the only means of success is gentle persuasion, usually with a bucket of feed. You have to allow them to move in their own time and they can easily get spooked. It involves a good deal of preparation to get it right first time. To load them onto a trailerwill take either two minutes or two hours. 

Here's the related extract from Akenfield where a farm labour recalls one of his first jobs aged only 13:-

"The second week that I was at this new farm I had to drive a herd of cattle to Ipswich. I was thirteen and had lived only ten miles away all my life, but I had never been to this big town before. The farmer went ahead in his trap and waited for me at Ipswich market. He sold the cows and bought some more, and told me to drive them back to the farm. Most of my work was like this, walking cattle along the roads backwards and forwards to the market - twenty-five miles a day."

And all for 4s. 6d. per week.

A start with sowing

I am still catching up on some of the autumn and winter tasks delayed because of the successive eye surgeries in the second half of last year. And the recent wet weather has not helped either. We are beginning to enter the more time-dependent jobs of spring, such as seed sowing. This does not really get underway for me until the beginning of March. One exception is aubergines which tend to need a longer growing season and I like to get them sowed in February. The seedlings need a bit of looking after until it is safe enough to transfer them to the unheated greenhouse, usually at the end of April, although a look out for late frosts is still needed.  Aubergines usually do well for me and last year in particular we had a bumper crop.

There is a sketch by Van Gogh called The Sower which I rather like. Van Gogh painted and drew quite a few versions of The Sower. The one here is a copy of a painting he admired by Jean-Francois Millet who was a French artist noted for his images of rural and peasant life. 

The Sower after Millet, Van Gogh.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. 

Yesterday a photograph came my way online, posted by a rural history website of a farm worker broadcast sowing a field. It was undated but possibly 1930s, certainly pre-mechanisation. It struck me how much it resembled the Van Gogh image.

Very different from my carefully placed aubergine seeds, three to a 3" pot.

Swans on the River Lark

 

A photograph taken a couple of week's ago of swans on the River Lark in our nearest town, Mildenhall. The River Lark flows from Bury St Edmunds to Prickwillow where it joins the Great Ouse, then on to Kings Lynn and The Wash. Barges at one time used to run between Kings Lynn and Bury St Edmunds carrying beet for the sugar beet factory harvested from Fen farms. 

The recent heavy rainfall saw the Lark around here overflow its banks. The surrounding open space acts as a flood plain so no damage to buildings or roads was incurred.

This is the time to be slow

The New Year has brought with it some challenging weather conditions. When I saw the sheep huddling together along a hedgerow, seeking shelter from the wind and rain, it reminded me of a poem by the late Irish poet and philosopher John O'Donohue which captures this image. But he was not referring to sheep. 

As we enter a new year I am contemplating all the outstanding tasks on the smallholding which I am slowly catching up on after last year's interruptions. I also thought of Ang's chosen word for the year on her Tracing Rainbows blog - Pace, which I think is appropriate for the circumstances. 

All relatively insignificant in the light of current world events or indeed other's private distresses, maybe. I like to think all can come good in the end whatever our individal contexts in life.

This is the time to be slow,

Lie low to the wall

Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let

The wire brush of doubt

Scrape from your heart

All sense of yourself

And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,

Time will come good;

And you will find your feet

Again on fresh pastures of promise,

Where the air will be kind

And blushed with beginning.

          John O'Donohue (1956 - 2008)

Photo: Helen Wilkinson, Wiki Commons