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Just because the pigs are gone doesn’t mean the work is done. In fact, it has now picked up (literally) in pace.

The area given to the pigs was over grown with rushes and hard to access with machinery. When they were wee, the area was a smaller patch, as they dug it up, the area was extended (leave pigs on ground too long and you have problems with soil compaction). Now that they have had five months of rooting, munching, and digging, it’s now time for the stones to be removed and the soil levelled to allow grass seed to be planted before winter.

Now, normally, picking a bucket of stones a day was a better way of tackling the issue rather than procrastinating and leaving it till the pigs are away. However, the pigs have coincided with the Micro-Crofter’s pregnancy. Which, regardless of how much I willed to be out working, I spent many a days flat on a sofa wishing the ground would swallow me whole. Yes, I will not lie, not everyone thinking pregnancy is blooming marvellous.

So, now that I am feeling better, the stone collecting has commenced. Nae worries, I’m not picking up the heavy ones, and there lies a problem in itself; no heavy lifting. What is ‘heavy’? Well, 25kg feed bags are difficult to heave short distances. 20kg bags (such as chicken feed) are usually fine (OK, not taking it up a munro or running a marathon but in the usual distance needed to move them around the croft). This is probably the point that I should ask all midwives to ignore this post and put a disclaimer on: you lift, your choice). Last pregnancy I lifted the cow’s ring feeder at 5 months, better keep up with this one.

The process is simple. Small stones are collected into the bucket before being tipped into wheelbarrows at the fence, ready to go back fill a drain pipe in the orchard. Hanging on to a lawn mower from going into a ditch is more straining than rock picking, honest. However, if anyone does do rock collecting, feel free to stop by, all stones are free for uplift.

So long Wilma, Julia, and Marcia. You guys did an excellent job digging up a rush infested, hard to get to with the tractor area. You have enjoyed munching the grass, the rooting, the stone turning, the sun lounging, and now my girls, you are off to your forever home.

Which means, we’ll soon be back to having pork on the meat menu. After chatting to the lovely butcher we should have soon:

Roasts (shoulders, legs), sized for 4-6 people

Sausages (two options: Plain and Honey and Mustard)

Burgers (Pork and Apple)

Boneless loin steaks

Chops

Gluten free sausages

So, if anyone is wanting it fresh please get in touch ASAP so we can keep contact about the pick up date. Otherwise it will be frozen, pre-booking is welcome to reserve orders. Prices will be up soon once calculations on feed, labour, butchery costs have been calculated.

P.S., all three pigs are getting butchered together so you will not be able to specify which pig you want. Julia and Marcia were difficult anyway to identify with both being pure black. Spots and stripes really do help.

A long, long, time ago (aka June), the process of cutting grass for hay was started. It was a very hot time, great for making hay, not great when you are suffering the consequences of having a Micro-Crofter on board while still having to watch the Mini-Crofter. Yes, there lies the major reason why no blogs have gone up recently. Any chance of sleep had been sought, getting through a day felt like a marathon had been completed and sickness wasn’t helping either. So the Crofter ended up having to mow and bale the hay himself. I did try one day, however 20 mins in the hot sun (hot for us, it was high 20s) resulted in needing to lie flat on a sofa for nearly an hour afterwards. Decided that wasn’t such a good idea.

Crofting is so much better when the work is shared and having to admit that you can’t do all the work you would like to do isn’t easy. At least for me, it’s a stage that should pass (maybe not the day Micro Crofter is born, but hopefully soon after). Others can suffer health wise and have to give it up. It has been a struggle to watch people who have the ability to do work that I would like to be doing, but that they just don’t do it. Agriculture and pregnancy can really throw some curve balls at you.

Anyway, good weather (at the time, lack of rain since hasn’t been as good), along with the Crofter being home for a lengthy spell meant all the grass we wanted to cut for hay, was done. Having a neighbour who came to help collect it up was incredibly helpful so that I didn’t have to. So yes, I may be the main Crofter half the time, there are times I will take all the help I can get.

And for anyone asking, no, hay is not made in a day (at least not around here). Yes, it took multiple days of cutting, turning (to dry the grass out), baling, and collecting it in. It will not be enough bales for our livestock over winter so we still have to get some in. And the dry, hot weather has affected grass growth so hay is pricey. I’m sure the cows will enjoy it though.

P.S., If you are still singing the tune, we have no dog called Spot! Or any dog that goes ‘woof’ for that matter.

Over the past few months, two local farmers have come and helped us out in two different circumstances. Both never indicated how much of their time was taken away from their own jobs, both offering their time and knowledge which was great for getting a job done and also for finding out little, gleaned gems of info.

Murdo was the man first up back when our cattle food (on a pallet, don’t be thinking a Tesco’s delivery) got delivered to an estate several miles away. I faced the challenge of having to go and load 25kg sacks onto our trailer and then offloading them at our end. In stepped Murdo, Robert, and a John Deere tractor (with front loader- very important factor) and trailer.

The only problem we then faced was the pallet tipped on the drive back, meaning Murdo couldn’t just use the tractor to off load, but the two of us had to. Doing your back in over your own work is one thing, doing it for the sake of helping someone else is another. However, it gave the opportunity for chat: lambing, calving, etc.

The next up, was Ian. I called Ian the morning I had a run in with Breena, a very hormonal cow who I was concerned about the newborn calf (I had met the man once before when we went to look at his shed before designing our cattle shed; don’t be thinking I was phoning people I knew, and more likely be very pleased that I RANG someone). Just watching Ian around the cattle was useful and I learned a new trick for dealing with a fiesty cow. However, as much as I wish that was the end of our problems, it was not… Ian and Jeannette had to deal with me on the phone several times. Two weeks later and major incident number two of the year was declared. An hour with a vet and calf number two needed tube fed, which meant I preferred the idea of seeing it before performing it. Then, when we had to get an orphan calf, Ian was back giving us the lesson in getting the skin from the dead calf onto the new calf. Not a pleasant experience, something you can read in a book but seeing it in real life is what you need. That meant Ian lost quite a lot of his own time helping us out and we are indebted to him.

It also makes it hard to show them how thankful you are, there is little we could do to help them but if the chance was there I would love to (so if anyone knows of things that farmers and their families struggle with and could use some help with, let me know). They are the unsung heroes, the local heroes that never appear in the press or turn up on honour lists. They put in so much time, not just in their own work, but for others (pulling cars out of flooded roads, snow ploughing in winter when people get stuck, etc). Could someone whisper to the Queen to add them to next year’s honours list?