And, to top it all off, my watch strap broke just before we left. Luckily, I had an old watch I could take the strap off, proof that keeping things can come in useful on occasions!
Anyway, those were the three things that went wrong before we left and they weren’t that bad, so we drove off I was relived that nothing worse had happened!
You never really ‘leave’ the farm and I kept in touch with dad, organising our baling contractor and helping a neighbour who wanted to borrow a trailer, but I did try and leave my phone alone. I did the Saturday crossword puzzle in the newspaper and read my book about the life of a hedge layer in southern England. I love to read mystery novels and books about farming and the land. A couple of months ago I read ‘Words from the Hedge’, by Richard Negus and now I have almost finished ‘Of Thorn and Briar’, by Paul Lamb. Both really interesting books about hedges and land management. More about that another day.
We came back home a bit browner and relaxed, and to a long job list, but nothing particularly desperate and for reasons I’m still not quite sure of, I had entered a half marathon over the Black Mountains on the middle Saturday in July, which was our first day back. It started in Longtown in south Herefordshire, took us over the Mountain to Llanthony, up the next ridge and back. I’ve never ‘run’ (I didn’t run all the way!) that far before, but the scenery was amazing. A few days later I am a little tired, but my legs are very stiff. I’m fit enough, but I definitely do not have enough miles in my legs. More training required!
Occasionally we all make mistakes and I think I made one before we left. The weather forecast had been for rain in the second week of July while we were away and I rushed to cut an extra field of grass
to make hay. It is a field of ryegrass on light ground and as such was not coping particularly well with the dry weather. I thought it best to cut it and make a light crop of hay, then allowing it to come back with the rain. Of course, it hasn’t rained and it has been very hot, so regrowth is near zero.
If I had left it, it probably would have bulked up a little and we could have cut it now, in late July. The biggest issue is that our arable silage is ready to cut. That consists of barley, peas, crimson clover and vetch. It is a nice mix that goes in to the silage clamp at this time of year and adds some protein to the grass silage we have already made. However, it needs to be covered with a layer of grass to help keep the rats from getting into it. They love the grains of the barley and the peas. And, guess what? The grass field I had hoped to cut to go on top of it hasn’t grown back enough, despite being left for several weeks and I’ve cut everything else.
It’s not a disaster, so I am not panicking yet. I think it best to leave it for a week. We still have some hay to bale and stock to sort. The weather is supposed to break later this week and the arable silage won’t hurt if it is let for a week or so.
Meanwhile, I am a little short of quality grass to put my weaned lambs on to. I think the heat and lack of rain we had in late May and June has really checked our grass. Worse perhaps than last year, although rainfall figures are very similar. Still, there are always options. We can sell lambs at weaning, rather than taking them through to finishing. Or we could hang on and see if the weather breaks before the end of the month.
Either way, I am pleased to be home, although an extra few days away would have been nice. Maybe next year!
rich@risburycourt.com 87
Regenerative Farming
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM
BUSINESS ON THE FARM
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