Balmy weather

I can't quite believe it has been five days since I last posted. Time sure flies when you're having fun.

Firstly, a series of calm, clear morning sunrises (apart from 17th, which let the side down).

Thursday 16th August 2012

Friday 17th August 2012

Saturday 18th August 2012

Sunday 19th August 2012

These beautiful daybreaks have been followed by balmy days, with temperatures peaking at over 30 degrees. And we have been taking full advantage of the good weather. I'd like to say that we were making hay while the sun shone, but dealing with the swards of grassland will have to wait just a bit longer while other priorities take over.

No, instead, in the hot sun we have been strenuously building fences, scratting apples (yes, more cider is on the way!) and wrestling with sheep (more on this tomorrow).

Unfortunately, as is so often the case when we are at our busiest, photos of what we've been up to are thin on the ground.
I've been trying to persuade Sue that our journey to collect rubble and our visit to the wood yard count as two of the days out which I promised at the beginning of the holidays!

The fencing project.
One day, soon, I promise, all the fences and gates will be finished. We've been busy fencing one side of the corridor which runs down our land. When the task is complete there will be a continuous run from the stables right down to the pigpen, with gates off to the various garden rooms either side. Unfortunately, work has had to come to a temporary halt as Lady Guinea is still sitting on her seventeen eggs and her nest is nestled in right along the intended line of the fence. I'll be surprised if she actually manages to raise any young though, especially since there was a stoat bouncing around in that area a few days ago.

Cider making
On Saturday we spent another very enjoyable day cutting, bashing (officially known as scratting), shredding and squeezing (pressing) apples. We picked the hottest day for such strenuous effort, but the four demijohns of juice have already started bubbling away furiously and it won't be long till we're supping cider!
The whole process is surprisingly straightforward. Just make sure everything's sterilised, filter the juice into the demijohns, bung in the airlock and wait until everything settles down again. Then drink!

Sheep
These merit their own post, but suffice to say that we had a crash course in sheep handling and have come back with two delightful sheep. Technically they are lambs, but they are pretty big. Unfortunately they won't be staying with us very long. They just need finishing before they go off in late autumn.