The harvest is nearly over! What a struggle it has been, in amongst all the rain. The spring Barley came off quite well at about 2 Tons per acre- not bad for a first Organic effort. We managed to bale up the straw nice and dry, and the boys finished hauling and stacking it in the pouring rain. There just remains a field of Spring Wheat to do, perhaps when the weather picks up!

Clover seems to have gone mad all over the farm. White clover in the grazing leys (a ley is a grass field just planted for a few years, very important to increase the fertility of the soil in an organic rotation) and Red clover in the Cutting leys. This is good for the soil, but, unfortunately, we have lost 2 cows with Bloat (that is, the cow cannot burp the gas produced in her stomach). We are now very aware of this, and have taken various precautions to prevent it.

There now seems to be Clouded Yellows everywhere! But because of the weather it has not been a very good butterfly month. However the Swallows and Martins have enjoyed it, they fly busily about in the mornings until about 8 am, then they gather on the wires for a family chatter and a preen, up to about 50 at a time, presumably getting to know each other for their long flight in a week or two's time.

We have seen a Barn Owl about the farm for some weeks now, but it wasn't until recently that we noticed that there was more than one, we had actually got a nest on the farm, in the head of an old pollard Oak. The first (we have noticed) for many years.