October

What a change round! One of the wettest October's in history, a bad frost and, at the end of the month, a really ferocious storm. This has made our lives increasingly more difficult. With very little grass, we have quickly gone onto the winter feeding regime. First the slurry pump broke down, then the tanker collapsed on us, so we have been really struggling with water all month. Even calling in contractors sometimes to keep spreading dirty water on the grassland.
The carrots that we were struggling to keep growing only a week or two before became a quagmire that even the hand pickers were having trouble with trying to win the crop. We managed a few days lifting by machine, the rest will have to be lifted by hand. Broccoli, Leeks and Sweetcorn have also been marketed, with the plough and drill following close behind.
A great storm at the end of the month carried away half of the Shobdon Oak (said to be the largest Sessile oak in the country) about 30 tons of wood came down, mercifully, missing our Herefords that normally shelter underneath.

Half the Shobdon Oak is down---at least someone has the benefit!