APRIL 2000
This April has been one of the wettest on record and also during the middle of the month we had 4 cosecutive frosty mornings. We have had 6 calves this month being 2 black and white heifers 1 black and white bull, 1 Aberdeen Angus heifer, 1 Blonde D' Aquitaine bull and 1 Simmental bull. Despite the weather we had our 1st swallow arrive on the 7th and we now have several pairs looking for nesting sites around the farmyard. Our French guests seemed to have enjoyed their stay with us and the departed back to Reaseheath Collage having experienced a " slice of Cheshire life". On a sad note we lost one of our " characters" this month. Thicko the heifer who was the most accident prone animal on the farm injured her leg and was put down. This picture shows her when she attempted to reach through a pallet last year with comic results. Before the rain set in we finished chain harrowing the humpety back and levelled the ruts we had left on the milestone when we were muckspreading
The picture on the right shows me sowing grass seeds with a very old tool called a Fiddle, this is still useful for small patches of re-seeding. The cows went out at night on the 22nd and they spent most of last week getting wet. I have managed to spread nitrogen on the silage fields on the 28th and they will hopefully now grow well.
The NFU farm trailer is now back in our yard and we attended our 1st event on the 29th at Winsford shopping centre (left). This event is always popular with the public and the children (and the adults) love to see the animals. Thanks to Ruth, Graham, Paul, James ,Simon ,Hannah, Becky and Sarah for your help. The Trailer page has now been extended to give an update of its activities for the next few months, remember if you are a farmer who wishes to borrow it or a school wanting a visit go to the contact page. Over the next month we will be activating the Nature trail page as there are now many wild flowers in bloom. Also the machinery page will be extending and you should be meeting our Contractors! Finally some pictures of our current project in the Farmhouse ,which is having a new stove fitted, the timber for which was left by the river during the floods.
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