October started dry and warm with above average temperatures for the month.

However during the second week we had our first frost and ended with a downpour with the rainfall total being 107mm.

This month usually sees the cows coming into the cubical shed for the night (sometimes night and day) and the doors opened on the 16th and they got their first taste of this year's silage.

Because of the warm start to the month we have still quite an amount of grass and hope unless it becomes too wet to keep them out during the day for a week or two yet.

Most of our first week of the month was spent preparing for winter and also for the half term holiday which we spent along with Paul and Margot in Cornwall click here for more in our Family Life pages.

The maize crop which we have grown was harvested on the 17th. Chris our contractor is in great demand and knowing we were going away on the 19th came early and started at about 6.50 am.

These pictures show the lights in the field along with the harvester in action.

By 8.00 am all was in the clamp, which is now very full.

This picture is of Chris on the front of the machine which folds up for road transport as it is a little over 4 metres wide when working.

The cows seem to love maize silage and here they are raiding the freshly harvested crop before we had put the sheet on.

Commiseration's must go to the Middlewich Young farmers junior quiz team who were narrowly beaten in the final while we were away in Cornwall.

However they are bouncing back, in November the Cheshire YFC entertainment's competition where each club must put on a half hour show which will be judged for "star quality". Simon, Lucy and Hannah are all involved….pictures next month. The first round is at Winsford Civic hall on the 14th of November come and see if you want a laugh.

Paul and Margot along with Graham have also been "treading the boards" Graham as director and Margot as prompt, in a murder mystery play entitled A Tomb with a View.

Paul was playing a madman who thinks he is Julias Caesar (who said he was playing at it???).

Here he is in his toga just prior to being humainly put down (Murdered)

 

That's about it for now, Click here for this months Nature report.

See you next month PHIL.

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