The death of the Wellies, a muddy show and fencing for beginners...

My fabulous red dotty wellies did not last a week on the farm. But this is a good thing I’m told as red dotty wellies are somewhat inappropriate and I should definitely get green ones, my street cred will increase if I get green ones. I don’t think I ever had street cred, and I liked red dotty, but as long as my feet are dry, it doesn’t really matter all that much to me. So new green ones it is.

There was a lot of mud at the Cumberland show, it rained heavily most of the morning, putting off the punters somewhat but we put on our waterproofs and set up shop. Another first for me was helping with the cookery demonstration, which went down very well, a stir fry of new seasons lamb, rosemary and mint with redcurrant and couscous. I think the security guys came back for seconds.

There’s always an audience at Willowford. The farm straddles Hardrian’s wall and the walkers were entertained by us getting all the sheep in to check then deftly herding them to their new pasture. I expect it’s not so fun when things go a bit mad, as anything relating to sheep is wont to do.

Rowan class are harvesting their veg today. They have each had a 1 meter square plot as part of their dig for victory history project and the crop is ready to be picked and a feast to be made. The children made onion and garlic soup, turnip mash, new potatoes, salad and savoury scones with a little donated pickled beef. It was definitely more than our five a day and all grown by these talented students, a lovely way to end the term.

At Aglionby there is a fence problem. Most of the fence in the far field is very loose and some of it has fallen into the beck. It would not stand up to a determined cow and sheep could slip right under it. This week we have taken a volunteer group down to help solve the problem. Barbed wire is quite a prickly problem and knocking in posts is and art form, one which requires a lot of energy. I also got to grips with a monkey strainer, which really is not what it sounds like, it’s a complicated device (if you don’t know what you’re doing) to put tension on wire in a fence. 30 odd poles later the fence is looking much more respectable and my arms are aching, not finished yet though…