September Update
Well I guess it's good to see that I am back on form...Today is the 15th October and I have just finished what we got up to during September...it's a good job I'm not contracted to deliver these updates on time!!!
I guess we should start with new arrivals...As you can see Raquel has produced a lovely litter of piglets, we are now the proud owner of seven little guys and gals...
We are a little concerned with the runt as he is quite a bit smaller...he is feeding well, so we'll just have to keep an eye on him.
The only other new arrival has been Maximus...the Dexter "short legged" Bull, brief explanation of Dexter's is probably required at this point, Dexter's come in two sizes...short legged and non short legged, the most desirable is the short legged (well the cows anyway). Emma and I prefer the non short as there is more room on the underside to get a bucket under for milking!
Anyway the upshot is that he is a little fella with a big character...remind you of anyone?
Maximus has been hired in to service the two cows...Mary and Elsa, Mary's calf from last year .We are hopeful of short legged females which can be sold on, or non short males...for meat production...we'll let nature take it's course and see what comes out April/May next year...and, no I am not taking bets on ending up with long legged females and short legged Bulls!
We've had a bit of a set back with the barn...blast these fen winds! I came out one morning and the winds had moved the uprights!!!!'
We have reset the uprights by removing all the outer cladding, digging out the concrete supports re-aligning the uprights and re-setting new concrete supports...all in a Saturdays work!!!
We will not re-apply the cladding until the frame is completed, it's a bit like one step forwards two steps back at the mo!...Never mind, it's not like we have anything else to do!!!!
The barn misery was put out of our minds when we had a charcuterie day at the end of September...we started with a whole pig that had been halved..
We then turned the legs into Parma style hams...the loin was also turned into a Parma style ham, the bellies were turned into pancetta and the rest was minced ready for salami making. We made a number of Chorizo style sausages and the rest was converted into some pretty fantastic salami's.
Apologies for the lack of photos but we were so engrossed in what we were doing I totally forgot to record the progress...I will make up for it with reports on the progress of the hams and salamis as they mature to readiness!
The charcuterie day was just fantastic, thoroughly enjoyed by all...So much so that I plan to do more of them...So...if this is something that you would like to try for yourselves send me a mail and I'll organise another session, it will be an all day event and you will take home what you make so you can enjoy the whole process.
Here is a pictures of the meat chickens...I think I said this last update but I really can't believe how quickly these guys grow!...these are the second lot, some of you would have already tucked into the first lot and found them bloody delicious.
We will be prepping them for the table end of November ...you should all know the score by now...if you would like one let me know and well add you to the list. and yes it is worth all the chasing to put them in their coop at night
Well that's it for another month...I have the feeling that I forgotten something...Ahh yes...Willow, how can I end without a picture of Willow in the update!!!
Here she is enjoying the last of what we suspect is the the warm weather.
That really is it for this update...take care and we'll catch up next update, I am guessing that due to the lateness of this update the next one will be NOVEMBERS!!!
Don't forget to get in touch if you fancy a charcuterie day out.
Shane & Emma