oats and barly

Harvested all of the grains today with the help of some neighbors and their equipment. a 1940's crank start tractor and a 1930's cutter and bailer (i forget what its called). beautiful machines. really nice guys, they also have a steam engine thresher! i will be gone for the threshing in September but hope to go over and take some pictures of it before i go. after loading it all (4 acrs) into a big buggy we broke for lunch the clouds rolled in and thunder boomed over head. we all through down our lunches and ran back out to the field and got all of the grain into barns before the rains hit. wheew. something magic about grain. especally seeing it in the golden sun, then the growing dark black and purple clouds of the thunder storms green light. so magic. fun day.
i also went to a permaculture work shop on orcas island this weekend. it was so inspiring. beautiful land, solar energy ran the whole farm. amazing philosophy permaculture, the only things missing is livestock. i guess thats why im biodynamic. love that milking cow.
hope everyone is well.
erin

Working horses weekend

Hi everyone,

I am trying hard to organise a weekend at Ruskin Mill to learn and experience working with horses. It has to be a weekend (they can't do weekdays), and the sooner after we come back, the better. So please pencil in 3-5 Oct in your diary as the preliminary date for working with horses! No guarantee, but I'm doing my best.

Arjen

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

;-D Got my driving licence (class T) for the Tractor today!!!!!!!!

and tomorrow I'm off for one week holiday....
have a nice time working everyone.

We had the combiners on the farm some eeks ago and started to harvest potatoes for storrage Yesterday.

two days ago it was raining 43ml in 24h more than ever bevore this somer and today they say it should be 50ml!
...so, nothing with harvesting...

michaela

Katharina can milk

I went on one of my student-on-placement inspections last week, up in Scotland to see if Katharina is still in Loch Arthur and to see what she learned... And yes! Katharina was busy milking when we were there, all on her own without any farmer in sight: that is a Distinction!!! She was also harvesting broccoli and generally having a good time. The Johan van Wallenburg who was on your timetable pulled out last minute and I have been out there recruiting guest teachers all the way up in the Scottish highlands. I found some guys wanting to teach bagpiping and haggis-cooking but after a long search and a battle with the Loch Ness monster I found a biodynamic farmer deep down where it rains one-and-a-half metres a year who was willing to come to the South to teach animal husbandry: Charlie Wannop. He will be accompanied in spring by another Scotsman Timothy Brink who will also teach dairy farming. Timothy is currently the director of the Demeter Certification. Ramon and me climbed mount Screel and after that we got so soaked that we drove back to England fast and quick.

Bonkers

EU fishing quotas. Watch this (short) film. Who seriously votes for a policy that allows this sort of nonsense? Your MEP probably.

I'm back from holiday (a week's walking in the wet Yorkshire dales) and looking forward to some harvesting. Combines were out all over the country. Although it has been pouring with rain here most of the day, I am currently staring at a beautiful waxing gibbous moon.

Tablehurst should also have had their new minimum tillage machine thing whatsit delivered whilst I was lazing in the North England sunshine (huh?). Should be fun. Lots of head scratching, spanners, emails to suppliers etc initially, no doubt, but hopefully improved soil structure, less compaction and lower fuel bills to follow.

And finally, here's a little something for those who need an antiGM update.