We have had all of our T's crossed and I's dotted by Environmental Health and Trading Standards. 

We are pleased to say that next weekend will be an exciting time for us! We will be making our first batch of Furzedown Smallholding Sausages that will be For Sale.

They will be made using our home reared Oxford Sandy and Black pigs that have been reared in our woodland. 

The flavours will be:

Breakfast Sausage

Furzedown's Fiery Dragon

Toulouse

Hungarian 

Cumberland

We are taking orders now, as only one pig is going to be used. 

We will only being offering sausages up to six times a year, so don't miss your chance. 

They will be priced at £8 per kilo and collection is only on Sunday 10th November. 

Small orders excepted.

Wow i'm so pleased to have finally posted that! Such an achievement for us. So order you sausages now, by email or phone: danielle.perkins@yahoo.co.uk or 07854595640.

Apart from preparing for sausages, we have been busy with other things. 

As much as I try to be good with a camera, I'm not very clever with it! But here is me having a go!

We took Lottie and Annie over to meet Mrs Stockwells unrelated ram on Saturday Morning. It was Annies first time on a halter and what a good girl she was. A little tickle on the bum by Mrs Stockwells Daughter riding her pony made it a swift walk up the field. 

We collected the rest of the grapes from Langford where the sheep have been grazing and I have another demi john of wine brewing and more bottles of juice. I'm so pleased we have made use of them, rather than them being put on the compost heap. 

We also popped into the orchard and collected some more good windfalls. I didn't have as much juice left as I had hoped for cider making from the apple day. So instead of getting the press out, I decided to extract the juice with the pasteuriser.  Much less mess and two demi johns brewing away!

We are trying to work our way through the game in the freezer so Saturday night Mum served Oak Smoked Wild Duck, its was delicious. 

We are a little later than normal but on Sunday we collected the first of our game birds for this season. We are having them from a different local shoot this year and what lovely people they are. Fingers crossed we will fill our freezer with a great variety over the winter. We hope to have Muntjac, Hare, Rabbit, Duck, Pheasant and Partridge. 

We checked the bee's at lunchtime, we started with the small colony, little buggers! I have a nice sting on my thigh now. They are doing well, although we are supplementing them with Fondant, what sticky stuff that is. The older colony seem well, they are so quiet and gentle. When you open them up you just get a little hum, whereas the others are much noisier and in your face!

Well i'm having a cup of tea typing this post before an early night, up at 4.30am in the morning to run the pig to the abattoir ready for sausage making.