My turn to up-date the Blog!

I have a fresh shoulder of lamb cooking in the oven with roast potatoes and parsnips on the next shelf. I have made myself a cup of tea and here I am to tell what has been happening at Furzedown this week.

What a week ! Tuesday morning 5.30 am saw us running the last 3 of 2013 lambs to Fowlers the abattoir a very sad day.

 I hate it and it doesn’t get any easier by the year, sometimes I think I will become a veggie and eat humus but then come Thursday when they are delivered back and I see the quality of the meat I am proud of what we have produced.

Vince has spent the weekend butchering the Lambs and has made a lovely job, we have even stuffed and rolled the bellies with a tasty s apricot stuffing.

We have been busy preparing our Lambing and Calving box checking everything is in order and in date!

Tilly the Dexter could be due any day so we have decided to start night checks from tonight. It’s our first calf so very exciting but worrying at the same time, we have been reading up and getting as much advice as possible over the last few months. So fingers crossed for a trouble free birth.

After the lambs went on Tuesday Sally the Oxford down born last April was going to be on her own so we moved her in with the Kids (Myrtle and Edith the goat kids) They thought this was great fun and have been trying to teach her to hop, skip and jump just as they do, but poor Sally just isn’t convinced.

Danni also tried to set up some sort of hay rack as they have been eating it out of a bucket since Edie’s mishap a few weeks ago when she hurt her leg but it’s a very wasteful way of feeding them, they trample more than they eat.

Myrtle has found a much better use for the bucket tip it upside down ,climb on it and you can see over the door and catch up on just what is going on out there  such clever kids !

Back in the autumn we sent some sheep skins from our Oxford lambs to be tanned and this week they came back, oh my goodness they are beautiful! Very special indeed, I have them lying across the back of two of the settees in the sitting room. I haven’t caught Fanny the cat asleep on them yet but I don’t think it will be long.

The weekend before last I set some seeds and put them on the window sill to germinate, just so once the weather warms up we have a bit of a head start.

Most have now popped there little heads through the soil and next weekend I think I will be pricking out the Cucumbers, tomato’s, cabbage and cauliflower.

Danni is still busy preparing for the Notley Food Fayre we are going to on the 16^th March. We have now had the ok by Environmental Health to take some of our smoked cheeses along with our Sausages, Plum Cordial, Jams and Chutneys. She has been busy doing the labelling which has to be spot on for Trading Standards and also a Furzedown Flyer just saying a little bit about us and what we do.

Right I had better stop now time to sort out feeding a hungry family just the yorkie puds to do and we are ready! Lovely, I do love a roast dinner.

Hope you all have a good week.

 We will keep you up dated on Tilly the Dexter keep your fingers crossed for us.

Donna