Farm Update... Barberry Hedging and Cold Animals.

Well, we are on to about our 7th week of continuous rain. Disastrous as it has been for our orchard (our Walnuts, Almonds and Figs have turned up their roots with disgust and new ones need to be planted elsewhere), it did wonders for the pasture, that was until it started to pool over the paddocks. I took some photos on the one morning it didn't rain....

With the fencing all finished, we turned our hands to planting Barberry hedging along the borders of the major paddocks. Barberry, Berberris, is a genus of about 450-500 species of shrubs from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions around the world. The most common species in Europe is Berberris vulgaris, which is the species we have planted.

Some species, such as B. darwinii (below) are banned in New Zealand, due to their invasive nature.

Barberry is to be found in abundance in the English countryside, along with Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) in the many hedgerows and spinnies which pepper the rural landscape. With its sharp thorns it makes a good, dense stock barrier, whilst at the same time providing shelter and protection for wild game, birdlife and other wildlife such as Hedgepigs/Hedgehogs.

Above and below: Hedgehogs and Finches (we have a lot of both on the farm).

Here are some of the 500 Barberry seedlings we planted. We plan to trim them heavily and keep them as a dense hedge. By the time they start to short out the electric fences, they should be thick enough to be a barrier of their own.



Here's a round up of the rest of the farm's inhabitants (excluding the goats, who are down grazing along the brook preparing it for the planting of a row of Alders) ...

First up we have Bella and Edward. They are doing well, although a little on the thin side. They will start to get some silage soon. Bella (bottom) is the intelligent one, who runs over to check out whether you have an apple for her every time you visit. Edward, although a little slower, has the more doleful eyes. It will be a sad day when they 'go on holiday'....

Then there are the pigs - Captain Jack and the girls - who are as happy as, well, pigs in mud!

They have turned half of their paddock into a well cultivated mud pit. At least the higher, dryer end of their paddock is where their sty is.

A picture of a lily on the banks of the brook...

Then there are our horses, Sir Rawdon and Zeus.

Our Dorset Horned Ram, Mr Bingley, and his Girls...

His horns have grown from 1 inch nubbins over the past 9 months...

He was not very impressed at Lord Willoughby wanting to play...

Our Suffolk Ram, Mr Darcy and his Girls...

The lake is finally being lined this Friday (having been post-poned several times due to the rain), and we completed the jetty last weekend. We should have some photos of both next week.