Smoking Barrel

This is the kit that we use for smoking now...
And these are photographs of our home-grown ham once it has been smoked,

then slow-cooked and sliced. Boy, are we proud!

Wholesome Food

Call it Organic.
Call it Naturally Raised.
Call it good wholesome food.
Grown without petroleum based fertilizers.
Raised without herbicides, pesticides or clones.
No antibiotic feeding, no hormones added, no alchemy.
Animals raised humanely, free-ranging on pasture.
By small family farmers for local markets.
Sustainably in an agrarian manner.
Supporting local economies.
Enjoy on a seasonal basis.
A promise of good life.

WWOOFed Out

Right just now I have to say that we are totally WWOOFed out, wrung out, spat out and feeling a bit low.

We have recently said goodbye to our latest group of volunteers who all headed off on bicycles for Spain. They had spent ages making a wooden trailer to carry all their rucksacks etc but when the time came, due to a lack of testing (and a lack of understanding the basic laws of physics, Ben said) it could only carry the gubbins of one and the other two had to cycle with heavy rucksacks on their backs - more than 600 miles, top-heavy, dangerous and not a cycle helmet in sight. In their farewells, no thank-yous were said by any of them and indeed we haven't heard whether they made it to Spain or not. We are greatly saddened by this. To be honest, we feel it's a lack of common decency as, with one exception, they had been long-term guests here and all of our other 'long-termers' have kept in touch as they become almost part of the family.

They contributed many good things to this place and, we hope, had fun in the process. However, a trail of destruction is left in their wake, like a number of volunteers before them. There were brand new little solar lights down at the camping area but one got kicked over and smashed, no doubt one evening when too much whisky had flowed! Similarly with Ben's tamba drums, one of the skins got slashed. The list continues with a broken shower, a bedside table repeatedly burnt by nightlight candles, a smashed light holder, a burnt rug, a melted airbed.... It amazes us on a regular basis at how little respect some folk have, but perhaps more exasperating is the unwillingness to take responsibility for one's actions and own up to misdemeanors so that they can be addressed. This is something that we are trying to teach our children on a daily basis - responsibility and respect.

In retrospect however, I think we learn a lesson. To have more than 2 volunteers at the same time doesn't work here. They become cliquey and are less willing to pitch in, thinking that others will, thinking that their own personal malaise will go unnoticed in the throng of busy-ness. But it's hard for us to carry 4 or 5 extra folk at the meal table when there isn't a fair exchange of work. It makes one become grudging and that is a destructive emotion. So we're going to restrict our numbers right down, and yes maybe at times we won't get quite so much done but we think that the farm will be a happier place for all.

Day After Glorious Day

They keep on coming, those glorious days. Day after day of sunshine. And for many that seems like a good thing.... until you become a farmer or a family trying to be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. I was talking to a French friend yesterday who lives in town and she says that the folk who live in Paris and Mamers (her town) just keep saying how lovely the weather is and it's not until she comes here that she realises the gravity of such an early drought.

It is serious. We had a relatively dry winter with less than average rainfall so the water table was already sitting low. As at today's date 33 departements (of 95) are on the most serious drought restrictions with more being added weekly - interestingly not the south of France. As yet we're not on that list but we are coded as next in line. We have had 4 hrs and 10 mins of rain in 13 weeks (yes I add up every minute of falling rain) and it can only get worse as the summer moves on.

The garden looks like it does normally in August with parched brown grass and cracking earth. The fields are due to be cut for hay but there's not going to be much there - that's a big part of our animal food for the winter. We have planted seed in the fields but there's no rain so it isn't germinating - that's our animal food and our own stores. Normally I would mulch everything to keep every possible drop of water in the ground but there's nothing to mulch with as the grass isn't growing. Where the pigs have kindly tractored our fields, it's a dust bowl and our precious topsoil is blowing away. That makes me feel so sad as I fully understand the implications of that and try hard to keep as much ground as possible covered for as much as possible. The only areas that are protected to a degree from the ravages of the sun are the areas under the trees and although we have planted loads of trees with more planned, we just can't get them growing quick enough.

The farmers around here are saying that the wheat isn't putting on growth so even if it does form grain, the stalks will be short which means much less bedding/food for the cattle for the winter. And they can't go to another farmer to buy more as they are all in the same situation. One farming friend thinks that he will have to cull as many as half of his cows as he won't be able to carry all of them through the winter like normal. And that is farming, the side that all those sun worshippers don't think of. I think we can look forward to higher prices of commodities if this continues.

Another Drought?

Once again we haven't had rain for weeks. This is the middle of April and our 'lawn' looks like this....
I had to water plants in pots in March!! Unreal. I'm hoping that it's not another sécheresse like the past two years but if it is then we're much better equipped to deal with it this year. We have mulches everywhere; we have drip hoses running under the mulches and they are linked to our rain water collecting butts; we have a comprehensive rainwater harvesting system (see here); we have swales out in the fields to keep the rainwater from running straight off the hill. Yes I have learned many, many things since becoming interested in permaculture. I have learned to work with nature thereby reducing our own workload and protecting valuable resources. I only wish I had known of these things earlier in life.

Farm Hands

That's what I've got now, farm hands. No that doesn't mean that I have lots of helpers here - indeed we are WWOOFer-less at the moment and will remain so until May. It means that my hands are now permanently engrained with dirt. Clean dirt obviously that I soak and wash to try to get off but the marks of my occupation cannot be removed. I don't have any blisters because those tender places have been replaced by callouses. Yes, tough working hands I have now - farm hands. But I love it and wouldn't change a thing. The work isn't hard but it is very constant. There's a compelling pressure to be 'out there'. Nature doesn't wait.

Money Back

Gosh what a surprise today - we got some money back from the French authorities. They gave us a reimbursement of 40% of our land tax thanks to 'reduction of harvests due to the drought of Summer 2010'. How nice!