The drought has made a few surprise changes in the meadow this year. Red clover, English plantain and Knapweed have thrived. A few patches of yellow rattle also managed to establish. Best of all is the curlew nest and the back drop of multiple skylarks singing.

I bought this Herdwick shearling at Hawes sale. Partly because she’s very bonnie and correct. But mostly because she has a perfect set of teeth. Not that I’m making a point about other sheep that were there!

Our fifth month of apples. Using stored apples (cool shed, wrapped in newspaper) now. ‘You can’t eat trees’….. well actually you can.

I’ve been developing a muffin recipe for a few weeks using home yeast cultures rather than bought yeast. ‘Sour dough’. These honey and raisin might be the best yet🤩

By Michael de Adder.

When you’re feeling a bit sorry for yourself and a neighbour coincidentally drops off two jars of Grinton Heather honey. Priceless. I’d like to think it’s linked to paying for a random person’s shopping in the coop yesterday. But I know random acts are random.

Holly (tree been dead for 3 years). Sawed and split like a dream. My new favourite wood burns so hot.

Give me freshly baked home made bread any day as a snack over cheap chocolate Christmas celebrations, QS, Toblerones etc.

Bramley apple straight out of storage. No sugar. Eating a cooking apple. Would you or do you have a sweet tooth?

Rhubarb bottles in a light syrup last may shouldn’t taste this good.

Roasted Jerusalem artichokes. Would you? Full of prebiotics like inulin. Infamous side effects.

Please give this a share. Costa Coffee on Queen Street in Barnsley are open on Christmas Day from 10am-1pm. The amazing team have volunteered to work to offer people a warm drink & something to eat. The staff have also promised to sing if required too haha If you need somewhere

Please would somebody enlighten me regarding this moss/lichen thing that escapes all my previous categorisation of plants. Growing on an amazing north facing wall.

When your wintering meadows are surrounded on all sides by 100s of commercial gimmer lambs. Tup hoggs are in.

Lots of good quality feed and a lot of foraging add up to a 100 g egg every day even in the depths of (an extremely mild) winter for Khaki Campbell ducks.

The Pennine rain shadow that gives us drought in summer, at least spares us the worst of winter rain sometimes. Although it will probably still come down the river Swale from the water shed.

#HIGNFY mock Liz Truss's new YouTube show Ian Hislop, "She's got a new channel" Martin Clunes, "She's opening up new talk markets" Phil Wang, "Martin, that joke is a disgrace" Liz Truss, "Welcome to the home of the counter revolution, welcome to the Liz Truss show"

At just 11 weeks in kid she’d rather not stand up to eat 🫣

It’s taken a year to train the original three ducks to come to bed at night ( hunger), and then 4 months to integrate the three ducklings into the group. Ducks are different in every way to chickens Still laying every day.

This is London's Christmas Tree Switched on in Covent Garden which the Far Right have been totally silent about, they prefer to be obsessed with another Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square because it was switched on by a Muslim.

When you keep pedigree goats there’s no more reassuring sight than a hay rack getting emptied. Especially when it’s from the first of this years haylage bales. Taking a gamble with a geriatric mum this year. Blossom will be 10 when she kids.