Improving gateways

This week we've been

spraying crops and spreading fertiliser

improving the gateways to the grass paddocks as they get very wet and muddy in the winter where the horses go through

moving scarecrows and bangers around and put up another artificial hawk in an effort to deter the pigeons, which are still feeding on the oilseed rape crop.

enjoying the sunshine but ...

hoping for some rain as it would be good for the crops. 

Scarecrows and tractors

wheat in Great Forest

beans in Grove Field

A blustery day today for walking around the fields and rather wet and muddy underfoot but despite spending the last weeks of December under snow, the crops look surprisingly healthy.

It's always good to find a job in the workshop in January, so Bill has been familiarising himself with his new tractor and catching up with some maintenance jobs such as mending the pigeon scarer. 

 

Pigeon control is important at the moment, as given half a chance, the pigeons will eat all the green leaves of the oilseed rape plants in the field and we won't have a crop. The best control is shooting pigeons as it keeps them away permanently but we also try to keep them off the crops with hawkeye scarers, propane gas scarers and old fashioned scarecrows, including this netball playing one that we used to advertise Open Farm Sunday before she was put out in the field.