Despite the wet summer, the veg garden and polytunnel at Rhemore are in full swing and it’s the season for an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. As usual there have been a few hiccups; the polytunnel got left shut on a sunny day in early spring and the intense heat cost us half of…

I’ve just got back from a long overdue trip away visiting friends and family in London and Edinburgh to find summer has finally arrived in Morvern and along with it an abundance of growth on the croft. The Polycrub is heaving with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, baby pumpkins and fresh basil; the freezer is full…

The dust has settled on all the milking activity, and dad is safely back in London recovering from his fall, waiting until his neck brace can come off (as the only person I know to break his neck on an evening stroll). There has also been a sense of waiting on the croft. A sense…

We had two heifer calves born from Gooseberry and Sorrel just before the beginning of May. All seemed okay at first, until we saw Gooseberry’s calf was only feeding from a small extra teat (called a supernumerary teat). Gooseberry’s main teats had become very large – far too big for her small calf to feed…

The bluebells are out and this year’s calves are due any day.  Despite a long cold winter our cows seem to have weathered better than in previous years and are still in relatively good condition. Our hay baling and turning equipment has improved the quality and quantity of the hay we are producing, and the…

I first need to write about our wee Katy. She was the first ever volunteer we had on the croft, four years ago now. She came back several times while she was still a student and then got a job in Lochaline and moved to Morvern. Unfortunately, her contract has ended and she is leaving…

Our lower fields become very waterlogged in winter. The main field is also now in a state of flux as we move away from the old broken drainage system to natural watercourses which will be more stable, lower maintenance, less environmentally disruptive and hopefully less prone to flooding. For this reason, although it’s not traditional,…

As January and February progress, we are warily eyeing the wood store and the hay barn. Last year was a good year, and with the new bailer and tedder, and the strong grass growth, we managed to bring in more hay than ever before. There still comes a point, when the cows like to make…

I really enjoy keeping chickens.  Not just because of the abundance of fresh eggs and the good use of food scraps, but our most recent brood had become quite tame. Another chicken owner once told me they regularly cuddled their chickens and I could not see the appeal, but over the past few months several…

It was pretty wild here at Rhemore. A lot of large trees came down in the storm and we spent the best part of two days clearing the roads, paths and fences. We’ve been staying in our workshop while our house is being renovated so, as you can probably imagine, we didn’t get much sleep…