like martin luther king (almost) said...freeze at last



a third frost of the winter and a proper one at long last, no early morning water top-up for the pigs, everythings hairy with white crystals

i wonder if thats done for my christmas starter?

bizarrely, it looks like artichokes as a starter on christmas day



checking on any trees i may have missed staking earlier in the year, and slightly surprised by the amount of foliage on the artichokes, i defeated a lazy urge to get in for another coffee and checked them out...six new chokes at the end of a row

no flowers, little fruit, few leaves

november, december, january and february...the unglamorous months on the farm but the diesel on which it runs for the rest of the year



all the planning, planting, preparation and protection takes place, and for most people there's nothing much to see, and that's the beauty of it...its not what it looks like, its what it IS, what it means

the plastic tubes shield the young trees from the deer - they look, unsurprisingly, like plastic tubes...they mean leaves, flowers and fruit

two frosts in 3 months, an unvisited jumper drawer, a redundant scarf...
*writes memo to self to remember to sell antifreeze shares*



at least i've got sausage and salami-making to remind me its autumn

ive...
completed three triathlons
walked the spice trail solo
stalked big cats in south africa
held my own in a bar brawl in dublin
played rugby professionally
slept with a bond girl*



but today, for the first time, i am truly a man
for i have a tractor


*otter farm accepts no responsibility for the the fact that most, or more, of these may not be entirely, or partially, based on fact