Lindy & Robin of Harton Farm

With the advent of shorter days and dark mornings, checking the sheep in the early half-light had been problematic, until I acquired a new cap. Rarely has a goody-bag yielded anything truly useful, but this cap from Shearwell, with LED lights in the peak, is quite literally brilliant. So now  I count the number of pairs of bright blue pinpoints (eyes), always remembering to subtract one set, since the back of the collie’s retina is exactly the same as that of the sheep. The spaniels, however, have ruby rather than sapphire eyes, similar to our “red eye”. A bonus for working in this pre-dawn gloom has been an occasional encounter with bats or owls returning home to bed – you see, you have to pull the positives out of situations like this, the early mornings NEVER get easier.

I took the two Clumbers to a working gundog training session in a beautiful secluded valley. Clumbers are the St. Bernards of the spaniel world, renowned for their ability to keep going all day. They achieve this, whilst other spaniels are zipping round like pocket rockets, by carefully optimising energy expenditure versus the expectation of reward or success. During this thought process, they may give you the “Clumber blank” – a stare which can be roughly translated as can’t be bothered / what’s the point? / you cannot be serious. The best example of this on Sunday was a dog asked to do a retrieve across a fairly fast and deep small river. He allowed the current to carry him effortlessly downstream to the dummy, then waded up through the shallows to cross back via a rocky promontory and a paw-deep weir. Who says dogs can’t think?

Pumpkin Flower Arrangement

Sally Lawrence from Godford Farm sent us this suggestion for a Halloween flower arrangement…

Not everyone has the time or possibly even the skill to be able to carve out the perfect pumpkin. An alternative is the pumpkin flower arrangement as you can see here in the photo. It’s not too difficult to put together and Sally thought it might be nice to see an alternative to the usual jagged teeth with a hot candle inside.

Directions:
Cut lid off the pumpkin and scoop out the flesh in the centre.
Cut a piece of oasis and wet it, put into the cavity.
Arrange assorted flowers into the oasis – possibly go for some autumnal colours.
Finally place the lid on the top and use a small cocktail stick to hold in place.

If you have a go at this, why not take a few photos of it and upload them to our Facebook page. We’d love to see them.

One of our members submitted this fantastic article about a typical week they might experience at this time of the year. It sets a wonderful scene of what it is like dealing with the day-to-day tasks on a farm but at the same time, deals with the harsh realities of farm life which they also go through and how it makes them feel… thank you Lindy.

“I returned home from a day’s beating on Tuesday (when the wind was so strong it cracked my flag for me) to find the ash trees in skeletal form, their leaves having been ripped off the twigs during the day, then forming a deep litter on the ground. A lot of the recently-ripened holly berries lay like little scarlet jewels amongst the leaves, and the spiny casings of the sweet chestnuts , crushed beneath car wheels on the lane, made the chestnuts inside a ready-meal for the pheasants.

Tupping Time

Changed the rams’ raddle (poster paint mixed with engine oil) today from yellow to bright green. Most of their ewes have been served in the first fortnight, which means the rams are now bored troublemakers, unless a ewe returns. It could mean a very tight lambing pattern in March.

Bye Bye Ewes

Took the cull ewes to market. Loathe this day more than any other in the year. They were born here and have lived long useful lives, and I hate the thought of them leaving us. There’s a part of me that tries to ignore their fate but despite this being something that is part of farming life, it still upsets me.

The Devil’s Fruit

Do you wonder why it is said that blackberries are the Devil’s fruit after 12th October? Well, as you know the Devil is a fallen angel. He was chucked out of Heaven on St. Michael and All Angels Day, which is September 29th. He fell, cussing and cursing, into a bramble (blackberry) patch. When the Julian calendar changed to the Gregorian calendar, that day became October 12th.

Thank you to Lindy & Robin from Harton Farm for this excellent insight in to their working lives.

Wool Week – The Campaign For Wool

We’re currently smack bang in the middle of wool week (6^th – 12^th October) #woolweek – It has been initiated by ‘The campaign for wool’ to raise awareness amongst consumers about the unique, natural and sustainable benefits offered by wool – For further details, please take a look at their excellent website

Wool is an important part of Devon’s farming history and as farmers we have helped shape and maintain Devon’s beautiful landscape with sheep grazing in the pastures. During the 17^th Century, Exeter was one of Britain’s leading wool markets with about 80% of the local community employed in the industry.

Many of our Devon Farm members keep sheep on their farms of varying breeds, including Devon breeds (some of which are rare); Devon & Cornwall Longwool, Whiteface Dartmoor and Grayface Dartmoor. The Devon Closewool sheep can be traced back to the 1800s, a cross bred sheep of Devon & Cornwall Longwool’s with the Exmoor Horn, to produce a hardy sheep that can produce high quality wool.

At Huxtable Farm, Jacob sheep are reared for their delicious, flavoursome meat and beautifully soft fleeces, which is either hand spun & knitted into various knitted articles at the farm or machine spun and woven into throws, cushions and knee rugs for visitors to purchase as a momentum of their stay at Huxtable Farm B&B.

What a wonderful season!

There was a sudden break in the weather this morning (Friday 19th) and the heavens opened. Now this seems to have been just a temporary thing as the air around us still feels quite muggy. However, it got us thinking about the forthcoming Autumn season and the things we have to look forward to here in Devon.

Harvest has been and gone for most of us very early, so our focus now (in the farming community) is on getting the rams in with the ewes so we have some spring arrivals; not too soon though, we don’t want those lambs arriving whilst there’s still a frost in the air… if we can help it.

As far as events go, we have already started ‘carnival season’, where most villages and towns around Devon host parades of floats. It includes everyone from the local nursery, parading toddlers in fancy dress costumes right up to the carnival society’s who take it very seriously and build floats which would put most lorry drivers to shame!

A list of South West Carnival Clubs

Right in the middle of Carnival season is fireworks night! There are some magnificent displays around Devon but the one night that stands out for its uniqueness and slight hint of danger, is the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels.

On the narrow streets of Ottery St Mary, locals of all ages carrying various sizes of barrels (dependant on their age and experience) will parade from one end of the town to the other on November 5th. The population of the town swells dramatically on this night and it really is an event not to be missed.

Of course, if you come to Devon for a slightly more calming environment, there’s plenty on offer for you too. How about a walk around one of the fantastic National Trust properties with the leaves taking on their autumnal colours at that time of the year. The coast path is a favourite with many visitors to the south west too.

All-in-all, Devon has something for everyone in Autumn; we look forward to giving you a warm welcome.

What is the “Shoulder Season?”

A shoulder season is typically known as (in holiday terms) the time of year between peak-season and off-season. Makes perfect sense doesn’t it?!?!

Despite it having an odd name (we didn’t make it up!) it is actually a great time of the year to grab not only a bargain, but maybe the kind of holiday that you’re looking for; something maybe a little quieter.

Although not clearly defined, October is seen as a shoulder season (as is April to June) and with the possibility of an Indian Summer this year, this could be a great time to book yourself a break to Devon. Half-term does fall at the end of the month, so it is advisable if you’re looking for a quieter holiday to book something in the first three weeks of the month.

What can I do in Devon the Shoulder Season?

• Walks – on the beach
• Cycling – across the moors
• Water sports – bring a wetsuit
• Horse Riding –  along the trails
• Golf – Lynx or inland
• Reading & Relaxing

If you’re a foodie, there are a couple of festivals you might be interested in which are during the Shoulder Season too. Of course, you could indulge yourself in some fine dining and eat out at any number of wonderful restaurants, serving everything from fish to fillet steak or cream teas to custard tarts.

North Devon Food Fest – 19th October

Cockington Apple Day – 19th October

We are extremely lucky to have 2 national parks on our doorstep, Exmoor and Dartmoor. Autumn is one of the best times of year to appreciate this unique landscape whiling away hours and hours, walking and soaking up the exquisite surroundings.

The National Trust have put together a fantastic section on their website which lists several different “50 things…” lists for you to do after dark, in gardens and parks and also on the coast and in the countryside.

Hopefully, this has given you a little taster of what you could do if you stayed in Devon at any one of our fantastic Devon Farms Holidays members.