1st of October, Chilli Joe our handsome Jacob ram was introduced to the ewes, it’s the season of love in a Barry White kind of way for our flock. It’s the first time Joe has had to “work” so we are hoping he’s not a Jaffa (seedless), always a risk when you are only using one ram. The gestation period for a ewe is approximately 147 days (same as the highest break in snooker), so we need to be looking at the ewes closely towards the end of Feb.

All the yurts except the Bodgers’ have now been taken down, cleaned and put away safely in the barn for the winter. Our lovely new neighbours at the bottom of the hill helped us to pack away the decks, they’re the only things we need help with as they are cumbersome and heavy, so thanks guys! The Bodgers yurt will have to come down later so we need to make some space in the barn. I’ve done my best to make all the water pipes safe from the cold by draining down the system and lagging the brass fittings, last winter we lost a lot of the brass connectors to frost in our harshest winter here to date.

We’ve been busy bottling, pickling and preserving anything we can from the kitchen garden before it’s too late. The chillis seem to have done well so that should keep us warm on those cold winter evenings!!

We managed to get down to the roundhouse for our halloween celebrations – it was very beautiful down there and it’s nice to reflect and raise and glass to all the people who helped to create this lovely space, that period of time will always be a special memory for me. Thanks again xx