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The blue sky and sunshine drew me out of the office for a walk round the farm this afternoon. It feels like the first day when there’s been a hint of warmer weather as the bitter wind and cold night time temperatures have kept us in the throws of winter much longer than usual. The daffodils around the ponds are coming into bud now and will flower if I pick some and bring them into the warmth of the house.
The muck spreaders were out in force this afternoon getting all the important dung on the land. Two fields have been ploughed and are now ready for sowing spring barley. At last the ground is drying up after the wet winter, .so we can get on it, but now we need some warm weather-and dare I say-a little rain to get the grass growing. We are running short on fodder-silage and hay- so we want to be able to turn out the stock onto some spring grass as soon as we can , especially with lambing due to start in about another week.
There are always more mouths to feed at this time of year, not only outside on the farm, but in the house too as we have a veterinary student come to help as well as the family back home. The more help the better, but when we are spending so much time outside we have healthy appetites and don’t have much time to spare in the kitchen. As well as slow cooked stews and roasts, I like to have a large turkey for Easter so we have plenty of cold meat for lunches. Last year the weather was stunning, so warm we could have barbecued!
With only three weeks to go until Easter, Keith our butcher is making sure we have plenty of your favourite cuts available. All the lamb joints, whole leg, saddle and speciality French trimmed racks wearing paper hats are ideal for the festive table. We will have large chickens ready and also there are a limited number of frozen turkeys too. Our Spring Boxes make a great seasonal gift for friends and family or if you are holidaying in Britain we can deliver to holiday accommodation. You can order online at www.higherhacknell.co.uk or do phone me on 01769 560909 if you prefer to discuss your requirements.
Talking of festivities we have a stand at the Exeter Festival of Food and Drink which takes place the weekend after Easter from 9th – 11th April. It’s full of culinary inspiration with chef demos and a fabulous array of the regions finest food and drink!
