Poultry Discussion

Snow drops

2012-02-26T14:54:00.001Z

Spring is on the way

Waiting for rain

2012-02-19T07:38:00.001Z

Still waiting for some rain .....

Snow again

2012-02-05T14:48:00.002Z

Well it is all snow everywhere - hopefully it will soon be gone.

Elan Dam on a wet day

2012-01-31T04:33:00.000Z

Hedge laying

2012-01-24T08:08:00.002Z

Great photo of hedge restoration when I was out and about

Start of spring??

2012-01-11T23:47:00.000Z

December podcast 2011

2012-01-02T09:04:00.000Z

2012

2012-01-02T07:55:00.001Z

Well its a new year and we went for a walk yesterday around the farm - it is sleeping but will soon be ready for the new season. The sunrises have been spectacular over the Malverns this last week. We have our first visitors of the year this weekend for a farm walk so we have gone full cycle. There hasn't been much to report in the December podcast about the farm so I will just review the best of 2012.

Christmas time

2011-12-24T15:05:00.002Z

This Christmas time is very different to last christmas - no snow and despite the rain the ground is still very dry with no water yet getting down to the land drains.

Quiet time on the farm

2011-12-18T07:47:00.000Z

Quiet time on the farm, but it is raining which is great news.

Conservation Grade

2011-12-11T16:24:00.001Z

Keep an eye out for Conservation Grade products.

Water management video

2011-12-02T23:35:00.001Z

I have been working with LEAF this week discussing with farmers how the impact of farming on water supplies can be reduced. Check out this video made by Jake Freestone on water management. It brings discussions of scrapes, and swales alive. I will watch the progess with interest.

Silver lapwing award

2011-11-23T04:36:00.001Z

We were thrilled to be presented with the Silver Lapwing Award by Herefordshire FWAG last week. The award was given for active arable bird conservation on the farm.

Ginger the cat - a new visitor

2011-11-18T20:52:00.001Z

Another stray cat has turned up on the farm aka known as Ginger. He definitely doesn't trust people

Herefordshire Beacon

2011-11-12T14:48:00.001Z

Visiting the ancient hill fort high on the Malvern Hills makes you realise that people have been farming in this area for thousands of years.

November podcast

2011-11-06T07:44:00.002Z

LEAF Presidents Event

2011-11-06T06:36:00.000Z

This week I have been talking at the LEAF Presidents Event (photo courtesy of LEAF) Check out the review of the event on their blog.

floristically enhanced plots

2011-10-29T20:25:00.000+01:00

No rain - pond dry and wheat under stress

2011-10-26T20:22:00.000+01:00

Hops over the door

2011-10-20T22:02:00.002+01:00

Hops over the door mark a special birthday in the family....

Choir for harvest festival

2011-10-16T10:14:00.002+01:00

Very thankful for the harvest

October podcast

2011-10-02T20:33:00.001+01:00

September Hops

2011-09-22T21:56:00.001+01:00

Church in the woods

2011-09-15T18:41:00.001+01:00

This beautiful little church was just around the bend in the road when I travelled through the Yeo Valley - breathtaking

The magnificent Yeo valley - Blagdon Water

2011-09-15T18:36:00.001+01:00

Last weekend I visited the Yeo Valley - so beautiful

Green woodpecker on the lawn

2011-09-11T08:10:00.002+01:00

Great to be a farmer and to see the busy green woodpecker searching for ants - sorry the picture is a bit grainy ..

12 Days of Christmas

2011-09-10T13:26:00.001+01:00

Becketts Farm use YouTube too - another great topic for discussion

Cleeve Nursery

2011-09-10T13:23:00.000+01:00

Another great discussion on Cleeve Nursery too. Check out the video

Certainly Wood at the Nuffield Study Group

2011-09-10T12:15:00.000+01:00

Been to a Nuffield study weekend on communications and social media and found the talk on Certainly Wood fascinating. Check out the video.

An odd find

2011-09-10T04:01:00.000+01:00

This fungus attached to the tree was an amazing find on the farm. It is so intricate and quite beautiful.

Odds and ends

2011-09-04T07:35:00.000+01:00

As summer draws to a close - some of my favourite photographs ..

September podcast

2011-09-03T18:40:00.000+01:00

Combine has arrived

2011-08-28T07:30:00.000+01:00

The wheat has been harvested thanks to a week of fairly good weather. Oats and beans to go!

August Podcast

2011-08-24T21:08:00.000+01:00

Busy housemartins

2011-08-18T20:54:00.000+01:00

July Podcast

2011-08-12T20:37:00.000+01:00

Wild flowers

2011-08-06T14:13:00.000+01:00

Dwarf sunflowers coming through

2011-07-31T14:10:00.000+01:00

Clover - growing well

2011-07-25T22:57:00.002+01:00

Red clover good for bees and adding nitrogen to the soil

Busy bees

2011-07-16T17:53:00.000+01:00

Wheat is growing

2011-07-09T21:38:00.000+01:00

Wheat is growing fast and we are lucky to have a harvest due in four weeks time when you look at the plight of people in other parts of the world.

June podcast

2011-06-29T22:16:00.001+01:00

We are in the Farmers Weekly!

2011-06-28T17:07:00.000+01:00

Check out the article on the farm on Farmers Weekly Interactive

Nuffield at The Three Counties

2011-06-26T15:13:00.000+01:00

We manned the Nuffield Scholarship Trust Stand at the Three Counties Show - great fun. Check out Nuffield Scholarships at http://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholarships.php

The rain brings clover and flowers

2011-06-16T14:00:00.000+01:00

The rain brings clover and flowers

Sweet clover

2011-06-09T19:59:00.000+01:00

The sweet clover is growing and now in flower

Tidying up the vines

2011-06-04T08:05:00.002+01:00

Tidying up the vines can be hard work!

May podcast

2011-05-29T16:17:00.001+01:00

The oxide daisies are abundant

2011-05-29T15:07:00.000+01:00

The oxide daisies that we have planted have just started to come into flower ... beautiful

Visitors arriving to see the baptismal pond

2011-05-22T06:55:00.001+01:00

It is the time of year when we start to get lots of visitors to the pond. They come to visit from all over the world.

Bird walk 2011

2011-05-16T06:15:00.000+01:00

The bird walk in Castle Frome this year gave us a chance to walk around a neighbouring farm at 6am. I should have been taking pictures of birds but I just wasn't quick enough ... so I took some photos of some of the other beautiful areas that we were lucky enough to visit.

Cider fruit in blossom

2011-05-06T06:04:00.000+01:00

This is not a photo from our farm but Herefordshire and Gloucestershire orchards are full of blossom - just beautiful.

Its raining

2011-05-01T06:04:00.000+01:00

After what seems like months of no rain it is finally raining ......

Crows having a chat

2011-04-24T15:10:00.002+01:00

I couldn't had sound affects to this photo but the crows were having a good old chin-wag.

I also heard the cuckoo for the first time this morning

Spring flowers

2011-04-17T11:05:00.002+01:00

Despite the lack of rainfall in March, the flowers are blooming

Arable reversion

2011-04-10T06:03:00.002+01:00

April Podcast

2011-04-10T05:15:00.001+01:00

Cowslips are out

2011-04-09T16:57:00.000+01:00

Colour appearing

2011-03-31T14:22:00.000+01:00

Daffodils in bloom

2011-03-27T14:18:00.003+01:00

Medieval Fishpools

2011-03-20T16:46:00.001Z

Water management video

2011-03-20T13:55:00.002Z

March 2011 - Hill Farm

2011-03-20T13:41:00.001Z

Spring is on its way

2011-03-20T10:36:00.001Z

February 2011 Hill Farm

2011-03-20T10:28:00.000Z

Permissive bridlepath

2011-02-25T20:05:00.000Z

Signs are up

Catkins galore

2011-02-17T21:32:00.000Z

Spring flowers

2011-02-11T21:24:00.000Z

Spring is coming to the farm and the flowers are beginning to bloom.

Video podcast for January 2011

2011-02-04T13:52:00.000Z

This is our first attempt at a podcast - a little amateur but we can only get better.

Flowers at Hill Farm 2010

2011-02-04T13:48:00.000Z

Bees and butterflies at Hill farm 2010

2011-02-04T13:45:00.001Z

Wind turbine

2011-02-04T13:41:00.002Z

The wind turbine is up and running - very exciting.

More snow

2010-12-20T09:53:00.000Z

Windows in the holiday cottage

2010-12-14T09:47:00.000Z

The windows are in the holiday cottage!!

Carpark is finished!

2010-12-10T09:39:00.001Z

The car park is now finished!

Permissive access map

2010-11-23T08:14:00.001Z

The map is all finished for our permissive access on the farm - check it out!

New parking area

2010-11-15T08:00:00.000Z

The new parking area for the permissive bridleway and farm walks has started again supported by the Higher Level Scheme (HLS) - so exciting!

New disabled access to the Baptism Pond

2010-11-08T07:57:00.001Z

The first of our capital projects paid for by the Higher Level Scheme (HLS) is a disabled access pond to view the Baptism Pond and the vineyard - a really exciting development

Autumn colours

2010-11-01T05:13:00.000Z

Autumn Berries

2010-10-25T04:26:00.000+01:00

Autumn is so full of colour and lots of berries this year - a sign of another snowy winter??

Grass mix in the autumn

2010-10-22T19:55:00.001+01:00

The grass margin plots - these plots promote spaces for beetles and invertebrates

Moles are busy

2010-10-19T19:44:00.005+01:00

The moles are busy in the fields amidst the stubble!

Pest controllers having a debrief!

2010-10-12T05:29:00.000+01:00

The cats have taken to meeting on the bonnet of a car for a quick debrief!

I loved these guys!

2010-10-06T06:09:00.002+01:00

I could not resist these guys when I saw them on my travels in the Cotswolds - a mix of traditional breeds and full of individuality. Suckler cows have such a strong mothering instinct and they are very protective. there was a strong wooden fence between me and their calves when I took the photos!

Phacelia plot

2010-10-01T06:01:00.000+01:00

The previous photos have been of a mix of plants fodder radish, phacelia, and mustard (but only a small amount) - you cannot see the tritcale in the photographs but they contain this plant too to provide seeds for birds later in the season. This plot is just phacelia and it is vey busy.

More bees

2010-09-30T05:58:00.000+01:00

More bees!

Bees in September

2010-09-29T05:49:00.000+01:00

Bees love phacelia and we are looking at ways of encouraging it to flower in September and October so that the bees can access food all through the autumn. Great to see the bumble bees still as busy. There is no shortage of bumble bees on our farm!

Flowers for bees and butterflies at the end of September

2010-09-29T05:38:00.001+01:00

Wheat in the store

2010-09-22T05:31:00.000+01:00

After all the rain we have finally got the wheat in the grain store to feed the chickens for the coming season. Hurray!!

Holiday cottage

2010-09-18T19:19:00.000+01:00

The holiday cottage is coming together... very exciting

History Walk

2010-09-14T19:30:00.000+01:00

On September 11th we held a history walk on the farm - a great afternoon.

Poppies

2010-09-12T19:20:00.000+01:00

The fragility of red poppies ...

More food for birds

2010-09-10T19:25:00.000+01:00

Autumn is coming!

2010-09-08T19:27:00.000+01:00

Winter bird table

2010-09-05T11:15:00.001+01:00

The plots are ready in waiting to provide a source of seeds for seed eating birds to help them through the winter - mustard, fodder radish and sunflowers.

Floristically enhanced plot

2010-08-28T11:15:00.000+01:00

The daisies are long gone now, but the plot is still a source of activity for insects both crawling and flying and still beautiful to the eye.

Can you see the spider's nests in the flower head - full of baby spiders when you get up close!

Sweet clover

2010-08-28T11:06:00.000+01:00

The sweet clover has also been providing nectar for the bees all summer.

The flowers have nearly all gone now and much of the aroma, but it has kept the bees happy for months!

Red clover plot

2010-08-28T11:03:00.000+01:00

The red clover has been magnificent this year - check out the activity on the trial plot.

Butterflies galore on the trial plots

2010-08-28T11:00:00.000+01:00

This month the butterflies have been breath-taking - I hope my photos do them justice!

Not sure about the blue one is it a holly blue - any ideas??

Poultry Discussion

Snow drops

Waiting for rain

Snow again

Elan Dam on a wet day

Hedge laying

Start of spring??

December podcast 2011

2012

Christmas time

Quiet time on the farm

Conservation Grade

Water management video

Silver lapwing award

Ginger the cat - a new visitor

Herefordshire Beacon

November podcast

LEAF Presidents Event

floristically enhanced plots

No rain - pond dry and wheat under stress

Hops over the door

Choir for harvest festival

October podcast

September Hops

Church in the woods

The magnificent Yeo valley - Blagdon Water

Green woodpecker on the lawn

12 Days of Christmas

Cleeve Nursery

Certainly Wood at the Nuffield Study Group

An odd find

Odds and ends

September podcast

Combine has arrived

August Podcast

Busy housemartins

July Podcast

Wild flowers

Dwarf sunflowers coming through

Clover - growing well

Busy bees

Wheat is growing

June podcast

We are in the Farmers Weekly!

Nuffield at The Three Counties

The rain brings clover and flowers

Sweet clover

Tidying up the vines

May podcast

The oxide daisies are abundant

Visitors arriving to see the baptismal pond

Bird walk 2011

Cider fruit in blossom

Its raining

Crows having a chat

Spring flowers

Arable reversion

April Podcast

Cowslips are out

Colour appearing

Daffodils in bloom

Medieval Fishpools

More water management videos

Water management video

March 2011 - Hill Farm

Spring is on its way

February 2011 Hill Farm

Permissive bridlepath

Catkins galore

Spring flowers

Video podcast for January 2011

Flowers at Hill Farm 2010

Bees and butterflies at Hill farm 2010

Wind turbine

More snow

Windows in the holiday cottage

Carpark is finished!

Permissive access map

New parking area

New disabled access to the Baptism Pond