 Stormy days It was a busy and strikingly normal weekend at the markets last weekend. I saw people whom I have not seen for some years mainly for covid related reasons. They are getting used to coming out every week or so to have a cup of coffee and a chat with friends and then do a little bit of shopping for the week. The panic buying to avoid going out too much seems to have gone and there is more of a familiar rhythm to the mornings. It has been a challenge remembering peoples faces and also learning the new faces of people I have only ever met masked. Identification by mask covering has become second nature during the last 2 years and I have forgotten what some people look like. So if I look slightly confused next time I see you at the market then that is probably the reason why.  Assisted birth During my absence from blogging and social media in general we have been very busy lambing amongst all the general running of a farm and butchery. Patrick took up most of the work that Gavin had been unable to do whilst recovering from his knee ligament replacement. Happily we have had assistance from Emily and her partner and Alice to ensure all the wheels did not fall off in the last 2 months. It has been long, with a great deal of clothes washing and drying. and mountains of food has been cooked and consumed to keep the gang going.  Penning sheep with the dogs  I think Patrick has been happy with lambing. We have had many more twins than usual which we have put down to the health of the flock being so much better with the new system of once or twice a day moving to fresh grass. The fields that we graze are starting to show signs of improvement, more varieties of plant in the sward and Patrick has noticed a considerable increase in beetle life this year. The humble beetle is an important first processor of manure in the field, moving the manure around and breaking it down after the sheep have pooped, improving organic matter content in the soil and the soil structure, thus reducing affects of erosion by water and wind. In the photo to the left you can see the patchwork effect in the sward of daily moves in the background. In the foreground there are some twins following the ewe around the field happily grazing the fresh grass.  Mike in the long grass Other things we have done recently in efforts to reduce our own footprint on the planets resources is that solar panels are installed on our barn. They were turned on last September to attempt to produce enough electricity for our own use, which is substantial with 2 electric cars and a butchery not to mention the house, the lamb pens and the workshop. The predicted amount of panels we would need was 48 with a production capacity of 375 watts per panel. We are 1/6 under production for the house side and 40 percent under production for the butchery side coming out of winter. I envisage we will need more in the future to cover the yearly consumption, unless it catches up dramatically over the summer.  Solar panels. Space for expansion More projects coming in the year ahead including back to saucisson making.
See you all soon Helenx
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 Mushu, King of the hill It is already March and so much has happened both worldwide and at home. Bad and good. The bad, I know has everyone aware so lets try to avoid that line of chit chat. Puppy Mike has grown in size and in cheekiness. Our little Mushu (teckel/daschund) has a lot of sparring to do every day with his considerably larger baby housemate, he is holding his own now that I have removed his collar so Mike does not get the upperhand by hanging on to it. After a good battle Mushu does like a long sleep by the fire. If you zoom in on the above photo you can see Mushu.  Mike 6 months Gavin's operation on his knee has gone well and he has a lovely yellow bruise. I was grateful for the rain which made it less tempting for him to go outdoors. Some friends came over for supper last night to break up the incarceration. It was lovely. They were the last people we had a meal with inside the house since before confinement. Time has passed too quickly and we need to be careful not to forget how to be social creatures. The art of conversation has to be practiced and bigger children need to listen to other adults so they can expand their vocabulary and be exposed to different ideas. Or maybe that should just apply to all people, as communication does not seem to be practiced in the world at large very effectively at the moment. I have been looking after the young stock whilst Gavin has been laid up and helping Patrick when he needs me with loading and moving sheep about. We are trying to get everything where it needs to be before lambing starts in April. Mostly though I have been cooking. Lots of roasts then stock making for stews, curries and soups. It is very rewarding to have the time to use everything up with little or no waste. Four big people eat alot. And six people eat even more when we have extra hands to help. The contents of the freezers are disappearing little by little. The grass is growing like crazy and I have done some outside tidying in between rain showers. Not that it seems to look any different I think we just have too much stuff. Patrick has decided to install as a young farmer with us and we are planning how to increase the income so that he can have a proper wage. It is impossible to remain static when you are running your own business. We have exciting and busy times ahead. Should be fun. See you soon Helenx So many distractions and so many things to explore, including a new puppy called Mike, preventing me from settling to actually write something that will interest you lovely people during this cold and bright winter that we are having. It is quite glorious today and I am resisting the urge to do go outside😎. I must crack on and tell you all what we have been up to. We have been eating a cooked breakfast every morning recently including the usuals bacon egg etc, and also some black pudding that I made during January which is quite delicious. It was a real job to make and by the end the butchery really did look like the blood baths of Eygurande. My freezer is now satisfyingly stacked with little packs of rich, dark, sweet, loveliness. I will have to buy some new chickens, my geriatric hens are beyond the realms of laying, so the protein part of breakfast could be completely home produced. For the moment I will have to settle for local. I might have to start thinking about growing mushrooms 🤔 After much persuasion from some of my Scottish friends in Bordeaux I started down the path of haggis construction for Burns night and then one birdie told another birdie and it was 8 kilos to twenty kilos and then the birdies had friends, so 20 became 35kilos of haggis. What a hoot. My trusty cohort for cauldron stirring rolled up her sleeves and we went to work. They are an hillarious site when they are floating about being poached. The tying is an art I may never get the hang of but fortunately my husband is always game for a challenge. So my odd shaped pods were collected and about half have already been eaten. Happy tummies I am told. Phew 😮💨 I am returning to the markets this weekend the 28/29 January. It is a week earlier than anticipated. I will be taking time off in March. Gavin has to have his other knee fixed. He has broken a ligament in the knee that was not fixed 18 months ago. I suggest that you make the most of February, when I will be at the markets. I will also endeavour to get round all of my delivery points during February as I cannot be certain when exactly my schedule will be back to normal. I will also make sure that the freezer at the farm is stocked with the basics sausage, bacon and some joints at all times so if you want to come to the farm and collect something, then you can.
See you all soon Helen :) x Hello Everyone Here we are on a grey and showery November 1st truly entering into the rhythm of late autumn. The colours of the leaves changing this year have been exceptionally beautiful and the temperatures have been quite mild with some glorious sunny days. We have been busy with preparations for the Christmas period and also the extension for the butchery. There is still a bit of work to do repainting the old room, and finding the right sink units and tables to install all the equipment on, but we are up and working again. Many thanks to everyone who either did, assisted or cheered on from the sidelines. I can honestly say that my working life has completely changed. Below is the view from the butchery window. Project rose garden I think I will call it 🤣🤣🤣. I will add it to our list of things to do, definitely after Christmas  Patrick has been busy with a little project that we may soon be able to sample... answers on a postcard 😉..... Our middle child has returned to France with her boyfriend and they are currently emptying boxes and moving furniture around. Back to work for them both tomorrow. I think they are enjoying the fact that there is less distance to travel to get good bread and wine. They even enjoyed a few moments sitting in the sunshine today. I am a lucky Mummy for a bit with all 3 children 20 minutes from home. And finally so you are all up to date on the run up to Christmas schedule for deliveries I will be in the following areas....
Piegut Pluviers and surrounds delivery run Tuesday 7th December Issigeac delivery run Saturday 11th December Bordeaux delivery run Tuesday 14th December Chalais and surrounds delivery run Tueday 21st December Collections from the farm Wednesday 22nd December The last markets for 2021 will be..... Riberac Friday 17th December and Sainte Foy la Grande Saturday 18th December. See you somewhere on my travels. 54 days to go 🎄 🎅 Helen :)  Just to get you in the mood ;) Well it has been a while since I wrote anything. And to be honest looking out of the window today does not fill me with a great amount of inspiration to be creative. It is raining, again or still I have forgotten which would be the better choice of word after this summer in SW France. It has certainly been a peculiar season, but not unheard of I checked our old weather book and the years 2007/2008 were also quite cool and wet. One of these days I will purchase a rain gauge that does not split every year and take up the weather book again. It is a remarkable acheivement that in a world where plastics are reputed to survive forever, it is utterly impossible to have a rain guage that can survive one freezing winter. Congratultions capitalism and planned obsolescence. My regular market people already knew that Gavin, Alice and I had been on holiday to the Pyrennes this summer. It was the first holiday of more than overnight that we have had together since 2004. A very relaxing time was had by all and it was quite difficult to come back to work afterwards. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was warm and dry for the most part. We did lots of walking and ate and drank fine food, beer and wine whilst we were away. Many thanks to our kind friends for the invite. Also a big shout out to everyones favourite internet provider, Orange, for cutting off our cell phone signal at home by making a perfectly good system, Femtocell, obsolete at the flick of a switch. Having read their help pages I know that there are many, many people in the same position as us in France. Having had one attempt at fitting an aerial to the roof we are waiting for the next part from the radio mast people. Our signal is so weak here we have to buy a parabol and several internal aerials. Bienvenue á la campagne. In light of the fact it is only 95 days until Christmas I need to let you know that I am taking orders. If you are after a Christmas Gammon please let me know as soon as possible. I have already had orders. The price this year is 19 euros/kilo. The last order day for gammons will be Saturday 13th November The last order day for other orders will be Saturday 4th December If you think you have ordered already but have not sent it in an email format, or have not watched me write it down in a lever arch file at the market please, please, please send me an email so I do not lose you. franklinwz@orange.fr I am fully aware that last Christmas was not ideal for everyone at the market as there were some long queues. I am also aware that the last days for Christmas markets are 17 and 18 December. So I will try and come up with a plan so that there can be pick up points during the week immediately before Christmas to alleviate the situation. I will keep everyone updated as the plan develops.
See you all soon Helen :) Gavin and Patrick are often plugged in to some podcast or another about farming or politics or cooking, which supplies a never ending source of discussion. The one Gavin made me listen to the other day talked about salt in the diet of dairy cows helping to reduce the acidity of the animals. When the sward of grass available to eat, or when the diet available in feed stall barns is more acid than alkaline, then the animals can be more susceptible to pests, like flies and worms. Amongst other things, this is very abbreviated for the point of this blog. With regard to pasture we have more fly strike, (when flies lay eggs in the wool of the sheep and then you get flesh eating maggots in the sheep not nice) with the sheep when the grass is more woody than when the grass is lush. Lignin, the stuff that makes plants woody is acid. The man in the podcast said that it was better to put the salt in the drinking water rather than as a block and then to offer saltwater and plain water to your animals so they can chose what they wish to drink. It is important to use seasalt preferably organic. Now we have had some logistical issues with accessing wormer for the sheep so we thought well lets give it a go. I have no data for the affect on worms or pests, but we were all astounded to observe that every single sheep chose to drink the saltwater not just for one day, but every day over a period of 4 days. They still have the choice of one of the other and will always finish the saltwater before the fresh water.  Saltwater on the left in photo  Saltwater on the left in photo This is not a randomised control experiment I am sure, but it certainly shows how much the animals require extra trace minerals that can be found in seawater, but not in the soil. This area of France has been cultivated for between 2000 and 7000 years. I have not done enough reading to be more accurate than that, but let's face it, it's a long time. I am sure that in the beginning farming was much more cyclical in nature than it is now. Fewer people, less system pressure and everything that comes with that. We have a lot of catching up to do on rehabilitation of the soil to catch up with all the losses. But it is not insurmountable. If anyone wishes to listen to this podcast this is the link Ep. 196 - Steve Campbell - Remineralizing Cattle with Salt on Working Cows with @TuneIn. #NowPlaying http://tun.in/tlkUI9 If you would like to see the video which shows none of the sheep drinking the fresh water the I will post the entire length of it on our Facebook page later. See you all soon
Helen  july weather Hello Everyone It has been quite difficult to find the enthusiasm to post a blog, not to mention what kind of photographs I should be putting in the blog in case it becomes a gateway for knowledge for theives. The battle with stock protection from theft and getting any support from any gendarme in our area has been dispiriting. They have not been seen even once in our area for the whole month since the livestock thefts despite being told they would come out on patrol more often. Even worse I now know how little is known by the general population about livestock theft, which is rife throughout France but obviously not dramatic or interesting enough to make any media outlet. My neighbours have all sorts of items, animals and fuel stolen every single year. It is disrespectful, exhausting and just plain flipping annoying. Time wasted with paperwork, unecessary stock counting and looking for replacement items. Not to mention stress and worry due to business shrinkage.  I am sure some of you have watched Jeremy Clarkson farming show on the telly. An hillarious progamme from both a farmers and a general viewers perspective. So far he has shown a few of the battles that we experience in farming paperwork, administration, weather etc, but what I have enjoyed the most though is his willingness to give anything a go (I know he has quite a bit of money to protect himself) and his delight at being able to get something right. It is heartening that he is questioning the methods he is currently using with regard to his soil health and a joy to realise that he has understood the importance of animals within a farming system. The shearing has been completed, apart from the rams, without too many incidents, and with some willing arms to help with wool collection and catching the sheep. Wow..! the biting flies were fierce though in the shearing pens. And mosquitos exceptionally hungry and robust. I made my first batch of soap with mutton fat, olive and sunflower oil and lavender and it looks fabulous. Also much harder than the pork fat soap I have made in the past. I am discovering the delight of making chutney in the slow cooker, chuck it all in, bring it up to temperature then let it bubble away with lid off. It can take a while, but so much easier than standing over the stove when there are so many other things to do. Made my first ever strawberry chutney, delicious. Alice has made some more of her plum cordial this year. We have not bought any cordial since her experiments during last years confinement and hope to go through to next years fruiting season with what she makes this year. There never seems to be enough storage space at this time of year for the quantity of produce that appears from everywhere.  The family from the Netherlands has been and visited and returned to the Netherlands to work. It was lovely to see them as always and they will be missed as always.  farm holidays □ All things being equal we should be back to normal services this coming weekend at the market. I will come laden with all things meaty and delicious.
See you all soon Helen 😃  This week included a trip up the long road on a delivery run in the northern areas of Dordogne. I was very lucky with the weather as it was considerably cooler than the previous week when I would have baked in my non air conditioned cab. In 2020 I did this very same run in 40 degrees and ended up at one of my clients houses with her delivery, late in the day, whereupon the lovely lady took one look at me deposited me in front of a fan with 2 pints of water, a cup of tea and a piece of cake. I am very lucky I know so many kind and considerate people. The trip through the countryside was invigorating and full of splendid scenery, beautiful greens filling the landscape after so much recent rain. Of course all the rain means the sheep are inundated with delicious quantities of grass, making farming so much easier in some respects. And also no requirement for the summer water carting that is more normal at this time of year. The weather reminds me a little of Zimbabwe at Christmas, shorts and an occassional light jersey (sounds like a weather forecast). Here are some photos courtesy of my-in-laws. Just because it is nice to remember the beauty of other places from time to time. And comforting to feel connected through the sky and its similar hues no matter where you are in the world. The butchery after 10 years of faithful service is having a full make over and expansion. Requiring decisions about positioning of sockets, cold rooms and colours and types of paint. Not my usual remit. Our builder friends are doing a fabulous job and have managed everything so far with little or no inconvenience for me. Gavin has decided he would rather carry 10 rolls of fencing over a 10 hectare field than sand a ceiling. And Patrick has decided that mixing concrete would not be his first choice of occupation though ok for a change for a very limited period. Our original electric car which we have had for 5 and a half years finally had to go into hospital for a diagnosis and finally a new battery. Gavin was grief stricken as his favourite car was away from us for 4 and a half months. After having rather too much money going out on fuel he managed to convince me a month before the old car returned, that we needed another one and already knew where we could get a cheap, second hand, slightly crumpled, ex postman vehicle (have I been played?). So we are now fleet owners 😂 Fortunately the government are still running their subvention scheme for lower energy vehicles so we only paid one arm for the car rather then the usual arm and leg 😉 See you all very soon Helenxx  This week we lost our first furry friend in France, Bluey. She was 17 years old and had been chief of all she surveyed for the last....well.....17 years. A friendly, furry cat partial to bird in her younger days and in her latter years liver was her particular favourite. Best remembered and loved for peeing in my brand new sandals, they were never the same again. And for her daring leap from the first floor window when we moved out of our single storey house :-0 . We knew she was fine on landing as she had a quick clean and looked about to make sure everyone was aware the whole acrobatic thing had been planned. She had definitely gone slightly doolally in her senior years and took to sleeping in more bizarre locations than the standard sofa or bed. Her company is missed.  fat happy worms Thank goodness for the rain. The sheep are happy munching through all the delicious greenery and the vegetable patch is looking in fine fettle. I will add some beans in next week I think, they are quick to grow and yummy. We have built a worm bed with an old bath, compost and worms from the pig zone and we put all our cardboard and plant clippings in it to breakdown. The run out from the bath is used as a fertiliser for wherever needs it. It seems to be working quite successfully. All our frosted dead looking plants have sprung back to life and the citrus trees have gone into a mad flowering session. The bergamot is way ahead of the reast and is making tiny fruit already. The markets are back to usual with people circulating to have coffee with friends as well as do their shopping fro the week. I have become so accustomed to seeing people with masks on that I barely notice anymore. A new kind of normal reigns for the moment. I have seen some people in the last couple of weeks whom I have not seen for a year or more. Bizarre and heartening at the same time. And some new faces have appeared as well to join the social scene at the market.  Bergamot fruit forming Despite the pig rustling incident we are feeling quite positive about life. There are many projects coming up this year to keep us distracted and busy and with any luck the insurance are going to pay out for some of the losses accrued with the pigs and fence damage. We will have to be vigilant for the up and coming public holidays in July. See you all soon Helen :)  Grass growing in a properly fertile zone. We have some way to go still to get all of our land to look like this piece  CONTENTMENT Well we are never really sure that it is the end of lambing. There are always one or 2 stragglers that take you by surprise and arrive in mid June. But certainly the bulk is done. Now all we have to do is keep them alive. The whole flock was put back in together last week and moved to fresh pastures. The wet spell has come in the nick of time for some grass growth, and for our neighbours maize which came through beautifully. Let's hope there are no silly hot temperatures now so everything has time to grow out properly and take us through to the autumn with enough grazing without panicking.  TRIPLETS The rain clouds are blowing away and we are looking forward to a pleasant week. The lambs can romp around, and munch on green grass with the ewes.  A NEW VERY PROTECTIVE EWE...BEWARE So there I was linking sausages and listening to BBC radio 2 for some musical entertainment and my peace was detroyed by the news. Usually I can drown the noise out with some machine or another, but this headline got me listening. The HS2 train in the UK is going to have a large portion of tunnels built as part of its line about 128km worth, I looked it up on the official site. Unfortunately for my brain I had watched Seaspiracy the previous week, as I thought I should, so I could keep up with public thought processes. and then I started connecting dots and here we are......  WHERE ARE WE OFF TO TODAY? It seems to be that if you can't see what is happening then you can devolve responsibility and make yourself believe that no damage is occurring. Although I did not agree with all of what was said on Seaspiracy a lot of it was true there is a lot of damage that we don't see in the sea that happens because we eat indiscriminately, without recognition of where anything comes from. Soil is the same as the sea. It is out of sight thus it does not matter what we do to it because we cant see it. Especially at 90m underground where some of the HS2 tunnels are going. We have all established that trees, bushes, hedges, marshes and grassland are important. And some of us are in agreement with the people who have proved that plants communicate with each other through the fungal network that lives in the soil to maintain a happy healthy ecosystem. So why oh why is it not ok to chop down an old oak tree, but yes ok to dig up 130 million tons of earth????? Jobs? Money for the boys? Did anyone think to look and see if there was a better option, cheaper and more environmentally friendly???? I am not surprised that the soil is tired and worn out with the abuse and lack of recognition that without it we cease to exist.  SAY CHEESE And please don't anyone even try to tell me that that is the reason they have invented soil free food production, because seriously that is a long walk off a short cliff material.
Have a lovely week ahead. And don't forget eat more soil, it is good for you, to plagarise and slightly modify a very good friend of mine. Helen :) |
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April 2022
Helen FranklinI am farming sheep and goats on the Dordogne/Gironde border with my husband and our 3 children. We have an on farm butchery and sell our meat direct to the public via the markets and delivery points in our local area |
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