Re-Housed

Re -housed?
I have not written for a while, which is a shame for me, for I like writing, but there is something about physical work that seems to shut down my urge to write. The flip side of that is, whilst doing physical work I normally have my most inspired ideas, but I do not write them down – and so the vicious cycles of life continue.
Another growing year has almost passed – it’s been no more challenging than any before but certainly with its little points of remembrance. The double bank holiday, which so many people enjoyed, I found extraordinarily hard work, and the early part of the year was extremely dry and plants needed watering, to have left them would have been careless. In fact the main challenge this year has been water, we are currently running with about 8 inches less rainfall than last year, and last year we were 10 inches short of the previous average rainfall (recorded for 14 years since being here). The pond has been sucked almost dry, and I have feared having to re-house the fish (not sure if you re-house fish, but anyway, take them to a new pond) – we did have a few significant downpours which must have warmed the fishes’ cockles again – I know fish are cold blooded but I am sure that they smiled as the rain started to fall.
Fish lead me to soup as we started making a Fish Chowder this year with our leeks, onions and potatoes – it’s gone down very well. The haddock comes from the sea off the Cornish coast and is sustainably caught by small day boats – it is then smoked at Tregida Smokehouse. It’s a personal favourite of mine and well worth a try. The new winter range is out now and selling well in the shops, despite the amazing warmth we have been having.
Our beautiful old threshing barn has been restored and looks fantastic. I am now looking forward to getting the large external wheel working and then getting the horse, which will walk round inside, to drive the cider press and the cake crusher. We have put the horse in and walked her round and she was very un-phased by the process, so it’s looking good.
So what’s for sale? I am about to take some Dexters to the butcher – they supply the finest traditional beef available – good sized cuts with little wastage and a fantastic flavour. Meat boxes are available through the website or call me on 01392 833833 – a large box (12kg) is £120 and a small one (6kg) is £60. There are a limited number available.
Turkeys for Christmas – we have our normal Organic Kelly bronze turkeys available at the same price as last year (£11 per kilo) and they are available from 5kg upwards. Please order early, we only have a limited number available, and it’s first come first served.
Finally, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Kate Yells, who is looking for your help. Speak to you soon,
Rod.
Hello, my name is Kate Yells, I am a third year Geography student at the University of Hull and I have been working with Rod and Ben’s Organic Seasonal Produce to carry out research for my final year project. My research is focused on local food networks. It will aim to investigate how these networks are changing the relationships people have with the food they eat. I was wondering if you could please spare 5 minutes of your time and help me? I would be delighted if you could answer the following questionnaire by following the link below. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RodandBens
Very many thanks for your time and your help, it is greatly appreciated. Kate Yells