“Well, the broody decided motherhood wasn’t for her and flew the coop; literally. So I’m back to cleaning it out for the winter and getting it on bricks on hard standing to protect the wood. We’ve moved the young Light Sussex into an ark, and the bachelor pad is also cleaned out for winter. All the laying hens are in the one house now and the Light Sussex will go in there in about six weeks, so they can keep each other warm. It also allows me to rest the other houses over winter, liberally sprinkled with louse and red mite powder.

The vegetable garden is almost finished now. I picked the last of the runner beans, but they’re a bit coarse so the pigs and sheep can have them. I’ve been pickling beetroot as well. I’m pleased with them this year; we’ve had a good crop and even though some are very big, they aren’t at all woody. We’ve managed to eat a few sweetcorn cobs, which have been tasty but disappointing in terms of yield.

Some vegetables will stay in the ground – parsnips, leeks, Savoy cabbage and sprouts. The cabbages look really good, touchwood.

Li’l’ Bud and Dickie are going off to Fife this week. We thought Lucy was dead one morning; Dan went to feed the ewes and she was flat out. As he approached her she struggled up but seemed really disoriented and staggery. However, within a few minutes, she was fine and had her head in the trough, so we can only assume that she was deeply asleep.

The kittens made their first kill this week – an earthworm. Maybe they didn’t kill it, but they left it in the hall for Dan to step on in bare feet, so it was definitely dead thereafter. They’ve grown a lot, or so Dan’s parents tell us. They haven’t seen them for two weeks, so notice the difference.

The pigs go on 20th October, so I’ve cut their feed down a bit to reduce the fat on them. I would expect to be able to feel the spine if I press fairly firmly on the back; if I can’t, they are probably a bit fat. Of course, I don’t want them too thin either, since it’s the fat that gives the meat its great flavour.

The seed catalogues have started arriving, so that’s my bedtime reading at the moment. There are just so many varieties, each better than the last – and I’m an advertiser’s dream. Every year I say that I’m going to simplify what we grow, then the catalogues come in and I’m seduced by the claims for this variety or the next. However, at the moment, my resolve is holding firm.

We’ve grown Desiree for a number of years, but it’s badly affected by scab. It doesn’t affect the cooking and eating qualities, but scabby potatoes don’t store well. For next year, I’ll be looking for a scab resistant variety, probably Druid. We grew some this year, and it’s a nice flavour too. This has put me in the mood – off for a quick browse now!”