Winter on Bodmin Moor

Christmas and New Year celebrations have been enjoyed and gone, there is nothing better than the company of good friends, especially when accompanied by tasty food and excellent wines.



The weather in Bodmin this winter has been either wet and warm or cold and sunny, with rather more cold, icy mornings than last year - my geraniums have now succumbed to the frost unlike last year when they happily overwintered outside in the garden. The dry sunny days have meant that we have caught up a bit with the chores, we have focused on clearing the land adjacent to the road and are hoping to plant fruit trees as it is relatively sheltered from the prevailing winds by the high Cornish walls. I love planning the years crops and have spent hours looking at catalogues and websites for ideas and I am now waiting for my purchases to arrive although I think this shopping could go on for a while yet, as tonight I have just been emailed a great review for a new type of tomato!



The chicken that I wrote about last month is still alive and not exactly thriving but is looking less plucked although she appears to have a permanent limp. She has had a tough time as she has been bullied by two of the other chickens and initially we isolated her by putting her in a separate coup overnight but now the main aggressor has been removed however we may try and reintroduce her at a later date. Egg production has just started to pick up again.

Larger animals in the form of cattle have been causing Steve grief recently. He got home from work in the dark and set off torch in hand to take the dog out for a walk. He was walking past the chickens up the little path towards the woods that leads to the moor when suddenly his way was blocked by a huge cow coming down the path in the opposite direction. Saffy, our dog had spooked her and she almost crushed Steve in the dark, he was still shaking when I got home an hour later! The morning light revealed about twenty cows in the top field and closer inspection found three gaps in the fence where the cows that graze on the moor had gained access. They were reluctant to leave but eventually we got them back where they belonged. Steve then had to repair the fence so off to the agricultural suppliers for fence posts, fencing wire, barbed wire and a new gate. He spent the day repairing all the gaps watched by the cows who by this time were getting very brave and challenging Saffy and trying to break back in. Another job completed!