Yesterday morning was beautiful, crisp, and frosty. We got into minus numbers on the thermometer but the sun was out so the day seemed to glow, reflecting off the oranges and golds of the autumn leaves. Morning fog rolled down crevices in the hills but soon dispersed as the day warmed up.
The major news on the farm is that there is a SparrowHawk around. Apparently it was seen carrying off a Coal Tit from one of the bird tables. Hearing that carries a strange mixture of thrill and sadness. How wonderful that there is a SparrowHawk around but I’m also sad for the Coal Tit. It was, after all, one of these cheeky little birds that hid a sunflower seed in the gable end of the farm house, which is now cheerfully growing at right angles. Nature’s a funny old thing.
Big Dreamer has turned my disastrous Cinder Toffee to a useful end. Yesterday he brewed it as beer! I’ve drawn his brewing paraphernalia here for you. I’ve learnt to avoid the kitchen when he’s in the middle of a brewing and bottling session. As long as the kitchen is back to normal afterwards I’d rather not know what goes on. The kitchen ceiling still bears the scars of one particularly traumatic cider-making episode. For those with an interest in such things his essential ingredients for this batch of beer were ginger, treacle, and cinder toffee. I’ll let you know the outcome!
