Two steps forward, five back.

Sorry I have not blogged for ages.

There has been (and still exists) a real problem with our phone and broadband connection. I am writing this in a rush in the hope that the connection remains at least until I have posted. My gmail account and blogger was actually disabled this morning and I have no idea why as anyone reading my personal emails would probably die of boredom. My mail is as smutty and subversive as the People's Friend.

We are almost into December and I think the last few months have evaporated.

We managed to finish the harvest and bailing only two weeks ago. Worst Year Ever. Yields are down approx 75% for barley, oats never did grow.

The frost has hit, snow has been on the hills at the back for a month now so the cattle are in for the winter, fed on the decent silage and surprisingly good hay.
The Farmer is back to mixing his alchemist's brew which gets added to the cattle feed and which helps the cattle 'do well'. I am tempted to try it myself but knowing my luck, would end up having a shiny coat and glorious hoofs.

Home educating is going very well. Our young son is confident with writing and we have progressed to simple reading. His questions sometimes floor me a bit - "Are magnets affected by the north and south magnetic poles?" "Why do mountains become smaller?" "Why does the carpet burn my knees when I shuffle quickly?" (Answer - because it is industrial nylon to hide a multitude of agricultural oomsk brought inside and it will burn the toughest of feet and baffies. It is beyond friction and static as it is a Serious Badass carpet which will last forever.)

We are busy with repairs, tidying up, shifting mud and all that encompasses. You can close your eyes, walk in any direction and open your eyes to find a task needing done if you have not fallen in to a ditch first.

I feel much empathy for all the farmers and crofters who have had a rotten year. The battle with incessant rain and very little sunshine has been difficult yet again. Very few apples, three tomatoes, no plums and even the roses failed.

Work has begun on the permaplanted area and once my camera gets fixed, I will post up the progress.

The wretched broadband connection just had a blip there so I'll try and post this now before it goes off. The BT people in Mumbai have a problem understanding my Highland accent (which gets broader the more vexed I become so even I have a job understanding myself.)

Here is hoping for a mild winter....