Winter postime



Winter time posting 

Sorry for the delay in posting but my last effort which I tried to do in December disappeared in front of my eyes in the process of posting! A little disappointing to say the least… Anyway we have got through the Christmas season as well as cidermaking and we are here plump in the middle of January. As I write there is snow blowing around outside.

Cidermaking 2012 – Not the best season we have had in all honesty. Apple crop was a little slim on the ground and the apples were considerably smaller and contained less sugar. We had thought we had done a deal on 10 tons of apples from a local businessman who had some orchards and plenty of apples which we were quite excited about. Time went on and we repeatedly contacted him to see what was happening as it was unuasually quiet. Then we found out that he had not got around to telling his man in charge of the orchards and the apples had been since sold to someone else! Beggars belief and it will be the last time we do business with him and his pubs… Anyway we at least managed to do a bit of cidermaking and the plus side is that the bank balance is a bit better as a result! I occasionally have  to look on the bright side..  We are lucky that we have actually got plenty of cider in reserves as we make as much as we can in the good years for this very reason.

Christmas shows 2012 – As cidermaking went as a quick as a flash it enabled us to do more Christmas shows than we would have done normally. I really enjoyed the shows and meeting lots of people and we also sold a heck of a lot of our very popular Mulled cider. The majority of shows went very well and it is also a form of promotion for the farm and we have had a few extra visitors that have come to the shop on the farm as a result of the shows. This will be a strategy for the future and I am determined to find time to make the most of the Christmas season which normally passes us by due to us being busy making cider. Even our internet Christmas selection box sold quite well.
On the run up to Christmas is normally my cue to knuckle down and get on with planning for the forthcoming year which I enjoy. Plenty of stuff to get my head around for 2013 but also a little daunting and the bottom line is that to get on at all this year I need some physical help. It is all good news though and at least things are not spiralling downhill and there is a lot to be excited about. 
The continual quest for looking for wood on the farm to keep us warm continues and it certainly does not help the ground being so wet. Only yesterday I got really badly stuck in the Discovery trying to sort out more wood. Took most of the day trying to get it out and very close to ripping the bumper off trying to pull it with the tractor. You can see the tree in the background of the picture below which I was trying to bag.. It is still there and I failed to get even a twig to burn yesterday..


So there I was getting on with my plans in mid December unbeknown that there was a huge torpedo that was lurking in the wings which was silently on its way to explode my plans. My lovely wife suddenly discovered (and I mean suddenly) that she was pregnant! Now this of course blew us away with joy but the added news which was to extend the ‘blowing away bit’ is that she is due in March!! So we are absolutely thrilled. We were all aware she was putting on a bit of weight and I was one step away from putting an alarm on the fridge! There is a lot to get sorted in very little time…

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