Straw bales

Having sorted out the cattle in their refurbished yards - they will be much more comfortable now and all under cover - N and I walked down to the fields where the oats have been sown looking for signs of growth. Not much activity but a few of the seeds were beginning to show a green shoot. We had frost this morning which will help keep the slugs under control hopefully.

These straw bales have been put in lines along the hedge in the field as we have no more room to store them under cover. They look discoloured but they will still be dry inside and ready for use when we need them to bed down the cattle.

Last night D telephoned to say her husband had come back from work suffering from a bad back so would I accompany her to the charity event at Castle Gardens Garden Centre in Sherborne. Just an hour in which to get ready and go out into the cold night I decided yes I must go! It is so easy to get dug in at home. The evening was bright and cheery as we walked neverendingly through the Christmas Grotto looking at sparkly trinkets and baubles and furry animated penguins and polar bears, clutching a drink and meeting the occasional familiar face. We ended up in a marquee where there was an opera singer from National Opera singing a few well-known pieces. He then joked around and there were Christmas songs and it got very loud so we left before the raffle and set off into the night to try and find the car parked down a dark puddly lane. There were supposed to be about 300 people so a lot of money would have been made.