It’s an abundant time of year… though our veggie field started offering additions to our menu many weeks ago, all of our meat items have been taken out of the freezer. But in another week, we’ll be able to feed our family – and yours – with fresh 2022 Hebridean Mutton. Another two weeks afterContinue reading “Harvest time”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Lost Lamb
Normally, walking through our eastern woodland calms me, brings up almost uncontainable waves of gratitude. The woodlands surrounding and weaving through our farm are ancient, noted down on the earliest maps we can find of the area, and walking through them feels like connecting to something deep and rich. The patch I’m walking through isContinue reading “Lost Lamb”
Time Flies
For most of my working life, my days have been ruled by the clock and calendar. It was natural to always know what time of day, or day of the week, it was. But time moves differently on the farm, is controlled by seasons, daylight hours, and breeding and growing events, rather than a clockContinue reading “Time Flies”
The Highland Wool Project
Update! 2022 will be a very exciting year for the Project: the year we will start walking the talk! We now have a draft mission statement – it’s a very ambitious document, as suits a very ambitious project – which has benefitted from input and critique by a lovely bunch of people (more about someContinue reading “The Highland Wool Project”
Harvest time
It’s that time of year, again. We spend a lot of time talking about, and telling the story of, our farm…and that story includes offering grass fed, seasonal native Hebridean meat to our friends and community. Though it’s never easy to send our animals off to the abattoir, we’re proud of the lives they’ve livedContinue reading “Harvest time”
Lucky
We were lucky: when we took over the management of the family farm in 2015, one of us had never farmed before, and one hadn’t since he was a boy. We were, for the most part, starting from zero, or from dim memories. We had to learn a lot, and fast, as the first sheepContinue reading “Lucky”
Food Poverty…
…and why we’ve gone political. The following was inspired by yet another politician lecturing the poor on the dietary choices…and some fellow farmers jumping on that bandwagon. As farmers ourselves, we understand the desire for folk to choose our food. But they have to be able to, don’t they? This is one of the thingsContinue reading “Food Poverty…”
Farming & politics. Do they mix?
For years as a freelance artist and arts manager, I told myself that I needed to keep politics out of my business. But it was a lie I told myself: as a young actor, I had a hard time auditioning for jobs that included selling the new brand of toothpaste to people who hoped itContinue reading “Farming & politics. Do they mix?”
Regenerative Farming
First published in the Kyle Chronicle, Winter 2020/2021 edition Farmers who use regenerative agriculture techniques accept that wildlife will share some of our harvest with us UK farming has been in the news a lot lately. The combination of Brexit, Covid-19 and climate change has made many people rethink their food choices and sources. DuringContinue reading “Regenerative Farming”
Partners
We talk a lot about how our sheep are partners in the farm’s regeneration. This is what we’re talking about: when the sheep first arrived, this copse was impenetrable. They started pushing in through it, and bedding down at the edges at night. We thought, at first, that we should get in there and clearContinue reading “Partners”
The Hirsel 