The cakes were all laid out with wreaths, jams and plants on display, we anxiously waited for our first customer, who turned up on the dot of 3 pm.  We then didn't stop serving teas and cakes for over an hour.  It was lovely to have such support from Wick village, and our friends and colleagues.  With all the decorations (including some very cute reindeer), we all felt very festive. As the light faded,  Malcolm served some mulled wine and people huddled by the fire which was blazing away in the brazier and looked at the brilliant moon.

Thank you to all who came. We will now be able to purchase the necessary polythene, wood and clips etc to put up a poly tunnel.  This will provide an outside space for people to work when the weather is not so good and to extend the growing season.  It will make a big difference.

Making wreaths has been interesting... We all have different favourite foliage, ribbons and accessories.   We have decided that it is probably better to take orders.... so if you see a wreath you would like, we will make one for you! Just contact us  

Roger Styan came to visit the Care Farm today and brought all the kit to make reindeer for our Christmas mini market. Cheerfully and with great patience, Roger taught us what to do and we had great fun creating reindeer with different characters.  It was very satisfying; we felt a great sense of achievement when we produced 11 reindeer.  My favourite has long spindly legs like a little Bambi!  Thanks very much to Roger Styans for his generosity and good cheer!  

Christmas pots have been planted. Hyacinths and tête a tête daffodils have been put into terracotta pots. We have had fun decorating the pots... Everyone has there own style and so there will be plenty of choice at the mini market.  Twigs of various colours have been cut and we are making Christmas stars.

Thanks to Ed Dunne, we now have gates into and out of our yard.  They look great and make a safer working environment for all of us. 

New raised beds are being built. Great satisfaction was had from this.

Wednesday saw the third and final visit from a group of St Egwin's Youth Challengers. Their first challenge was to navigate their way around a trail using maps and compasses. They succeeded in finding all their checkpoints without going wrong!
Their second task was to decorate the bird boxes which they made last week. The three groups all had different styles and enjoyed using the paints. Lets hope the birds like their efforts.Their boxes and wooden bird feeders will go to St Egwin's with the children and will be put up in school for use next spring.

The bumper crop of tomatoes have finally come to an end.  We picked the last of the green tomatoes and found ourselves with literally buckets of them!  So far we have made 45 jars of chutney.  But many hands make light work and the chopping and stirring provided a welcome respite from the wind on Tuesday.  We tasted the first batch at lunch time. Everyone liked it. Jo wanted more chilli but the majority said no.... Maybe we will have to make a specially spicy batch for those of you who like it hot! All our chutneys and jams will be on sale at our Christmas Fair on December 5th between 3pm - 6pm.

The pigs have gone to slaughter - we are all going to miss them.  The straw was collected and we had a clean up.  Lots of compost was made and now we have to build some more bins!  Some winter pots were put together and the cuttings were transferred to the greenhouse.  Although it was a sunny day to start with, we felt as though we were 'battening down the hatches' in preparation for the winter to come. 

The Autumn farm visit for the Worcestershire Home Educators group has always been popular. The Grange garden looks beautiful with wonderful autumn colour and often yields lots of different types of mushroom.

Armed with a clipboard and a basket, family groups set off on a trail marked by blobs of flour.  Their task was to find letters and pictures of animals found on the farm and to record them on their sheet. At the same time, they collected anything interesting... beautifully coloured leaves, fir cones, fungi, feathers etc.  Although they set off at different times, most arrived back into the garden at the same, having enjoyed a wander on a sunny, autumnal day. The children then rearranged the letters they found to make a word... thinking of letter blends, they soon worked out the word was  "chicken".

Out of their baskets came a surprising variety of different fungi, including a couple of unusual earth stars and a rare lactarius.  They laid them out for all to see. Tom gave a little talk about the different types and tried to answer their questions.  Fungi sparks the imagination of many children and adults alike. There are so many types and so much to learn.

Inspired by the pictures they saw by Andy Goldsworthy, everyone set to making 'pictures' from the leaves, twigs and cones which they had collected. Animals seem to be quite a theme - a fox chasing a chicken - laying eggs in very quick succession! a hedgehog, a snail and a very splendid cockerel. 

When one pupil from St Egwins School was asked "What is the Youth Challenge"?, she replied that it was taking part in activities that are both new and take them out of their 'comfort zone'... I have no idea whether they went out of their 'comfort zone'; they all looked very comfortable to me and worked together well.  However, they all did some new activities and seemed to enjoy themselves.

During week 1, they went for a walk on the farm, picked some wheat, which was left on the side of the field, and some buckwheat, then visited the chickens to collect eggs. When they returned to the meeting rooms, they separated the seeds from the chaff, ground some wheat to make flour and then made some Scotch pancakes. Some were made from their wholemeal flour and some with white flour bought from the shops.  Both types were enjoyed and there was not a clear preference!

On week 2, the pupils were given a challenge.  In pairs, they had to make up a bird box from the kit they were given.  They had no instructions, but were shown a completed one to look at.  The kit consisted of 6 pieces of wood which were labelled, a hammer, nails, tacks and roof felt. It was very interesting watching and listening to their thought processes.  With very few mistakes, they all completed the challenge and produces excellent boxes. Next week, they will decorate them and take them back to school to put up for the spring.  They also made some bird feeders out of logs which they drilled large holes in and stuffed with a fat/seed/flour mixture.