The first days of June brought some very weird weather with a sharp drop in temperature and a strong chilly wind. I managed to resist the temptation to put the heating back on in the evenings, but walking down the track wearing two sweatshirts on top of a T-shirt, it really felt and looked like Autumn – witness the fallen leaves to maintain that impression.

Last week we saw Tom and Flash relocate to their summer field and they are delighted with the amount of grass available! Equally happy to come and say Hello when we walk past their new home.

The other week I showed the farm field next to the house being allowed to grow in order for hay to be taken off. This week that process began with two tractors cutting the grass down – the “wake” of one visible here.

Following the tractor is an attractive pursuit, especially for the local rooks – always on the look-out for some unfortunate worm who has been exposed by the cutters.

When the cutting is done the tractor returns to turn the grass over in preparation for the bailing in a few days. This process is always done twice over a couple of days to allow the cut grass to dry fully in the sun.

It is always encouraging to see this activity kick off as you can be fairly sure the farmer knows there is a dry spell coming – and so far he has been proved right.