The blog contains all the text and picture of the month.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JULY 2006.

The pictures are of our new hens purchased from McDonalds farm at Haydon Bridge last Tuesday 27th of June.I bought two Bluebells and two Welsumers (top picture), two Light Sussex (bottom picture) and two white Leghorns to go with the three I already owned.I now have sixteen hens in total.
The old and new hens had to be kept locked in the hen house until Thursday so they could become accustomed to their new henhouse and to the eight hens I already had living in there.

Bluebell hens at Cornhills Farmhouse.

light sussex hens at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST 2006.

The picture is of Maddison 8 months old invading Holly's kitchen.

Holly and Maddison at Cornhills Farmhouse.
The hens are doing really well and laying about 9 eggs aday. They seem to have found their way onto the front lawn which we will have to stop.August has been another busy month, the straw was all led in the first few days. The sheep have required a lot of attention getting them ready for market. The first ewe lambs have gone to Hexham mart today and over the next month we will sell the texel tups.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER.

This picture was taken at the end of August by an Australian visitor Robert Hilton.The picture is of the back of the farm, looking at the wonderful heather which is spectacular this year.

View of the heather at Cornhills Farmhouse.
September has been a wonderful month, dry and warm. The farm and the B&B have both benefited from the good weather.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER.

Hen in the front garden at Cornhills Farmhouse.

This is the down side to keeping hens, when they get into the front garden they dig up the plants to make a place for a dust bath.

PICTURES OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER.

Geese in the front field at Cornhills Farmhouse.
Geese in the front field at Cornhills Farmhouse.

Elaine Hill came to stay with 13 geese and three sheep dogs. The geese went out to feed in the front field at night and first thing in the morning. The three collie dogs round up the geese and drive them into the trailer.On the first attempt the geese escaped around the side, and the sheep dogs had to round them up again. Then the geese walked up the ramp and inside. These have been some of our most unusual guests.

PICTURES OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER.

The picture was taken by guests Anita and James, in early November in the grounds of Wallington Hall.There were a group of red squirrels playing outside the hide.
Squirrel in front of the hide at Wallington Hall.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.

During December we took all the tiles off the family bathroom, which pulled alot of the plaster off and we had to strip the walls back to the stone and wood. The new false walls were erected making a seperate toilet for the rooms at the back of the house.
Christmas and New Year stopped the work and we started again at the beginning of January. The plaster boards were attached and then plastered. Shower tray and bath were fitted and all the pipe work was completed.The two rooms were then decorated with base coates, the hard-board floors were nailed down and the toilets and hand basins were installed. The electrian rewired lights and fans. The wet walls and doors were put around the shower and bath.
Final coat of paint on all the walls and woodwork. The floor tiles were laid the next week and then the blind at the window, as I write this entry we are still waiting for the towel rails and shelf to be fitted.At last a new family bathroom.

bare walls at Cornhills Farmhouse.
bath and shower tray fitted at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH
The sheep are marked with a spray on their wool. Green for 3, no mark for two, blue for 1 and red for not in lamb. The greens are all collected together and they get more feed than the others as they are carrying 3 lambs. The unmarked or twins are all put in the same fields, and the ewes with blues marks or single lambs are all kept together. If the weather deteriorates the sheep with 3 lambs are brought in first, then the no mark or twins, and the singles last.
When the sheep are in the lambing shed it is easy to tell how many lambs each ewe is going to have. When a single is lambing you are ready to take a lamb from a set of three, the ideal is for every ewe to rear 2 lambs.

scanning the sheep at Cornhills Farm.scan of lamb at Cornhills farm
a sheep ieaving the crate after being scanned at Cornhills Farm.the scanned sheep are in the front, the ewes waiting to be scanned are in the rear pen at Cornhills Farm.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR APRIL AND MAY.
Picture shows lambs in the front field, the view from the family room.The lamds in the picture are about 3 to 6 days old. We move the lambs all the time in their first few weeks, keeping the youngest lambs , the most vunerable, closed to the farm. As the lambs grow and are stronger with a strong bond with their mothers we move them into ajoining fields. We should finish lambing by the beginning of May, about six weeks after we started.

sheep and their lambs in the front field at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JUNE.
Picture shows a tree on Ray Mill bank as you approach the farm. About 4 years ago a pair of boots appeared in the tree and since then more shoes have been added. The idea comes from Nevarda in America, where shoe trees were first started. Putting your shoes in the tree is a good luck charm.

shoe tree as you approach Cornhills Farmhouse.
PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JULY
Lulu the lamb broke her leg (the large bone in her lower back left leg) and we had to put a plaster cast on. Richard holds the lamb while I cut a "plaster of paris" bandage and dip it in water and wrap it around the leg.Richard holds the lamb for about 10 minutes until the plaster goes hard. We then wrap a green crepe bandage around and return Lulu to her mother.
The ewe and lamb stay inside for 2/3 days and then are put into a small field. The next three pictures are taken 2 weeks later. Lulu does not seem to be in any pain, she is walking on her leg and following her mum around the field. The plaster will come off in about two weeks, it looks as if Lulu has made a full recovery.

Lamb in cast at Cornhills Farm.Lulu the lamb at Cornhills farm
Lulu the lamb next to mum at Cornhills Farm.Lulu walking across the field with her leg in a cast at Cornhills Farm.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.

Picture House: 5 May – 30 September 2007
English Heritage has invited 15 of the most original and experimental film directors, artists, actresses and designers from Britain and around the world to bring Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens to life with a series of cutting edge art installations.

Picture House - Film, Art and Design at Belsay, which opens on 5 May 2007, will transform the neo-classical mansion in Northumberland, its 14th century castle and Grade I Listed gardens. This specially commissioned exhibition will see electrifying works of fashion, sculpture, music, design, poetry, music and video fill Belsay’s vast empty rooms and landscaped grounds.

Installations will include some exciting collaborations, such as a soundscape by composer William Basinski and Antony Hegarty from Mercury Music Prize-winning New York city band Antony and the Johnstons.

Likewise actress Tilda Swinton - known to millions as the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia- is creating a piece for Arthur Middleton’s bedroom, working alongside her husband, playwright and visual artist John Byrne - and their children.

Internationally renowned fashion designers Viktor & Rolf will provide a centrepiece display of silver ballgowns suspended between the Grecian columns in the Pillar Hall, while award-winning costume designer Sandy Powell – famed for her work on The Aviator and Gangs of New York, will create set up a ‘peephole’ into false door with a peephole in Lady Middleton’s bedroom, where viewers can spy on the inhabitant dressing and undressing.

Throughout the property – from the cellars of Belsay Hall to the Grand Hall of Belsay Castle and the delights of the sheer cliffs of the Quarry Garden - Picture House will see Belsay transformed and reinterpreted through dozens of creative perspectives and will provide a fresh appreciation of the social and architectural history of this unique historical site.

The pictures were taken by Malcolm McCulloch a guest who stayed in July.



Cornhills farmhouse B&B.Cornhills farmhouse B&BCornhills farmhouse B&B
Cornhills farmhouse B&B.Cornhills farmhouse B&BCornhills farmhouse B&B

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER.
This picture was taken from the front window in the first week of October, it shows mist in the hollow of the front field with our neighbour's farms out of the mist at the back of the picture.The saying "mist in the hollow a fine day to follow" was certainly true.

view from front window at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER
This picture was taken of the far end of the garden in the Autumn, the Hydrangeas have never been as beautiful. They are still blooming at the moment although the flowers are slightly paler.

view from front window at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER
This picture was taken in the early morning facing from the house down the front field. Most of the cows and calves have come inside for the winter, the sheep are still out. Cattle make an awful mess of the fields in winter when it's wet.

view from front window at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE FOR CHRISTMAS 2007
This picture was taken in the hall. We would like to wish all our guests a Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year . We look forward to welcoming you to Cornhills in 2008.

Christmas at Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE FOR JANUARY AND FEBUARY 2008
This picture was taken of the front of the house. The sky is the most brilliant blue.The winter with its clear air is the best time for seeing our fantastic views.

a winter picture of Cornhills Farmhouse.

PICTURE FOR MARCH & APRIL 2008
This picture was taken in the shrubbery outside the window of the West room.

Spring flowers in Cornhills Farmhouse garden.

PICTURE FOR MAY 2008
This picture was taken outside the back door over the drying green. The lambs and the chickens seem to get along well. The lambing time has been wet and cold, terrible weather for little lambs and their mothers. We are still feeding all the sheep every day as the grass is not growing fast enough.

View from the back door at Cornhills farmhouse.

PICTURE FOR JUNE 2008
This picture was taken on the approach to the farm. The Blue Bell wood, a nature reserve, is on our eastern boundary. Every year the blue bells give a magnificent display turning the area into a sea of blue.

View of approach to Cornhills farmhouse.

PICTURE FOR JULY 2008
This picture was taken on the lane opposite our cottages on the approach to the farmhouse. The owl chicks, a bundle of fluff, have taken to sitting on the lane. We have to pick them up and put them back in the wood in case they get run over by a car.Over the last few years we have seen a huge increase in the number of owls. They can be heard calling at night as well as sitting on gate posts and our dry stone walls.

View of a baby owl sitting on the lane leading to Cornhills farmhouse.

PICTURE FOR AUGUST 2008
These picture were taken in the clipping shed. The sheep come into a collecting pen where either Chris or Richard catch the sheep and clip them. William is in the clipping shed he rolls the fleece and puts it into a wool sack hung from the beams.Holly lies on the wool sack watching the sheep.The Wool Sack in the House of Lords has its origins here.

clipping the sheep at Cornhills Farm.Chris clipping at Cornhills farm
Chris Richard clipping at Cornhills Farm.Holly sitting on the woolsack at Cornhills Farm.

PICTURE FOR SEPTEMBER 2008
These pictures were taken in August. Tilly, Rachel Thornton's Cocker spaniel came to stay for her holidays, she is lying in Dew's box with Maddie. Nell is the new addition to our family, she is a 10 week old flat coated border collie pup.Nell would like to be a house dog but she has to live in the kennels with the other working collies.Holly the 3 year old Labrador has a new playmate.

maddie and Tilly at Cornhills Farm.Nell at Cornhills farm
Richard holding Nell at Cornhills Farm.Holly and Nell playing at Cornhills Farm.

PICTURE FOR OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2008
These pictures were taken in September.We have bred 38 Texel tups, 20 went to Hexham mart on Wednesday September 24th. We had second and fourth prize in the show, the top priced tups were £1080, £1050, £950,£920. The 20 tups averaged £732 the best average at the mart that sale.The first picture shows the tups outside the farmhouse, dipped ready for the mart. The second picture shows James holding 504 the top priced tup we sold.
Texels at Cornhills Farm.Texel tup 504 at Cornhills farm

PICTURE FOR DECEMBER 2008
The pictures below show the new Teagle Tomahawk bedding machine.The machine is filled with a big straw bale, the shedder unwinds the bale and blows it into the sheds. The cattle love the straw going in this way,the first time we used it, the cattle were dancing around in the straw, or just standing under the shoot allowing the straw to fall all over them. The machine has two main advantages it is safer for both cattle and farmer as it is blown from outside the pen and it uses less straw.

Teagle Tomahawk bedding machine at Cornhills Farm.Teagle Tomahawk being loaded at Cornhills farm
Teagle Tomahawk bedding the cattle at Cornhills Farm.cattle unconcerned by the blown straw at Cornhills Farm.

PICTURE FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2009
The pictures below were taken this month. The weather has been cold with some bright blue skies. The trees at this time of year are stunning against the beautiful blue sky.

The back door at Cornhills Farm.The car park at Cornhills farm
Large tree outsde west bedroom at Cornhills Farm.The far side of the garden at Cornhills Farm.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JUNE 2009

The pictures are of the shoe tree on Ray Mill Bank( on eastern edge of farm ), taken from both up and down the bank. The first picture appeared on the web site in June 2007 but the shoes first appeared in 2003. This year has seen many more pairs of shoes arriving.Taken from June 2007 blog entry:-The idea comes from Nevarda in America, where shoe trees were first started. Putting your shoes in the tree is a good luck charm.

Shoe tree near Cornhills Farm.Shoe tree near Cornhills farm

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JULY and AUGUST 2009

The pictures are of Stella McCartney's crystal horse sculpture, Lucky Spot, a much-loved temporary exhibit in the 2004 Fashion at Belsay exhibition.In 2006 it was shown in the main Hall, but in 2009 it returns to its original site in the castle. It has remained one of English Heritage's most memorable and visually appealing exhibits at Belsay Hall Castle & Gardens.

Lucky spot at Belsay Castle

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER 2009

The pictures were taken by John and Johanna Urwin from Kent who walked St Oswald's way in August. They stayed with us on August 8th/9th and were two of the luckiest walkers this year, as they had brilliant weather hence the photographs.The first photo in taken from the top of Garleigh on the walk between Rothbury and Kirkwhelpington. The second photo was taken at Hallington on the final leg of the walk to Heaven's Field.

Garleigh on the way to Cornhills farmhouse
Hallington on the way from Cornhills farmhouse

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER 2009

The pictures were taken towards the back door of the farmhouse, the flowers have been brilliant this year, the wet weather might not make farming easy, but the flowers have flourished.

Flowers at the back door of Cornhills farmhouse

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2009

The picture shows British Blue heifers in the top end of the east field.These heifers have been down on the lowlands near the coast for the summer and have come home for the winter and will calve in the late spring.Over the last few years, we have changed our breed of cattle to more British Blues as they are more docile and are easier to handle.

British Blue heifers at Cornhills farmhouse

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY 2010

The picture shows the view from near Edlingham, taken by a farmer friend George Smith of Bolton. This view is one that can be seen between Alnwick and Rothbury.

Eglingham on walk to Cornhills farmhouse

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY 2010

The picture shows the first snow drops in the garden in the last week of January. The winter has been very hard with nearly a month of snow, the garden has had about 18 inches on it.The snow would only be gone 24 hours when the snow drops came through and were flowering within two days.

Snowdrops in the garden at Cornhills farmhouse



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