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.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST 2006.

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

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.

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.

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.


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.

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.


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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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