Before we dive into the news from the farm here is a quick update on our share offer.

Firstly we’d like to say a massive thank you! A large proportion of investment for this share offer so far has come from you, our share holders. Although the going has been a little slow, as you might expect in these challenging times, the offer is making progress, and we welcome all our valued new members.

We are excited to let you know that we will be out and about at local markets and shows in the new year to share as widely as we can what we are all working towards here. We’ll let you know where we will be, and maybe we’ll see you there!

Next year will also see our lambing and farming days restarting, and we are so looking forward to welcoming you and your families to be part of the farm.

We’ve had such fantastic support from our members so far, and to really achieve our goal, if each member enabled their investment to be doubled, we would be entirely community owned in no time!  So, a bit of a plea, and also a reminder that the shares do make the best and most meaningful of gift this Christmas! If you would like to purchase shares for your family, or know of anyone who would be interested in finding out more about Stockwood then please forward on this email so they can get involved too.

Now over to the farm team for the news.

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We have been treated to some of the most amazing moonsets in the last two weeks – out and about before 7am and looking to the west was a good way to start the day! The wet ground, in combination with the cold nights have given us some stunning misty dawns and dusks’ too. 

While it has been so grey and rainy – so eeyoreish – the lights have been needed in the house just to see to do things – the joys of the old building – cool in summer and dark and chilly in winter!  Such a change to only a couple of days ago, when there were clear blue skies, a thick frost and freezing daytime temperatures.  

It didn’t last long, and the snow didn’t materialise here, to the relief of some and disappointment of others in the family. We had the rain instead… and were quite glad that the amount falling was rain and not snow! A trip to Worcester after the rainy weekend was extraordinary; the flooding, at that point, was all localised, and wide spread. Worcester and the Severn were still calm. We suspect that might change in the next few days! For us here, Field 7 went under water, and then emerged again, and we are left with a new addition to the brook: 

Since we last wrote, the Supper Club and has been, eaten wonderfully, and given Brendan and Alice plans for the next one! We’ve had the excitement of pushing the Landrover to get it into position to be towed by Brendan’s older Landrover – a funny pairing heading off down to the local garage, and then foraging for mushrooms was fruitful! After Brendan attended a foraging course, the photos share what he found, cooked and enjoyed! 

For the cattle, the winter routine for feeding and bedding is now in place, and as tedious as the feeding routine might be, it is a time of the year which brings its own joy. The cows are in the main barn, the suckler herd in one side and the young stock in the other. The new extension is filled with straw, but there are a couple of pens, some for calves and a pen of sheep. Walking up to the barns to say hello is always worth the effort.   A big success this week was when Chris got DEFRA to license us to bring a new Bull onto the farm, whilst in the midst of the wait for the next TB round of testing. This means that the Bull shopping begins! We will keep you posted on our success in this endeavour. This has also meant that there is another new addition to the farm – a small flock of Shetland sheep have joined the family! Alice and Brendan’s ‘babies’, they are little, their wool is very soft, and they look set to fit in perfectly.

A meeting with consultants to help us with DEFRA grants was extremely productive and helpful, even if they made us feel old with their youthfulness! Clearly across their subject, they were the specialist they told us they were, which was a relief. A high point was when one told us “…we had a little bit of flooding – up to my waist…” a lesson in deadpan!  

The Business Park has been peaceful, and all seem keen to join us to Sing to the Cows on the 22^nd. Usually a Christmas Eve treat, we wanted to choose a date where more would be here and available to join us.  

With regards the farmland, we are accessing a Carbon Tool Kit which will allow us to measure the carbon output from the farm. Once the tests are completed, we will let you know more.  

The Setting of the Moon, but Count Giacomo Leopardi has the perfect first verse… the remaining verses are a little close to the bone as the cold this last week made our joints ache, so for now, we will not look so closely to those!

As, in the lonely night,
Above the silvered fields and streams
Where zephyr gently blows,
And myriad objects vague,
Illusions, that deceive,
Their distant shadows weave
Amid the silent rills,
The trees, the hedges, villages, and hills;
Arrived at heaven’s boundary,
Behind the Apennine or Alp,
Or into the deep bosom of the sea,
The moon descends, the world grows dim;
The shadows disappear, darkness profound
Falls on each hill and vale around,
And night is desolate,
And singing, with his plaintive lay,
The parting gleam of friendly light
The traveller greets, whose radiance bright,
Till now, hath guided him upon his way.