Far Lands

We had a stand, near Tree Station and The National Trust. Farlands Smallholding - a greener, more sustainable way of life. For sale:- chicks (by arrangement) comb honey strawberries Sunset apple trees blackberries grafting courses (in March 2018 - spaces still available) At 3pm I gave a short talk  Intro to apples and at 3.45pm I did a demo on whip 'n' tongue grafting. The chickens were a big hit and I almost made it into double figures for my apple talk.

At the weekend we found an unidentified 'thing' in the chicken house. Skin and flesh and hairs, shape of half a finger, and looking like a piece of uncooked chicken. (Not the blue thing - that's a biro.) 'Qu'est ce que c'est?' we asked each other. We now think it's a teratoma which made an appearance a couple of years ago in The Guardian - see https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/27/teratoma-tumour-evil-twin-cancer The word teratoma comes from the Greek meaning 'monstrous tumour.' The tabloids as you can imagine ran monster headlines when The Guardian was more restrained. But they have a point: teratomas can include hair and teeth and bone. They are made of cells gone awry. Maybe not something for the BBQ.

I have been busy storing apples in our apple-store and I am now into the overflow zone. The overflow zone is a stack of cardboard boxes in a cupboard. The cupboard seemed quite damp and, as I pulled the boxes out, they were wet to the touch. The reason: 2 boxes from last year! So, if you've ever wondered what happens to an apple in a year, here's the answer:- Whiffiness-wise, not too bad. Certainly not like a burger left under the microwave, a teenage error that my mum still reminds me about.