Birds on wild bird mixes

We wanted to post these pictures because we were so excited at how successful the mixes were at feeding the birds in the bad weather when they were most in need. We are amateur photographers so you will have to bear with the quality .. it is definitely not Springwatch standard but we have recorded the moment. It was minus 2 degrees and just check out the number of birds - do bear with it for the first ten to fifteen seconds, we think they were finches, flying over the bird seed plots.

When we were standing very still they all came down to feed, but would then fly off in a cloud again as you can see in the video.

Rape nearly ready

Rape in flower

Our oil seed rape is in flower and very beautiful it looks too!

Wet Harvest

We have been able to harvest the oil seed rape, but we are still waiting for better weather to harvest the wheat. Fingers crossed we might see a change in the next week or so. More news soon.

Oil seed rape - harvest

As you can see from the photos the rape seed is now in the storage shed awaiting collection to be turned into animal feed, vegetable oil, or biodiesel. The large "stalks" you see left in the field will in a month or so's time be cultivated back into the field and provide all the nutrients for next year's crop that will be planted.

So the blog now shows the full story of oil seed rape from planting to harvest.

Oil Seed Rape - Harvested!

Well we have harvested all the oil seed rape - the combines were busy on Sunday and Monday and we have all the seed stored in the shed. Check out the photos!

Combine is coming!

Yesterday was a rather sad day with the news about foot and mouth, and a rather sad post on the blog. The news coverage brought back lots of memories! Today looks brighter, we have two combines coming this afternoon to start combining the rape - so we are making a start on the harvest. Everyone around us has been very busy in the summer sun preparing for harvest - if we have another good week then we will really get going. I will post some photos later.

Oil Seed Rape - harvesting soon

The oil seed rape is nearing the time to be harvested. I thought you might like one last picture or two! Even though it has been flattened in places by the rain - we are hoping to combine soon.

Oil Seed Rape

Well, this part of Herefordshire has seen some terrible storms this last week or so. The village school had to be closed for a day because the roads were impassable. The storms have also made our oil seed rape go flat, it looks like some UFO has bounced across the top of the fields laying it flat in clumps. Time will tell, how it will affect the yield, but when I look back over the picture diary in this blog it is sad to see it as it looks now.

Still when I see the news items about Worcester only fifteen miles away I think we got off lightly!

Oil Seed Rape

We posted pictures of the rape in flower in April, but now, in June, the seed pods are forming and the plant now looks very different! Amazing to see how it capturing solar energy and converts it to oil!

Oil Seed Rape

Picture 1: Winter Oil Seed Rape (Canola) - growing - January 2007

Picture 2 Winter Oil Seed Rape (Canola) - in flower April 2007

This last week the oil seed rape has come into flower. From the hill that we live on the vista is completely yellow! Farmers have planted rape, or canola as it is known in the US, so that we can supply the vegetable oil, animal feed or fledgling biodiesel market. It is incredible to watch how the plant captures the energy from the sun - first to grow and then to make oil. It was planted in the autumn and by January (Picture 1) the plants were well established; now in April (Picture 2) the plants are in flower and a metre tall. Now that you have seen it growing check out the vegetable oil on the food shelves - Does it contain rapeseed oil , which countries does the oil come from? Many labels also carry a picture of the plant. Watch out in August on this blog for pictures of the harvest -