Muck not Mud

April turned up yesterday or at least it's weather and ideal for the farmers who cut their grass on Tuesday. All the grass fields are now brown but should be nicely washed during all the promised showers of the coming days..

MrB mentioned on Monday evening as the swarms of tractors started up that luckily not many deer kids had yet been born so hopefully would also not be victims of the mowers. He did also say that a bigger problem was that the farmers then spread their slurry right up to the edge and in to the forest, depriving the deer of any grass.

When Farmer Franz turned up to spread some slurry on a few of our horse fields, he said of his own accord and with no knowledge of what MrB had said, that he had luckily not seen any deer but had sadly mowed a fox. It had very nearly got away but with the speed modern tractors work had just been caught on the outside edge but was instantly dead. He went on to say that he should have left a strip alongside the forest for the deer and mow it next time around in a month or so. Then told him what MrB had said and he not realising this, instantly said that it was good to know and as he hadn't yet slurried his fields alongside the forest, he would leave an untreated strip.

As always when Franz is here, 10 minutes work and 50 minutes chat, catching up on all the village news, as can be seen in the Blip. Luna of course over the moon on the doorstep muck delivery. Was in written and picture conversation with her previous owner, Oliver in Berlin, during the spreading action and he enjoys the chance to speak/read "everyday" English. I did have to explain the difference between "mud" and "muck" - Luna knows the difference only too well.

On a different note, Franz was using a new "side to side wagging" adapter on his slurry tank rather than the old "fountain" type. Apparently one of the new EU requirements for 2015 which include some other good environmental bits. Franz will be sowing maize soon and plans to sow one machine wide row of wild flower seeds on the edge. He also mentioned our fields may need some sulphur fertilizer. The reason: with all the environmental clean up over the last few decades, the fields are not being freely fertilized by car exhausts and industrial air pollution! However I want to lime the fields soon to try and "sweeten" the soil and make it unattractive for buttercups. Will have to ask MrB if he would do this for me with his powerful Eicher tractor. I have done it once with my John Deere but alone pulling the spreader-trailer with 2 tons of lime from Erkheim was a challenge. Have to wait until it gets a bit drier first given the muck now spread on the fields and the mud which would ensue if we drove on them.