I love the riches of September – fruit everywhere, made bittersweet by the certain knowledge that it will all disappear into the hungry mouth of the cold months.  Daylength beats the time, and by the end of September the sun will be set longer than it’s up.  The cool summer means we value the golden sun of September the more.  Like last year, the fruit is short of sun and isn’t so sweet, won’t hang on the trees and hedges so long.  It’s a good opportunity to be out picking blackberries, apples, pears, hips, haws, elderberries and sloes – can’t wait, got to get it while it’s there.  I love the ancient warm satisfaction of harvesting for the house, memories of the sun in the dark days to come.

There’s sun enough, yet.  On a balmy evening, golden light zigzagging through the trees, my son and I saw 3 hares as we went along the track.  Their pop eyes and daft ears make them look like a rabbit from a dream world, unlikely, striking and unforgettable.

CROPS  -   I hope we will have finished harvest by the start of September, but with the catchy weather, there may be sad fields looking battered and tattered, waiting for the combine harvester’s smart haircut.  The soil, wet through the profile, means we may do more damage to the structure than we’d like in harvesting, so we’ll need to work at restoring the structure by loosening, letting air and water move through it.  I’ve seen a direct cultivator that looks as if it might work on our soils, moving the soil to a deeper level than most machines so we’ll try.  We plough, cultivate and drill in two passes now, and it works so well, we hesitate to give up the chance to create a soil structure that holds the soil and rain well on our slopes. 

We sow for next year – wheat and crops for wildlife.  Oilseed rape has been so demanding in the last 2 summers, we’ll give it a break – good news for people who sneeze at the pollen, not so good if you think we should be growing our own oil and protein. 

COWS  -  Grass has grown well for cows, the third year where we’ve had no shortage of grass all summer long.  We’ve had wonderful clover growing, good to fix nitrogen from the air, and make a high protein feed for cows, all saving fossil fuels.  The spring cows are looking sleek and content, good numbers in calf.  The autumn calved cows have mainly calved, we are rearing the calves in some old pig pens – they can run in and out from shelter to sun as they wish, which suits them well.  The milk is of a lovely balance, the grass still enough goodness and not too wet.

We’ve sorted the teenage heifers born 18 months ago into pregnant and not pregnant.  They were undergrown, and have caught up a little, and more than we feared are in calf.  They still need to grow on.  We brought them on to the cow grazing to help keep the rain-fed grass growth under control, crossing the main road, high visibility jackets, a queue of cars and heifers racing round and round their new field, exploring in a great gaggle.  One jumped out of the field they came from and had a worrying (for us) expedition in the woods until she found her way into the calves’ field.

CHEESE  -   back to work after our closedown.  Everything clean and shiny, although of course you notice the things that we didn’t do, and start the list for next year.  Our wonderful Val Bines, trainer of so many cheesemakers, has now retired, so we are looking to see where we’ll get our expert advice from – Val has directed us to some interesting people in Ireland and Vermont who understand the art and the science of cheesemaking.  Val has given us so much, our prizewinning goats cheese, great consistency and depth of flavour, and understanding of cheesemaking.  She says she’s done her job if we don’t miss her, but I think we will.

RECIPE  -  Jan Bennelick’s Swedish hotpot, made from ingredients you tend to have around the kitchen.  Slice boiled potatoes, sauté sliced onion in olive oil till golden, slice hard boiled eggs, chop some lean bacon in the pan after the onions are done, put everything in a buttered baking dish.  Top with a cheese sauce:  fry flour in some butter, stir milk in with a whisk, thicken and add grated Quickes Traditonal Mature  Cheddar to taste.  Stir till the cheese is melted.  Toast the top in the oven, and eat then or prepare in advance and heat through.  Makes a satisfying dish for family supper or for friends on a brisk autumn day.

MARY QUICKE