Irish Sweetcorn!!!

One of the most tasty and delicious things you could eat is fresh sweetcorn. In my humble opinion! Not many people in Ireland grow it, but farmer David Burns from Co. Longford supplies our Shop directly with his fantastic sweetcorn.

Many people would think that sweetcorn doesn’t grow in Ireland but in fact there are varieties that do thrive very well in the Irish climate. Sweetcorn is best eaten fresh, as in… pick it…. and eat it! David delivers his sweetcorn, picked fresh, to Waterfall Farm Shop every weekend. And the taste is just divine!! The Sunday Business Post readers among you would have noticed the mention he (and Waterfall Farm Shop) received in last weekends paper. He supplies top-end restaurants like Chapter One, in Dublin and he won an Euro-Toques Award for his endeavors earlier this year. Sweetcorn only has a really short harvesting season, about 6-8 weeks in September/October so if you fancy fresh, delicious Irish sweetcorn get your skates on! It’ll hardly be here and it’ll be gone!!

And the Winner Is….

Well our ‘Guess When’ competition didn’t last long, but the ‘Name Them Twins’ draw took place on September the 30th and apologies for being tardy with the results but the Winners are….

David Hunter with Romeo & Juilet for Smudge’s boy and girl baby goats (pic on the right)

and..

 

Leanne Foley with Podge & Rodge for Blackie’s set of twin boy goats.

(pic on the left)

You can visit the newly christened little rascals at the Shop any weekend from 10am to 5pm!

 

Swop & Drop

Just a little mention to let y’all know that in the Shop now we have a “Swop & Drop” shelf! Let me explain. It is a shelf with pre-loved books on it, novels mainly, to suit all ages. If you like a book you may take it but you must leave a book in it’s place. All books must be in good condition, with all their pages and cover intact and not scribbled all over! Very straight forward and there for you reading pleasure.

They’ve Arrived!!

Well we didn’t have to wait long for Smudge to deliver the goods. Her friend Blackie had her twin kids, 2 boys, on Monday  morning the 17th of September, and Smudge followed suit and had her twin kids, a girl & a boy, on Tuesday the 18th of September also in the morning! Our ‘Guess When‘ competition didn’t last very long, however, in its stead we will now run a ‘Name Them Twins’ draw! There are two ways to take part. You can drop into to the Shop, fill out the ‘Name Them Twins’ form and hand it in. Alternatively you can leave a comment in the comments box on this post, (it’s the little speech bubble on the top right!) saying which Nanny goat’s kids your naming. The draw will take place on Sunday September 30th at 5pm and entry is free. The winner will be the first two entries to be drawn out of the hat. (You will name two kids on each entry form). So come on up and visit our four bran-spanking new baby goat kids!! Below is a pic of Smudge’s babies!

 

Farm News And Mist’s Progress

This week Michael had some fun moving a batch of bold hoggets. They had to go up the road to another field and go past a field of ewes in the process. So, the first time up past the ewes an enterprising bunch of them decided to burst a hole through the hedge. Now all the hoggets and the ewes are in together, nicely mixed up, and Michael had to bring the whole lot in. Then he fenced the part of the hedge where they burst through, sorted out the sheep into their respective batches. Put the ewes back where they belong and run the hoggets to where they were going for the second time. But oh no, the hoggets had different ideas. This time two of them jumped over the new fence into the field of ewes! AH!! Michael had to bring in all the ewes again and sort through them, again, to pick out the two bold hoggets! Now, third time lucky, Michael puts the ewes back to their field and this time the hoggets are too tired to do anything but plod out to the rest of their friends in their new field.

As you can see Mist is back to full health, her paws are healed and Nell is delighted that her work load is halved again! In the picture below Mist is the dog taking on the sheep and Nell is ‘watching her back’!!

 

In other news, Michael will be taking some sheep to the Lleyn sale in Roscommon tomorrow, Saturday 15th of September. I will report back on his endeavors next week.

Enniskerry Victorian Festival

Just a quick word on the Enniskerry Victorian Festival. It is taking place this Sunday the 16th of September, on Knocklinn Farm, Ballyman Road, Enniskerry, and I am gutted that I won’t be there! Having seen first hand the preparation that went in to organising it I know it is going to be an absolutely super day. There are children’s games, a dog show (with wonderful prizes), a tug of war, steam engines, vintages cars, food and craft stalls and loads more. It is set to be a fun family day out and the weather is forecast to be nice which is an added bonus! For more information visit their Facebook page.

Red Squirells

Red Squirrel’s (Iora Rua or Sciurus Vulgaris) are said to be in decline in Ireland that is why I delight when I see one. I haven’t seen any around the farm but I have seen plenty around my mother’s house. They are gorgeous!! She has plenty of hazelnuts, pine cones, mushrooms and berries around the place which they love to feed on. Often you will see then scampering up the dry stone walls, on to a tree and racing along its branches. Nimbly bouncing from one to the other until they are out of sight. It is just wonderful to watch these beautiful little creatures and I hope that they will start to thrive again. I just managed to get this, not very good, photo of the little guy with my phone before he vamoosed! He’s right beside the tree.

Guess When Competition!

Nanny Goat Smudge is Expecting!

One of our nanny goat’s, Smudge, is expecting some goat kids or goat kid. We want you to guess when she is due and how many kids she will have! The person who guesses correctly will have the honour of naming the babies and will win a hamper of Shop goodies! To enter the competition you must fill out the form (available in the Shop) and pop it into the competition box. It is 20c an entry or three for 50c and you can have as many goes as you like. If there is more than one correct entry, all the correct entries will be put in a hat and one randomly selected. Closing date is September 30th 2012 (or earlier if she kids earlier). Smudge had a set of triplets the last time (pictured below), which were named Billy the Kid, Cookie & Bubbles at our Easter Market.

What’s In The Shop This Week!

Janet’s Country Fayre Basil Pesto is back in the Shop by popular demand. This delicious, freshly made pesto is a fantastic addition to salads, pastas, pizzas and more. One of my favourite ways to eat it is to drizzle it over freshly toasted bread, chopped tomatoes and some red onion and cracked pepper. Mmmm, delish! It’s also a great addition when making yeast bread. Janet will be at the Rude Health expo in the RDS this Saturday and Sunday, if your going be sure to visit her stand. Speaking of things that are back… Ed Hick’s (Artisan Pork Butcher) gourmet rashers and sausages are back in the Shop, but you better be fast they fly out!

Have you tried the Boilie cheese pearls we sell in the Shop? We also stock Adora Flax oil, which is great for your health, improving joint mobility, major organ function and lots of other benefits. The reason I mention these two products in the same breath is because Adora Flax Oil is said to be highly digestible when eaten with a high protein, low fat soft cheese like the Boilie cheese! Now with the weather getting that bit chillier and winter on its way people (including me) are starting to feel those joints, creaking, and eating the Boilie cheese and the Adora Flax oil together has become a regular event for me and I can highly recommend it! Of course we do stock a whole range of traditional Farmhouse cheeses such as Milleens, Durras, Cooleeney and the local Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese range, all of which are delicious with or without flax oil.

News From The Farm

You will be pleased to hear that Mist, the sheep dog, is healing well. Michael has been putting Camrosa ointment on her paws and of course she was keeping them clean herself. I’m glad she’s healing well as she is a lovely dog. And a good worker.  One benefit of Mist being out of work is that her daughter, Nell, had to work on her own. No help from Mammy! Which was no bad thing as it highlighted the area’s where she is weak (obviously Mist was helping her out!) and now Michael can focus on her and fine tune her training. She is only two years old and now is the ideal time to brush up on and hone her herding skills.

Lamb Orders!

Michael will be taking a batch of lambs to the abattoir next week so get your order in quick or you’ll miss out. You can contact either Hannah or Michael to place and order for whole or half Lleyn lamb.

I’ve been keeping the hard word to Michael and he has been foot-bathing and worm dosing the lambs, worming the ewes, topping fields, fixing neighbours quads, selling sheep, buying rams and helping the neighbours draw in their straw. And that was just this morning!! Haha! With the weather being so gorgeous this week we have all been flat out (like lizards drinking) from dawn to dusk trying to get things ship-shape and working hard on our farmer tans! Long may it continue.