12th December 2024

A Week on the Estate: Friskney Bread, Vineyard Radio & Tetford Christmas

At the time of writing, we’re only nine days from the winter solstice and 13 days from Christmas. We’re busier than ever and making the most of a spell of calm, mostly dry weather to get set up for midwinter and the cold months to come. Storm Darragh made last weekend memorably wet and wild but the weekend to come will be a calmer affair with some sunshine, south-westerlies gusting to no more than 30mph and a temperature range of 11C-4C.

It’s good weather for fresh, warm, wholesome bread. Greenfield Bakers of Friskney tried out our very own wholemeal wheat flour and the results were delicious and long-lasting. The baker’s family were still enjoying it five days after the bake. Greenfield Bakers use stoneground local flour, slow-fermentation techniques and a wood-fired French clay oven to create a range of wonderful breads whose flavours change with the seasons.

If you’re in the area, why not support this fine local business and find out just how good their bread is. Pre-ordering is essential; click the link HERE to find out more. If you’re a home-baker and you’d like to bring our biodiverse fields right into your kitchen, you can buy our wholemeal flour for only £2 per kilo at the Walkers’ Hut in the Sheepdip Paddock parking area on Brinkhill Road, South Ormsby. This handy facility is open early till late, Wednesday to Sunday.

Wheat is far from the only South Ormsby produce making a name for itself. Word is spreading about our plans to produce our own exceptional English wine. Paul Barnes and Daria Pipczynska met up with Hits Radio (formerly Lincs FM) to talk about exciting developments in our vineyard, including the opportunity we’re giving our friends and fellow wine-lovers to sponsor a vine. You can hear them at 7am on Sunday 15th December or catch up HERE later.

We’ve also been featured in Lincolnshire World, Love Business and Connect East Midlands. It’s all very exciting and we can hardly wait for our vines to mature. If you’d like to get involved and sponsor a vine, either for yourself or as a gift, you can find out more HERE.

The holidays are drawing nigh and here’s a wonderful way to get Christmas started. Join us for Christmas Eve Carols at St Mary’s Church, Tetford (LN9 6QH) at 6pm on Tuesday 24th December. All are welcome and it’ll be lovely to see you. Sadly, St Leonard’s Church has sustained a bit of structural damage and can’t host us this year. St Mary’s Church will provide a warm welcome instead and we can’t wait to hear you all sing.

Speaking of Christmas, the Old School will host our extra-special Christmas click & collect sessions on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st December. You’ll get to enjoy a free mince pie, hot drink and festive music in our beautifully restored schoolhouse while we rustle up your Christmas goodies. Head to the Massingberd-Mundy Christmas Click & Collect page HERE to browse, order and read our FAQs.

Here’s an idea for a gift that will keep giving; grace your garden with living, scratching, pecking, egg-laying native-breed chickens! We’re selling trios of rare Lincolnshire Buff chickens HERE. £75 buys you two hens and one cockerel, a perfect starter kit for your new chicken run or a useful addition to an established flock. Numbers are limited so don’t shilly-shally. The Lincolnshire Buff is a variety of heavy, large fowl bred in large numbers in this county from the 1850s to the 1920s. Females weigh in at 3-4kg, and males at 4-5kg. Cockerels add a full copper-bronze tail to the breed’s natural buff colour.

Turning to the Buff’s wild cousins, you may recall that last week, we shared BirdWeather’s top ten for acoustic activations by wild birds across the Estate in November. As we move firmly into winter, we’re seeing a lot of variation in the most audible species from week to week. In the seven days to date, the tawny owl has moved up six places to fifth most recorded species with 396 detections. A winter migrant visitor here for our fruitful wild trees and shrubs is the redwing, up from 13th to sixth with 374 detections this week. Another new arrival from Scandinavia making a beeline for our hedgerow buffet is the fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), entering the chart at 15^th with 93 hits.

Read on for ChatGPT’s assessment of how well our efforts to boost biodiversity are going. We’ve edited out a few claims that seemed either over-optimistic or plain improbable, but the picture is looking bright and might just be even brighter than we think. Watch this space for more positive nature news.

“High Counts for Common Species:

Species like rook, jackdaw and woodpigeon dominate the list, with counts exceeding 20,000. This suggests these birds are well-adapted to the habitat and find abundant food and suitable roosting/nesting areas.

Rich Biodiversity:

The dataset includes a wide variety of bird species, from common farmland birds to rarer or more habitat-specific species. This indicates a diverse ecosystem.

Presence of Raptors and Owls:

Birds of prey such as buzzard, red kite and peregrine falcon are recorded, alongside tawny owls, barn owls and long-eared owls. This highlights a healthy trophic structure, with enough prey species to support these predators.

Migratory Birds:

Winter visitors like redwing, fieldfare and whooper swan are present, reflecting seasonal changes and the Estate’s role as a stopover or wintering ground for migratory species.

Abundant Farmland Birds:

High numbers of farmland and woodland-associated species, such as the wren, dunnock and robin, indicate that the Estate supports traditional countryside birds well. This is a positive sign for biodiversity conservation on a nature-friendly farm.

Declining Species Still Present:

Birds like the yellowhammer and grey partridge, which have declined significantly in the UK due to agricultural intensification, are present. Their counts are relatively low, suggesting their populations could benefit from targeted conservation efforts.

Woodland Birds:

The presence of goldcrest, firecrest and several woodpecker species highlights the importance of wooded areas on the estate for shelter, food and nesting.”

If you’d like to join the conversation, we’d love to hear from you. Just head to our Facebook page HERE and comment beneath the latest blog post. As ever, thanks for your support.

A Week on the Estate: Friskney Bread, Vineyard Radio & Tetford Christmas

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