I start my blog with a nod to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11. Myself, my family and the Croots team were extremely saddened to hear the news. As we all reflect on such a remarkable life and mourn our Queen, I wanted to pay tribute to a most inspiring, dedicated ,strong and and wise woman, an animal lover who adored her dogs and horses, was unwavering in her devotion to her duties, has been exemplarily throughout her reign and will be sadly missed by all in the UK. My thoughts and prayers are with the Royal Family at this most difficult of times.
Autumn is now upon us and as you can imagine it’s all systems go here at the farm.
The Rams (not Derby County) have taken the biggest focus as we bring them in for their Vet inspection ahead of meeting the ewes in November, all was great and no problems to report. We are also looking to buy around 20 new breeding ewes for the future as we look to increase our home reared flock again slowly. This weekend also marks the last show of the season for us, so the horses will be gaining a well earned rest, apart from Isabella who will make her debut at the Horse of the Year Show in early October. The pumpkins are also growing really well – tendered for by Jim Morrison in his vegetable patch, so look out for those next month.
We are excited to once again be a part of the Duffield Scarecrow Trail, where we have a surprise entry to add to the other 79 registrants taking place. We love being part of the local community and this seems so much fun we didn’t want to miss out. The event has been moved to the 21st – 25th September, so make sure you don’t miss out. On Sat 24th September, we will also be welcoming Bunty the Flower Truck back again with some gorgeous Autumn blooms.
We’ve been thrilled with how quickly our new Butchery Manager, Chris Banton has settled in and already making friends with the regulars amongst you. If you haven’t had chance yet, come and say hello. As well as looking to bring in new products for Autumn/Winter, Chris is busy working on the Christmas meat order form, which should be out around the second week of October.
The focus for the next few weeks for us is on Christmas, it takes some serious organising and so we start early. We’ll let you know a little more in the coming weeks, but you’ll be delighted to know that many of the old favourites are coming back..Afternoon Tea with Santa, the Swinging Forest and our Taste of Christmas event on Thursday 17th November. We are also working on a wreath making evening and a cheese and wine pairing evening, so look out for more details on our website very soon!
With best wishes
Kay xxx