We received over 150 primary and secondary school children in three

visits to the farm and dairy in December, visits organized and run in

Basque in all three cases. The first visit was by children from the local

primary school in Karrantza and, once again, after the visit they drew

pictures in school about what they had seen and learnt.

and on the 21^st 73 primary school children from the Balmaseda Ikastolsa

(an independent parent run type of school originally set up when Basque

was not taught in state schools).

We went to the Farmers’ Market in Bilbao every Saturday and coinci-

ding with the first Saturday of the month we also participated in an

event nearby in which the general public was invited to try the

different products on sale in the market. In our case we organized a

small cheese tasting event. On the 21st we went to the big yearly

Santo Tomas fair in Bilbao.

Two bull calves and a she calf were born in December. The one in the

photo was born on the 14th and by the time we had taken it to the

big barn it was standing up!

Flower of the month.  Viola odorata Violet. 

This flower has quite a few different common names in English, as it

does in other European languages, for example it has over 20 different

common names in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Although it is

one of the earliest flowers to show itself in spring, it is clearly not

frequently spotted in December and the unusual weather conditions

might explain why we have seen it already under one of two hedges

around the farm. The species is native to Europe and Asia and was

extensively used in traditional medicine for breathing and digestive

problems, to reduce swellings, fevers and bruising.

Recipe of the month: Potted cheese

Makes about 400g of potted cheese.

2 eggs

200g mature cheese, grated

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons mustard (optional)

4 tablespoons single cream

Pinch of cayenne and salt

Beat eggs thoroughly. Mix the cheese, butter, mustard, cream,

cayenne and salt. Put the mixture in a saucepan and heat to

simmering point slowly. Add the beaten eggs stirring continually

and cook very gently until the mixture thickens. Turn into a chilled

container or small pots and cool quickly. Cover.

The potted cheese will keep in the fridge for two to three weeks.

Can be served as a sandwich spread, as an after dinner savoury

or as canapés.

The start of the month was cold and rainy, with hail and snow on

the hills and occasional frosts. The middle of the month saw a few

sunnier, drier days, but also days with strong north winds and others

characterized by mists. Towards the end of the month the rain and

hail returned with persistent high winds. Over the month we collected

over 377 litres of rain in the rain gauge making December one of the

wettest months we remember (although not the wettest, in March

2016 for example we collected over 400 in the rain gauge).

We try and maintain a balance between the needs of the farm animals

and the need of wildlife on the farm, although this sometimes implies

damage…. the photo shows the damage done by one or more wild boar

as they rootle and dig for insects and worms. Basically they remove the

upper layer of vegetation and this means disturbed grassland and loss

of pasturage in our fields. Fortunately this is not a frequent occurrence

on our farm.In rainy weather it also exposes the underlying soil to

erosion.

The  9 minute video explaining the changes we have

undertaken on the farm during the last 20 years. The video has been

made in the context of the EU Eurodairy Project that aims to facilitate

links between dairy farmers involved in any sort of innovative action or

project and thus to encourage exchange of ideas, information and

experience.

Visual contact with the cows during milking provides an excellent

and regular chance to check their health, for example to check

their hooves for any signs of cuts or to see if the hooves need

trimming. So, periodically, we call in the vet to trim and, if necessary,

treat hooves.

Given the very wet weather the cows rarely grazed in December. We

fed them grass silage and hay, dried alfalfa and peas and a small

amount of feedstuff.

We have once again provided the Bizkaia Food Bank with dairy produce

in their Xmas drive for food for the needy. (Our apologies for the poor

quality of this photo).