Luckily three Friesian heifer calves were born in June, guaran-

teeing a new influx of dairy cows in about 21 months. Another

two "mixed" heifer calves were born and will be sold on.

Flower of the month: Trailing St. John´s Wort (Hypericum

humifusum)

Trailing St. John´s Wort flowers only open in full sunshine so can

be easily missed. The plant prefers more acid soils and on the farm

we see it mainly on dry soils near walls. The genus name Hyperi-

cum comes from the Greek “hyper” meaning “above” and “eikon”

meaning picture, reflecting the fact that these plants were hung

above pictures in the belief they would ward off evil spirits. The

common name St. John’s Wort has its origin in the fact that most

flower around Midsummer’s Day (June 21^st) and have a long history

associated with the various festivals and processions that took

place (and sometimes still take place) in different European coun-

tries around this time of year. The Feast of St. John the Baptist

takes places at about the same time (June 24^th) and the Christian

name superseded the other names given to the plant when used

in former pagan mid-summer rites. Trailing St. John´s Wort has no

particular forage value.

Recipe of the month: Roast carrots with harissa paste.

Harissa is a piquant North African paste but the ingredients may

be adjusted, for example, less or no chili or cayenne for those who

do not tolerate piquant sauces.

For the carrots:

500 g baby carrots with stems still attached, scrubbed

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the harissa paste

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground caraway

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, grated

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 cups natural yogurt

2 tablespoons crumbled feta or similar cheese (Vista Alegre fine

cheese, for example)

1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds: optional

For the roasted carrots:

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Put the carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with the honey

and olive oil. Sprinkle with the coriander, salt and pepper. Roast

until fork-tender, 15 minutes.

For the harissa paste:

1. Mix the chili, paprika, caraway, cayenne, coriander and cumin

together in a small bowl. Add the olive oil, tomato paste, honey,

salt, garlic and lemon juice. Mix well until it forms a paste.

2. Put the yogurt in a medium bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the ha-

rissa paste and swirl it into the yogurt. Do not mix it in all the

way; keep the harissa swirled in the yogurt. (Any leftover harissa

paste can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.)

To eat!

Dollop about 1/2 cup of the harissa yogurt onto the center of a

plate. Arrange the carrots over and around the yogurt. Sprinkle

with the feta and pomegranate seeds. Serve with extra harissa yogurt.

We had a thundery start to the month although not necessarily accom-

panied by rain, in fact it only rained from the middle of the month. We

thus collected 112 litres in the rain gauge, but mainly between the 16^th

and 23^rd.  Maximum temperatures reached 28,5ºC whilst some mornings

the thermometer barely reached 11ºC.A double rainbow appeared during

one of the storms.

The cows’ menu was similar to that of May: recently mown fresh grass,

hay and a little feedstuff. They were also able to graze.  The heifers

continued to graze the steeper slopes.

We are already harvesting spinach, Swiss chard, leeks, lettuce

and onions. The runner beans are just beginning to climb their poles.

We are always pleased to see some members of the wildlife that share

the farm with us, whilst others scare or annoy us. However, all are

important to maintain the correct environmental balance that itself

makes the farm viable.

It is always good to see ladybirds, in this case the seven-spot ladybird,

(Coccinella septempunctata) as most years we get some sort of aphids

(Aphis spp) in the allotment, mainly black, grey or green and ladybirds

are their natural predator.

This viperine snake (Natrix maura) made its appearance on one

of the hotter days. Although usually in damp wet places it will go

onto dry land and we have even observed them in holes in walls

on the farm. Snakes in general help control insect and rodent,

even other reptile populations and although it is convenient to

be wary of all snake species, some, such as the viperine snake,

are not poisonous and, in fact, rarely bite.

The clouded yellow butterfly (Colias croceus) is not one of the butter-

flies that has led us to have brassica cages for our cabbages, broccoli

and Brussel sprouts. It feeds on clover (Trifolium sp), alfalfa (Medicago

sativa), birds-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and other legumes and

can be a problem if it appears in large numbers, something we have

never experienced here on the farm.

It is, or course, a source of food for other wildlife, such as this

European green lizard (Lacerta viridis), one or two of which we

have seen in the allotment and in other places around the farm.

We made more silage in June and managed to make a load of hay

in the drier first part of the month. We continued to top fields and

a small orchard with the tractor and strimmers.

For the ninth year running, the big Cruces  Hospital in Barakaldo

(near Bilbao) included Vista Alegre Baserria mature cheese and

natural yoghurts in the special organic menu organized for patients

on June 5^th, International Environment Day.

On June 3rd the Vista Alegre Baserria work team undertook a two hour

training course on communication, the aim being to polish communica-

tion abilities within the team and between the team and the general

public with whom we interact in visits, markets, fairs, on the phone

and when delivering our goods.