Open Farm Sunday went down pretty smoothly, or was that the Kingston Black Apple Aperitif (a blend of Cider Apple Brandy to the uneducated amongst you) made up as pimms. This is produced by Burrow Hill Cider, one of the best cider producers in the country and a handy cycle from home for me, you can buy it online, or you can buy it in Waitrose. To make up pimms style take one bottle of the Kingston Black Apple Aperitif 1.5 litres of good lemonade a cupfull of good apple juice some strawberries, mint and ice.

Anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy the Farm Trail around our crops with (hopefully) informative pages on each crop and our other tastings also went well, even if the biggest hit was the Cider Brandy Pimms style (which we have no license to sell). It made this Sunday as productive as a Saturday bringing in about 300 visitors and with luck maybe some will come again as well.

I attempted some street art in Ilminster as an attempt at some underground advertising.
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Yes well, Banksy it is not, I blame a 6 am start, the dodgy pavements of Ilminster and poor quality floor chalks. I think I am back to the black board with that one...

And just for Phil here is a picture of a bumble bee enjoying our flowering raspberries and my Mason Bee Box, made from waste wood and bamboo canes I found lying around the farm. Red and blue mason bees are solitary and work laying eggs in holes in trees or masonry, which become next years bees. They non-aggressive as they don't have a hive to protect and are apparently 120 times more productive pollinators than honey bees.

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Incidentally don't try this at home kids, that is not because it is dangerous, but unless you have a band saw or a circular saw (actually that probably would be dangerous) cutting up bamboo canes will drive you mad. They are quite springy and I found the only way was to put them in a vice and move it on each time before sawing another section.

I was also going to build some bumble bee boxes, but did not have time for them and I think it may be too late in the season now. The good news is there are loads of bees out in our fields at the moment bumbles, honeys and masons so it looks like they are doing fine without me.