Bog Myrtle & Peat

As part of a mad dash, the game cover was broadcast and rolled this afternoon with a fantastic debut appearance from “Ugly Betty”, the newly named David Brown tractor. I can now relax as the smirry rain clouds begin to gather, safe in the knowledge that there is nothing more I can do. It is difficult to describe just how much fun I had rolling the field, and while I was considering buying a seeder, I found that I already have one in the form of my girlfriend with a sack of seed dangling her legs over the arms and tossing handfuls of promising game mixture into the space between the rear wheels and the roller. The roller itself is now enjoying a well earned rest after being asked to work from a standing start after at least fifteen years of idling in the same spot behind the hayshed. There was some rusty creaking and some deafening bangs on the short stretch of tarmac out to the field, but the ancient implement came through on the rails, just by the skin of its teeth. I’ve left it lying perpendicular to the wind so that if all else fails, the partridges can get inside it during the wet weather.

And the mystery ingredients for this year’s game cover?

33% stubble turnips and 66% white millet.

I’ve never dealt with millet before, but I’m told it is very good for finches and wild songbirds. It’s academic really, because when the crunch came and I needed to get seed into the ground, millet wasmore or less the only thing I had. It’s now in the lap of the gods.