Off to get the straw at last. Our local farmer has collected a small load from Aylesbury of all places. His usual supplier hasn’t got any this year due to the poor Summer weather. Naturally the cost reflected the supply/demand model, but we have some for Christmas, and need more!

We wanted 20+ but Andrew and I have damaged shoulders, so we went for a low-loader approach which I wasn’t happy about. The rear overhang obscured the lights to a degree – visible but in danger of rear-end droop if the bales gave way to gravity.

Still, off-loading was easier! We ended up with 25 bales, and of course the dogs enjoyed helping.