The weather's been so beautiful this weekend we've been making the most of our outdoor time. Dakota and I went to pick more blackberries - I left the labrador at home this time. Dakota happily rides in the box on the back of the quad bike so we set off up the lanes to collect the harvest the American way - on a vehicle, with a travel mug of coffee while listening to my ipod.

I came home and found a gift from my DH (darling husband) waiting for me - a huge jam pot. I christened it by making hedgerow jelly. It went fine until I tried to spoon hot jelly into a jar while holding it. As expected, I poured the molten fruit over my hand. I threw the nearly full jar down, spraying everything with sticky jelly (Pip still has some on the side of her head) and ran to the sink to rinse it under the cold tap. When Mike came home he said "Should I take you to A&E [the emergency room]?" The irony of a man recovering from 80% burns bringing his wife who burned her thumb a little bit to the hospital made us both laugh. I declined, and put some ice on it. I still love my pan, but I'll use a little more common sense next time I use it.

Mike reminded me that some of these jellies and chutneys are supposed to accompany meat - such as our little lambs. I confess that having bottle fed them and making time everyday to give them a quick scratch behind the ear has made me reticent about making space for them in the freezer.

Sheep in a flock tend to be dullards with no distinguishable personalities, hence the term 'herd mentality'. But kept as individuals and closely allied with their human keepers, they seem to develop more, not intelligence per se but behaviors at least, which they use to influence us to do things they like feed them, scratch them, interact with them. It certainly demonstrates basic associative learning when they recognise trucks, people, dogs, and ascribe those things meaning: Mike arriving with food, a pat or rub, visual stimulation and new smells.

Harvesting wild animals is so much easier. You distance yourself though the scope and pull the trigger. You didn't know the animal, or directly care for the animal. And you're aiding the overall health of the herd or population by selective culling. If I bottle fed a fawn, I'm sure I wouldn't select that one later for the cull. I kill things to eat; I never like killing anything. I just accept that it's part of the trade-off of being a carnivore.

We had further bad news. Boris my old truck did not pass the MOT [inspection] and I have to let him go. He's been the best truck I've ever had and he's done me proud for quite a few years. It will be like saying goodbye to a dear friend. On the up side, he's going to live on a farm! Truly. Farmer Higgins down the road wants to buy him to do farm work. (He still runs he's just not road legal). Boris will enjoy his retirement there, so it's not so sad after all.

So today we took Tony, our new truck, for a ride through the Somerset countryside. We stopped at the cider makers and bought a half gallon of home brewed cider - delicious but lethal in large doses, at least to your motivation and ability to remain conscious. We may have a glass each later when all the chores are done. Speaking of which, I have some hungry horses to feed and a young pup due a training session before I put dinner on. And some more Portland sheep fleece to spin - I've been spinning a 100g sample of as many different sheep fleeces as I can find, in order to help me decide on a breed of sheep to keep as a small flock. Shetlands and Gotlands are at the top of the list so far - very soft and naturally colored.

I hope you've had an enjoyable weekend too, and your pantries are looking full!