January 2003
By the time you read this the mid-winter festivities will have come and gone but, at the time of writing, my domestic environ is filled with small Coakers in a state of riotous excitement.

The electric keyboard that Santa squeezed down the chimney for our eldest is currently competing with the Australian Aboriginal CD (either you didgeridoo - or you didgeridon't!) that Santa bought to my good lady. An interesting combination.

What was Santa thinking?

As much as I am enjoying watching my children grow, and trying to be a dutiful dad, I have a secret desire to sneak straight into the New Year, via some cunning sci-fi gadget.

In the mean time those of us who work with animals out in the elements are only too aware that midwinter has passed. Days now lengthen and the animals are getting slowly through the winter.

Metabolically it's crunch time
Unfortunately the term mid-winter is a misnomer to a hill farmer. The vegetation left over from last summer now has less and less nutrient value whilst the ewes and cows that are carrying young are getting nearer to their spring parturition dates and are needing to eat for two or three.

It doesn't take rocket science to see that the latter end of the winter is, metabolically, crunch time.

Obviously, in this day and age, many animals spend a significant part of the year indoors eating from a trough.

There are, however, a great number of animals - especially hill ewes - that live 'au natural'. (And barring heavy falls of snow are very much healthier and happier for it!!)

So cross your fingers for a kind start to 2003.

Have your cake and eat it
I was chewing on a sandwich at lunch recently when I decided "this bread tastes odd". I went on gnawing, wondering why it should be so.

Cake or sandwich?

It wasn't just the crunchy bits sprinkled on top or the surprise filling of the day. I had to look at the bread-bag to find that the ingredients included honey and sugar! In a loaf of bread!

Surely it becomes a cake in this instance?

I've noticed another trick (having then been through all the packets in the larder looking at the ingredients); if a food processor wants to hide the amount of sugar in a product, they simply divide it into different types to make the percentage of each smaller and come further down the list.

I am becoming a revolting consumer!

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