Recently in weird world Category

One combine has been out early in Northamptonshire.

Ed Dyer and Kathryn Rogers, who live at Radmore Farm, Litchborough, recently got married and wanted a typical country-style wedding - but with a difference.

Seeing as they both drive the combine on the 500 acre farm, they thought it would be appropriate to use it on the big day.

Ed's dad helped adapt a man-cage to fit on the front in place of the header (painted New Holland yellow) and his mum, who's a florist, then helped decorate it and transform it into the perfect wedding vehicle.

"We both thoroughly enjoyed our ride back from the church in the village to the farm," says Kathryn. "It was certainly a head-turner - and not the sort of work the combine is used to!"

Probably to the relief of most of you, my sojourn on Field Day is almost at an end. Tim will be back next week, complete with an impressive sun tan and probably still decked out in his holiday Bermuda shorts and flip-flops.

I felt I couldn't let my last day go by though without a final foray into the world of cats. Or to be more precise, cats and wigs.

So far I've given you nightmares over the weird world of owners adding hair to their feline friends. But Mr Poultry report has come up with something so much better.

'Til next time, Cat Chat chums, enjoy:

PS - If you feel you can welcome another Farmers Weekly blog into your life, feel free to pop over to mine. I promise I don't talk about cats there. 

It seems the fairytale got it wrong and the three little pigs would've been safe after all. Scientists have proved straw houses won't necessarily blow over, no matter how many wolves try to huff and puff it down.

A two-story straw house built by the University of Bath wobbled just 4mm when it was subjected to 120mph winds.

And it's proved so sturdy that a straw housing estate is being planned.

While straw seems an unlikely thing to biuld a house out of, scientists reckon they are cheaper to heat than traditional homes, the building materials have a lower carbon footprint and they pass all the necessary fire tests.

One snag? It seems banks won't offer loans for straw houses because of the perception of the building material being weak. So if you want a house made famous by little pigs, start saving your pennies. Now where's my piggy bank...

A bra manufacturer in Japan has come up with an idea it reckons will appeal to the country's female farmers (and, I suppose, any male farmers with unusual dress sense).

Triumph has combined the trend for urban farming with Japan's dietary staple to create a 'grow-your-own rice bra'.

The bra's cups, which are filled with soil and rice seedlings, can be tied together to create plant pots to grow your portable crop.

According to Triumph, the bra comes with a hose which goes around the waist as a belt.

"By connecting it to a tap, the wearer can water the plant easily and quickly," it says.

"Furthermore, a test tube containing rice seeds and a bag of soil are attached to each side of the hose. By using the hose, the wearer can plant the rice anytime, anywhere by simply putting the soil in the pot and watering it with the hose.

Thankfully, the creation's a one-off for a publicity stunt, so there's no chance of being asked to trial one for any kind of bizarre Farmers Weekly feature. Having said that, I can almost imagine Tim in one of these....

Continuing the downward spiral in the quality of Field Day content in Tim's absence, I thought it only right and proper to continue the WoW (World of Whimsy) battle with Gob of the Wash.

He countered my effort yesterday with this little number over in his blog. I reckon we can do better than a dog dressed as a clown though, can't we dear readers?

Oh yes. Behold - it's a Friday Friesian:

I don't want you to get the wrong idea by talking too much about animal's reproductive habits. I mean, this isn't that sort of blog, after all.

But following on from yesterday's frisky kingfishers, I can't resist sharing this story about an underperforming bull which has been saved from the slaughterhouse thanks to herbal 'Viagra'.

Bet you've never seen a lamb like this before. It's a bit like a Belted Galloway. In reverse. If you see what I mean.

A farmer in America has sent his wife a uniquely agricultural Valentine's message by painting a huge heart in a field of snow - with manure.

Minnesota-based Bruce Andersland is reported to have spent a day hard at work to create the love message for his wife of 37 years, Beth.

She told the local press she thought it was cute - and that the heart would be darker, had it not been for a recent snowfall that mixed with the manure.

Sounds like something a farmer-character in a Garrison Keillor novel would do.

It's back. Lots of us woke up to snow again this morning. According to the BBC, much of the country has been hit. And residents of this village will presumably be hoping the cold weather doesn't prompt another invasion of wild pigs...

Will Mumford is a farmer with a romantic streak.

He's written his wife's name in huge letters across one of his fields in Cambridgeshire.

With the help of a GPS system, he marked out 'Emma' in 20m letters before sowing the field with wheat.

The name will be increasingly visible as the crop grows to anyone passing the land near Great Staughton, including those using a cycle-path near Grafham Water.

Wondering what 2010 has in store for you? Well here's my farming horoscope. Or should that be a horror-scope...

Aries 21 March - 20 April
A tall dark stranger will appear in the early summer (possibly the farm assurance inspector) and a man will come from the east bearing gifts (beware, he may well be a tractor rep from East Anglia). A new figure will become important. He is a special one. A chosen one with great powers. The bank manager. He will complain about your overdraft and speak in strange tongues. Show him your cashflows. Be calm and complimentary about his gleaming new Mercedes E-Class and don't mention bankers' bonuses.

Taurus 21 April - 21 May
The sheep will escape on the 6th May, which won't be that much of a surprise, seeing as they escape most days. Some sheep will also die on the 12 June (again, what's new?) Cut loose and be unencumbered by convention. Take your shirt off and wear shorts. Beware sunburn, though. And watch out for mice running up your legs in the harvest fields. Feed wheat will hit £150/t on 21 June, less than two days after you sold it all forward for £100/t.

Gemini 22 May - 21 June
Your split personality will be more evident that ever. Both of you may decide to open a farm shop. But you also lose concentration early so you'll both forget to staff it some days. Two tax returns will arrive accompanied by two demands for £10,000. Business will not be helped by the new lady vicar tripping on a loose tile and landing on an upturned courgette. Your border collie will bite the postman on a tender part of his anatomy in May, causing some conflict in his Uranus zone.

Cancer 22 June - 22 July
A strange alignment of the planets will cause the cat to be sick on the hall rug and you may see things in a new way (that'll be those new glasses). The wheels will come off a project - and a tractor. It'll rain hard each time you get the combine out in August. September will be a time of conflict, with the shepherd demanding a pay rise. A young person will come into your life in July. His enthusiasm will be great but his abilities small. He will break all around him. There will be a gnashing of teeth and a wailing in the morning. Yes, the harvest student has arrived.

Leo 23 July - 23 August
2010 will be a good year to tidy your life and conduct a 'life laundry'. You might as well make a start on the yard while you're at it, too. Whether it's relationships, your career or just getting on with some of that paperwork you've been putting off, it'll be a time to buckle down and complete jobs. You'll fall out with a relative over who gets to drive the combine and who has to spend nights in the drier. There'll be a gale on March 14, but you'll have bad wind for most of that month. A much longed-for envelope will arrive from the RPA. It will contain two 5-drachma pieces and a half-eaten pork pie.

A nativity scene constructed out of fruit and veg has sparked controversy on a Sussex farm.

The exhibit at Tulleys Farm has been criticised because the animals and people in the tableau are made of fruit and vegetables.

Mary and Joseph have onion heads, the three wise-men are apples and a turnip, the donkey is a potato, the sheep are cauliflowers and baby Jesus is a carrot.

I think the `vegetivity' is great - and anyone who's offended by it is probably the sort of person who spends their time looking for things to be offended about.

Here's some photos on the radio station Mercury FM's website, plus a clip of a discussion about it.

The NFU has a reputation for being a serious organisation that champions British farming and provides professional representation for its members.

But it is good to see that staff don't take themselves too seriously - as this Christmas themed song illustrates.

It is NFU staff members singing their own version of The 12 days of Christmas' but with the words changed so it becomes "The 12 foods of Christmas'.

You can listen to the song in full on the UK Turkey website (sadly it is too large to upload here) or if you just want a taste of the lyrics here is what happens on the Fifth Day of Christmas:

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my farmer gave to me
Five Mince Pies,
Four Roasted Spuds,
Three Christmas Puddings,
Two Mulled Wines,
And A big fat juicy turkey!

Am I just feeling festive (and therefore charitable), or is this so bad, it is good?

I don't want you to get the wrong idea here. I don't regularly read The Daily Mail. Honestly. But it does have some funny stories occasionally - like this one about the cows wandering onto a housing estate.