Full of the Joys of Spring

Lambing here on the farm has been a delight this year.  With 3 sets of healthy twins and a singleton our nursery field is buzzing with spring happiness. Every new guest to the farm lets out an "ah" when they see their playful frolics and can't wait for a cuddle.

I was beginning to think we could be in for a clear run this year with no orphans or disinterested Ewes; however that dream was shattered this weekend. Saturday is our busiest day, the only day when we don't do an animal feed run with the guests, instead two of my boys Theo and Jed are in charge of feeding the animals while the rest of us are all hands on deck for our holiday changeover day. All was calm, the animals fed, the guests had said their farewells to us and the cleaners were hard at work to turn things round before the new holiday makers arrived.

I Spy Trouble

Nick was just working on re-hinging a door in one of our lodges, when his eagle eye spotted a small black and white blob across the river lying alone. Alert to the fact it might be a baby lamb and that lying alone was trouble, he radioed for the boys to go and check it out. Two anxious faces racing up to me said it all before they uttered a word. Twin lambs shivering violently, abandoned with all the cold slime of birth still lying wet on their skin. The boys were clearly in panic mode like rabbits in the headlights needing a sense of purpose and instructions to act. I sent them back to the field to gather up the lambs and bring them back to the house. They really were a sorry sight and my heart went out to them as we wrapped them in big old dog towels to clean and dry them before popping them in a laundry basket together under the radiator. The boys then set off in search of a large box and straw and were left to watch and cuddle the twins back to temperature while Nick downed tools and headed off to the farmers shop for bottles and lamb milk.

By this time the cleaners were finishing and I was tied up with checking the properties but Nick arrived back with all the necessary items in record time quickly setting the boys up to help the lambs take their first drink while he returned to hanging that door which was still sitting in the pathway!  

The lambs were hungry and took most of the first bottle which is so important for them. They visibly perked up and had by now stopped shivering completely. The boys were thrilled and tended to them all day helped by Guy and Clio when they had finished their jobs, stripping beds and bagging up the laundry. It is important for new born lambs to stand and practice walking so tending also included a little exercise out on our lawn once they were warm and fed.

I gave the dear little lambs their last feed at 2am then left them snuggled together in their box under the radiator for the night.

The whole house woke to the welcome sound of bleating lambs in the morning. Guy and Jed were first up to do the morning bottles and Nick declared them strong enough to try the day out in the nursery field. They rode in style with Guy and Jed on the morning tractor and trailer run much to the delight of the newly arrived guests.

The boys made their home in a pen within the field and proceeded to tend to their needs diligently all day. The wind was wicked so they made use of their little shelter too.

As the day wore on the boys feared for their new "babies" over night, so they took it upon themselves to carry them back to the house and make them a home in the green house. Minutes later they wheeled up a bale of straw to make them very cosy indeed. Just as well I hadn't yet got round to planting in there this season!

Before I knew it they had sleeping bags out there too and were planning to spend the whole night with them. I considered calling them in at this point, but given they had got this far I thought I would just let it play out a little longer, this turned out to be a wise call since it wasn't long before the weaker of the lambs with less than solid poop had made a lovely mess on the boys in their sleeping bags sending them scurrying back indoors!

Far better to have the children change their mind at the reality of the situation than me pre-empt the inevitable and drag them in earlier when they were so committed to their plan. It was bath and bed for them and straight to the washing machine for all the clothes and sleeping bags!

Fingers crossed for a good night all round! 

Creating with Nature

Last weekend I ended up with a rare chance to spend some time on the farm alone with my daughter. The older boys were helping Dad with the train track, the middle one had a friend over and were playing out on the farm while the younger 2 were at a football match leaving Clio and I with time together.  We decided to do something girly that the boys wouldn't enjoy. I remembered as a child spending hours collecting flowers and mashing them down to try and make perfume. Clio thought this was something she would enjoy too so armed with washed jam jars we set off collecting on the farm. 

Surprised to find buttercups we had to hold them under our chin's to see if we both liked butter. Do you remember doing that one as a child? It was a definite yes for us both! 

Having filled our jars with daffodils, primula, daisies, camellia, buttercups, snowdrops and some rosemary and sage from the green house we set to work.

I brought out a jug of water, chopping board and knife and some food colour. Clio separated the petals while I chopped then she had a go with the chopping, a good time to remind her how to hold a knife and which way to chop just the same as if it were vegetables in the house.

Then for the fun part: smelling the flowers and deciding which to mix together to make our perfume. Clio was in charge here organizing them into the jars. We added water from the jug and a drop of food colour for effect.

Clio took some sticky labels from the office and created names for her perfumes and graded them on smell and appearance out of 10. 

A few days later we went to check how they were developing. We found that the mixed varieties were not so pleasant but the camellia on its own, which Clio had named "Red Joy", was really rather good. This was taken up to her bedroom. Now we are looking forward to the bright summer flowers to have another go.

Joining In 

Please come and join in with Country Kids. It is all about having fun outdoors, from play to learning anywhere from the garden to the beach. Outdoor time is refreshing and good for us all, please grab the badge and take a look at some of the other lovely ideas linked up here.

These are some of the posts that I really enjoyed from last week: Wishing Rods from I'm a teacher get me out of here; I really want to make these at Coombe Mill. Mini Peppas from Nicola at Fab Forty Mum for the simple love of muddy puddles and The White Woods from Liz at Me and My Shadow which makes the latest snow fall look so magical.  

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There is nothing quite like the magic of new born lambs on the farm. For me it is what makes spring. Our delightful Matilda Mae and Early Worm are thriving but I was beginning to worry that something might be wrong as they were still our only two.

Farmer Nick was up this morning at first light for a quick sweep of the field and spotted two new little heads with Mum, all was looking well so he left them alone to adjust to the world for a couple of hours while we sorted the children out for school. With three school runs each morning it is quite a military operation in our house. I must confess we dashed in after the bell this morning at the primary school since the younger children had been over to see the lambs before breakfast.

Morning Tractor Ride. 

Having delivered the children I caught up the morning tractor ride just in time to help out with the lambs. With a lamb under my arm and iodine on my hands it was a bit of a job handling the camera too! The guests watched with fascination as Nick tagged, sprayed, dipped and tied their tails. A boy and a girl; the Dads among our holiday visitors all heaved a sigh of relief for the little boy whose balls had not yet fully dropped; his manhood spared for another day!

The children's faces were a picture as they had never before witnessed new born lambs just hours old and and few worried the lambs were bleeding when we dipped the end of the umbilical cord in iodine to protect them from infection. 

It really isn't that gory despite the expressions on their faces, all the after birth and real gore was a few hours earlier, this was just giving nature a helping hand to protect them and ensure we know who belongs to who! 

It was then a game of chase where all the guests helped us catch Early Worm and Matilda Mae to move them in with the older sheep and leave the nursery free for our new arrivals.  Mum was easily coaxed out with food but the older twins certainly gave the children a good run around and put a smile on their faces before being caught!

The nursery is protected with an electric fence to keep the fox at bay and some lovely cosy shelters in case of a wet night.  Hopefully they will be safe and happy here for a week or so until they are strong enough to join the others in the larger field. It is so very cold but so long as it stays dry in their first few hours of life they should thrive.

A job well done with our lovely little helpers it was time for a new driver and off to feed the rest of the animals who were wondering what had happened to their breakfast!

One Day on and our lovely newborns have been joined by another set of twins. The nursery is filling up and the lambs making friends. They are still unsteady on their feet as you can see in the video here. I love the sound of their bleating, it reminds me of happy times and new life.

I'm linking up with Magic Moments over at Oliver's Mad House. Why not pop over and see some more special times from other bloggers.

All Change

Winter is a careful game of dates and mates here on the farm to ensure our spring babies come at the best time of year for maximum survival rates and a steady run of new born fun for our holiday guests. The Theory is one thing, ensuring the animals cooperate can be quite another. Last week we said good bye to Boyo the Boar. He has been a companion and lover for Dotty our sow for the past 6 weeks, but his services are required elsewhere now so it was time for a fond farewell as his owner came to help us take him on to meet his next lady!

Working like clockwork on the farm

Sometimes moving large animals like Boyo who weighs around 30 kilograms can be fraught, however when they cooperate it is a joy. Today was one of those days that went so well to plan, I was back indoors with a coffee and cake before you could say Bye bye Boyo! I think he knew he had fresh "totty" waiting for him!

A text book farming manoeuvre!

Boyo seemed quite happy to see the car and stock trailer drawing up with his owner Mark on board.

A temporary corral is erected by Mark and Farmer Nick and Boyo bribed with a handful of food!

All is going to plan for a perfect example of pig movement! 

The Final Hurdle and last Good Byes from a few farm friends

Job done in time for Morning coffee break, now that's what I call productive farm work. I hope those alpaca have been taking notes from Boyo. It is their turn next! 

And how not to do things!

Farmer Nick made the dubious decision to leave Ted and me in charge of moving the alpaca while he finished re roofing the laundry in the dry. They needed to go across the road and swap with the sheep who we want to bring down this week into the sheltered field for lambing. Now the Alpaca trio of Coffee, Toffee and Caramel can be stroppy devils, but Ted and I pride ourselves in being able to handle them. Ahem, things didn't go quite to plan. They gave us the run around to say the least, not helped by me trying to carry hurdles in one hand and the camera in the other! Worth it though to bring you our funny endeavours:

With animals it can't work like clockwork all the time, but we managed it eventually.

Sheep all sorted 

Following previous fun and games with the sheep Nick is well prepared this year. Each morning he coaxes them into a corral for their breakfast, so next week's move should be a walk in the park!

Solving Inbreeding

Our handsome new stag comes at vast expense with his owner and a vet to administer the tranquilizer for transport. This is an essential and very expensive process every few years, but without which the herd would become too inbred. I think this young beast will do us proud for the next couple of years. He skipped off to meet his new lady friends and explore his lovely new field with no sign of distress; just what we like to see.

Even Mother Goose is now sitting on her clutch of eggs

Hopefully we are all ready for spring on the farm and for some young "Little Farm Holiday Helpers" to join us and enjoy helping out with feeding and caring for the animals as the spring season unfolds. I love this time of year, the excitement of new life and hope of a lovely summer to come, I hope you can come and share in a little piece of our fun too.

Sshhh..... Sunday photo of the week