Farmer Nick goes back to his roots as Nikos 

If you have ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding I can confirm that it really is a good take on Greek family life. When Nick told me he wanted a Greek dinner party for his Birthday this year I knew it would involve copies amounts of cooking and plenty of Retsina (Greek wine) and a party that would stretch into the early hours over several courses. Our English friends were only too happy to indulge Nikos and lapse into the Greek way with us for an evening. It really felt like we were back in a Greek Taverna on holiday, rather than the reality of my kitchen on the farm!

Thank goodness for good mates!

I have my close friends to thank for coming along in the afternoon and helping me decorate the room. Cooking on a large scale I am comfortable with, but trying to transform the kitchen whilst keeping the children elsewhere and occupied I find a struggle. We were ready in good time right down to the detail of glitter on the name tags and Greek flags on the napkin ties and more importantly had a good laugh and a cuppa over it all too while all our children happily enjoyed the extra time playing together. 

As 7.30pm rolled round and our guests arrived, having the room looking just so put everyone in the party mood. Alistair had kindly set us up with Zorba the Greek on the i-pod and there was much musing over when the plate smashing would commence as the fizz was popped and laughter filled the air.

In true Greek style it was a good hour or so before we actually sat down to eat and I kept the courses flowing until late. I think I am going to have to follow up with one or two of these recipes on the blog as I was rather proud of the finished results:

Let the feast begin!

The children were very much involved stoking up the fire for us in the BBQ hut where they and Nick and the Men all helped grill the souvlaki course over traditional wood. Every so often one of the children would come and see how we were getting on, have a quick cuddle, grab a bite to eat and disappear again. It is lovely that they are old enough to do this now and feel part of the evening too. Needless to say they all appeared when it came to singing Happy Birthday and helping Daddy blow out the candles revelling in their bed time extension!

Mummy Tip

Don't be afraid to ask for help on a big party, organizing with friends is so much easier and more fun than trying to do everything alone. I love to entertain and have learned over the years that friends are only too grateful for a good night out and more than willing to help muck in bringing a dish or decorating the room with me. I can honestly say I enjoyed the party as much as any of our guests or Nikos himself. Learning to relax and enjoy entertaining is something I wish I had mastered years ago. Perhaps some things do just come with practice and age?

Thinking Spring!

At this time of year on the farm we are planning ahead to next year, all those cute spring babies need careful planning and Farmer Nick has a meticulously planned timetable for all the animals. Our sheep are Jacobs, known for their lovely black and white colouring and horns. We have found them to be pretty, gentle and to give us just the cutest lambs. We aim for lambs from March through April, this involves finding a suitable Ram and letting him loose on our ewes a couple at a time from now to the end of November. 

Enter Rambo

Rambo comes from a lovely Farm up at Rough Tor on Bodmin Moor. We have a
different Ram each year to avoid inbreeding. This year we have a real handsome devil, entirely fitting of his name Rambo! He has been delivered to the field next to the ewes and eagerly eyeing them up for the past couple of days.

One Man and His Dog

We don't have a farm dog, but never mind, we have the wonderful trio that is Farmer Nick, Farmer Ted and Me! I know it is not going to be easy when I am roped in to assist, and they know I will have the camera in one hand! But I figured trying to capture these lovely ewes and separate one off for our eager Rambo would be entertaining so I gamely joined the team.

After 2 laps of the field I see why farmers with hundreds of sheep need a dog, even our dozen really gave us the run a round. Finally we cornered them and coaxed them in the direction of the carrel, before separating the lucky lady to meet her boyfriend!

A Match Made in Heaven! 

I couldn't resist a little comic strip from my photos of the afternoon fun: 

Well it tickled me making it anyway! Now here's to hoping for some beautiful lambs from late February onwards, if you are booked to stay there should be cuddles all round and the treat of bottle feeding any orphans from the group.

Recycling in many guises here on the farm

We have always been hot on recycling here at Coombe Mill. There are 3 recycling points around the farm all clearly labelled up for Paper & Card, Plastic Bottles, Cans and Glass. Despite living at the bottom of a very steep hill with Coombe Bridge as weight restricted to three tonnes, Cornwall council send down a special small truck for our road and we are delighted to support them.

Anyone who has stayed here will know that being eco friendly and recycling goes further for us. Our latest properties have energy saving solar panels to heat the hot water and efficient under floor heating, while out on the farm resource saving initiatives know no limits. All the vegetable scraps from our household and our guests add variety to the pigs diet, they love everything from banana skins to tea bags, although their favourite is a left over iced bun; pigs definitely have a sweet tooth!

New Generation Innovative Recycling

A while ago Farmer Nick had the inspired idea to take the old play equipment that was not longer fit for the children's play areas and use them as animal shelters. They brighten up the fields, add a touch of fun to the farm and the animals are delighted! 

The latest piece of equipment to be used in this way is the old trampoline, which in itself was in perfect condition and less than a year old, however the safely net had developed a rip rendering it unsuitable for the children. I was rather hoping to do a sewing job on the net and move it to our garden for our own children to use, however I was too late as Farmer Nick had other plans!

Erecting the new trampoline by the play boat: 

The old trampoline had wire added around the base and was relocated into Jurassic Park. It is now the home for the teenage Polish Bantam chickens! They are not yet able to mix with the adults as in the cruel animal world they would be bullied as the weaker members. Here they can grow alongside their older counterparts ready to be released with them in a few weeks time. It has created a perfect safe, light and airy enclosure within Jurassic Park. Sorry Kids, perhaps one for the Christmas list after all!

Shadowing the Farmer 

I thought it might be fun to take a peep at a typical day on our holiday farm for Farmer Nick, my husband and Daddy to our six children. This I did on Monday following Nick around with a camera for the day!

Daily Checks

With six children and two schools in different directions, Nick and I share the school run. Once back from that he is straight into his morning farm safety checks. At Coombe Mill we have our own spring water, together with a water treatment plant, which is checked daily by Nick to ensure any bugs are filtered from the water supply before it is stored in our giant tanks and pumped to the properties on demand. It does make me smile when our holiday maker's use bottled water all week, yet we have the same flowing out of our taps!

Other checks include the Reception freezer and fridge temperatures and the delights of the septic tanks for the sewage levels - ummm, it's an exciting life! 

Morning Tractor rides to feed the animals 

This is when things become fun. An hour and a half of feeding the animals with our little holiday helpers. A turn at driving the tractor is always a treat and the animals know just what to expect as the tractor and trailer draws close. Often there are extra chores too like moving animals to different pastures.

Once the guests have disembarked from the tractor and trailer, and headed back to their cottages and lodges to make their plans for the day, Farmer Nick is free to work on some of his many farm projects.

A new Farm Toy in use

On Saturday Nick returned from the agricultural auction wielding a Mulcher. Like a child with a new toy he couldn't wait to put it to good use. At this time of year the farm is beautiful, but all the hedges need chopping back creating more off cuts than the goats can munch though. This new farm toy gives a great recycling opportunity as mulching the branches generates fresh chippings for the play areas. All day he chopped, mulched, transported and tipped, stopping only for the afternoon school run.

Our "Little helpers" returned to Coombe Mill, from a busy day exploring Cornwall with their families, to delight of new soft landings as they zoomed down the slides!

Family Time

Evenings for Farmer Nick and I are often spent taxing our six children around from club to club with meals in 2 shifts, but on Mondays we have a quiet evening and enjoy a family meal together. This week we headed out to our indoor BBQ house to share some quality family time and exchanged stories and banter of the day's events. There is one hut by the lodges for our holiday makers to do the same. New this summer, I am fast discovering they are best way to warm up on a chilly autumn evening! Farmer Nick is of cause the BBQ King while I prepare the food.

Finally, with the children heading to bed and me settling down to blog, Farmer Nick relaxes to watch the news, only he never actually manages to stay awake. "Just dozing" he claims!  

Ssshhh......It's Sunday again!