May - June 2010

A good Spring...

I can't believe we are almost at the longest day of the year. We have had the most amazing spring with the long dry warm days bringing a profusion of gorse, dandelions, bluebells, euphorbia and pignut. The cocunut scent of the gorse has now faded and their vibrant yellow blossoms are superceded by equally eyecatching fuchsias and may blossom which the bees love. May is a particularly satisfying month when all sorts of leaves and flowers make themselves available for wine making. While picking dandelion flowers for this purpose I became aware of several dramatic caterpillars. One with black stripes and yellow spots and another which made me think of persian cats - all orange with very long fur. A poplar hawkmoth also rested on the daisy bushes outside the front door for a couple of days. Inside the house clothes moths have become a nuisance and I am about to put to the test what I have heard about bay leaves being an effective deterrent. We have had a few showers this week which have swelled the river and caused the grass to put on a spurt so that we have moved the sheep up to the hill pastures. The lambs are now nearly as big as their mothers and our native woodland is reaching for the sky. One oak in particular, planted just four years ago as a mere stick, is now about 12 feet tall. The hundreds of tadpoles in the pond outside the kitchen are growing fast too, but I always wonder where all the tiny frogs go as we seldom see them. My slug patrol - mostly blackbirds and thrushes - are doing a good job.

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March - April 2010

The lambs are growing fast..!

Since the first lambs were born at Inchimore Farm on 22nd March, another 17 have joined "the gang". They race around the fields together like a fast moving white cloud and compete for the tops of the rocks in an often repeated game of "who's the king of the castle".

In this time, thanks to a spell of lovely spring weather, I have been repainting the outside of the farmhouse and barn and have now completed both buildings.

The warm sunshine has brought on lots of spring flowers including hundreds of violets, wood sorrel, celandines and masses of golden gorse.

There is a promise of a record number of bluebells this year too as their leaves are now evident everywhere

First violets this year

Lots of gorse

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