For many reasons we are delighted to see the arrival of March - the month will bring many more signs of Spring (always a lovely time of year seeing the daffs in the garden and buds on the trees!) and, of course, so many of us are eagerly awaiting the 29th March when we will finally be able to meet up with more friends!
Despite being the shortest month in the calendar, February felt like it was the longest. It has been one of the wettest that we have seen for decades - we've had water laying in places where we have never seen it before, and doing anything constructive on the farm has been, quite simply, very muddy! It has been almost impossible to step outside without wearing wellies and, of course with the mud came the inevitable endless washing and cleaning dirty paw prints from everything... the dilemmas of having two lovely dogs eh?!
Despite not being able to do much agricultural work, we have been busy preparing our new glamping site. In the rain and the cold we have dug trenches for water and electricity supply, dug a 4.5m hole to house the cess pool, planted over 50 new tree saplings (courtesy of #woodlandtrust) and put up a new 60m fence.
Nearly all farmers have names for each of their fields; most names apparently originated in medieval times as a very practical way to identify them for illiterate farm labourers who had to go out to work on them. Our field behind the site is called 'Sandpits' - the photo below explains why!
With the boys stuck at home during the lockdown, we have had a good supply of help (in between the virtual schooling, of course...) - it has been great to have them involved with our new venture right from the start and for them to see the project develop.
For us, February only got better as the weeks went by. The wet weather finally eased and the early Spring sunshine started to dry the land out - it's surprising how quickly it does dry with just a few days of good weather.
We were excited by the arrival of our first shepherd hut at the end of the month; it's sitting next to our barn at the moment, waiting for a bit more dry weather before it can be positioned on the grass site without risking getting stuck! Instead of ground work, our minds have turned to interiors; the delivery drivers must wonder what's going on with the amount of parcels being dropped off...
With a forecast for more fine weather over the next week perhaps we will be able to move her (him?!) before too long, but good weather at this time of year means that there is lots to do on the farm. We started some springtime drilling today, so that will be the priority for the next few days...
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