The combination of February, hooves and grass = mud!
The team have been more than happy to spend some time under cover, munching hay and escaping the soggy ground and cold weather. It’s a stop and start time of year. We get a few days of sunshine and you think you are over the worst of Winter, then minutes later you are looking at a white landscape and getting into trouble for leaving the tap dripping!
It always surprises me how overnight the red crab apples are ready for the blackbirds. They must be soft enough for them to eat - one of nature’s clever ways to make sure there is enough to eat when everything else is either dead or frozen.
Blackbirds have a green light on red berries.
On the farm, the sheep have been scanned and plenty of twins are due which is the ideal. I wasn't quick enough to get Elspeth in the cue, she doesn't like crowds anyway. So, we will be guessing " is she or isn't she" for 2 months or is it 1,2 or 3 little Elspeth’s?
Hopefully the swale dale tup did his stuff in November.
Talking of stuff, Doris, the pygmy goat (not the storm!) is due a visit to see her chosen billy, which will hopefully result in a play mate for Black Adder - there is only so much fun you can have with your Mum! Although, Black Adder did get a shock when he came across Mango, the Mangalitza sow in his field and thought Harry, the large white sheep, had obviously changed his aftershave and got a deeper voice!
The Llamas have been keeping up with their five a day and been happily chewing on cabbage leaves, not something they would usually bother with if the grass was growing.
The chickens are also grateful for some greenery to peck at as they are secured in the stable waiting for the bird flu problem to blow over. We have been deciding which breed of hen/bantam to hatch in the incubator for the Easter holidays, it is a popular part of the Berry's farm tours to hold a yellow fluffy Easter chick.
On the Berry's team news, we all enjoyed a jolly trip to our wine suppliers' offices and warehouse where we sampled all the wine sold at Berry's. Tim won the mystery wine competition and Amanda won the wine quiz - obviously a well spent youth kicked in!
The team then headed to Richmond and after a few cocktails, sampled the Chinese cuisine of the Treasure Garden.
A great après Christmas outing.
The Folk Night was a great success and a sell-out 2 weeks before the date. The pressure was on for Swinifolk for Zeke and his team, to live up to expectations, which they definitely did!. So much so, that another evening is being organised at Berry's on Friday 27th October.
CDs on sale in Berry's shop
Now on with February, luckily a short month!
