Down on the Farm
It’s all happening at the moment, with the lambing just finishing, there are goats galore, some arriving from the large dairy herds in the West country and our own Pygmy goats being very obliging and giving birth in front of an audience at the farm.
Even the geese decided to start laying at last – yes on the 14th of March just 28 days later than the norm, our first goose egg was produced, to me this is the official start to spring, and guess who ate that first egg!
Our incubator has been busy hatching ducklings and Quails most days something pops out of an egg, we have sponsored an incubator at Shepherds Down School, for Special needs children, to allow them to witness eggs hatching in their classroom, this is an experience that most children will never forget for the rest of their lives.
Speaking of ‘special children’ recently I took a birthday party around the farm, the birthday boy was young Sam who was just 4 years old, as he toured the farm with his group of friends in his wheelchair, he simply loved his role as ‘Farmer Sam’ bearing in mind that this young lad is unable to communicate verbally, the only way that he could express his feelings was one large beaming smile, when he cradled the tiny Pygmy and felt the duckling pecking into his ear, and Billy the Shire blowing onto his face, it’s moments like this that makes the work that we do so worthwhile.
We have been invaded by hundreds of school groups, and many of the children have never been to a farm before, the first comments are normally based on the smells, then how large the bull is (it is a cow really), then they are extremely surprised when they carry the eggs to the shop, that the egg that they have in their hands has just come from the ‘chicken’s bottom, there are some who simply can not grasp that milk comes from cows, one young bright spark argued until he was blue in the face that his mum got the milk from Asda’s and not from a cow, he took some convincing, but we got there in the end.
Good news for all you mums it will be free entry for you on Mothering Sunday (Sunday 3rd April)
Easter Weekend you are invited to join us in a Egg hunt around the farm, this is suitable for the whole family, you will be searching for clutches of eggs hidden in their special nest around the farm, and you will receive a little yummy chocolate treat if you are successful, and if that’s not enough on Easter Sunday we have a Easter Bonnet Parade, we are extremely lucky to have an experienced judge Revd. Kate Wilson deciding which is the best bonnet, so come on get those hats out ready.
Good news, the cows are looking over the gate waiting to be let out, once the ground is dry enough for them to go out into the field , then we can start the tractor rides.
Watch out for Country File on BBC 1 you may see some Longdown Goats ……..
Hope to see you soon Farmer Bryan
