By the Barn Blog

Anyway, we still have to carry on as normal- our sheep need to move to where the grazing is available and we are continuing to take our finished lambs to market.

She might not have had the career and kudos of women today but was (and women like her are still) intrinsic to agriculture!

The summer has come to its end and Autumn begins.

Big, fat light grey Wood Pigeons sit heavily on roads and fences, clumsily flapping and leaving it until the last minute to get out of the way, flocking into the fields to clean them of grain.

Dirty, sweaty wool also provides a nursery to flies and resulting maggots can cause irritation and suffering if not treated.

Although there is increased automation and mechanisation in the agricultural industry, it is a clever robot that can decide a strawberry is just at its peak.

Our sheep and lambs have taken advantage of fresh spring grass and should be growing fast, being vaccinated and wormed appropriately to ensure healthy stock.

Our workload continues as the main flock begin to lamb. We have moved the earlier ewes and lambs to pasture, the pens have been cleaned out and we have replenished our lambing supplies.

Our newly layed hedge will be coming into leaf, as do all the others and it will be interesting to see what other plants flourish now that the light has been let in- such as ground ivy, violets and celandines.

Clashing with the white of the snowdrop, if we are lucky with the weather, will be the bright sulphur yellow of the Brimstone butterfly, which feeds overwinter on Holly and Ivy and lays its eggs on Buckthorn- both are a welcome sign that spring is just around the corner.