Two years
On 1 October we have had possession of the farm for two years. It seems like only yesterday yet it seems like we have had it forever! Some of you might understand what I mean by that – I apologise to the rest of you but I don’t know how else to explain what I feel.
I have been keeping a record of the volunteer hours we do each week and when I added them up last week the total came to just over 10,100. That is a staggering figure but understandable when you look at the changes that have been made since that very exciting first day in October 2014.
10,000 hours, even on minimum wage, is worth an awful lot of money and it is impossible to overstate how grateful we are to everyone who has been on this journey with us – whether you have been to every work party or just given us a cheery smile now and then – we could not have done what we have without you. Thank you all so much.
New arrivals
Life on the farm is so exciting at the moment. Last month I mentioned the new alpacas this time I can tell you about the new chicks. Please click on the photo (right) to see a short video taken a few days ago when they were less than three weeks old.
Pete and Debbie have hatched 8 of these lovelies (we just hope that they are hens and not cockerels!). As soon as they ‘feather up’ a bit more we will let them out and allow them to wander around a bit. (I’ve just re-read the sentence above and thought I should make it clear that Pete and Deb haven’t been sitting on the brood… they kindly incubated the eggs and have been nurturing the tiny chicks until they were strong enough to come and live on the farm!
We also have three lovely little bantams which have joined our family this week. They have been donated by a local family who have recently moved house and are not allowed to keep pigs or poultry! They can have cows, goats and probably elephants but not pigs or poultry. If anyone understands that logic I would love to hear an explanation (answers on a postcard…). Anyway, their loss is definitely our gain and we are very grateful for the gift. Click on the photo to see them running around this afternoon.
New windows
At the last workparty Matt fitted new windows to the barns within the courtyard. They look so smart and have given a nice finish to the great work that Pat has been doing on the courtyard wall.
Any of you that have visited over the last few months would have heard me talk about Pat, he has been steadily working his way along the wall, removing all the plant life that has rooted within the mortar, re-building sections that were falling over and re-pointing. He took it in his stride but I think its a work of art.
Work has now started on the barns that will become an office and a home for rabbits and guinea pigs…. where will it all end?
I also want to mention the next workparty. Our first ever day on the farm was 2 October 2014 – the next workparty is Saturday 1 October 2016… almost 2 years to the day. How poetic is that? Please come. If you came to the first one please come again and see the changes… if you have never been, please come and see it for the first time. If you can help get things done then great… if you can only stay for 20 minutes or you just want to look around then great. You are very welcome.
… and finally
I couldn’t end without showing you a few nice images.
The flowering season is coming to an end but the polytunnel has served us so well and Rob (head gardener) has done such a wonderful job. The beautiful flower above is just one of the amazing sights we have to look at each day… and they call it work!
… and last but certainly not least, we have to spend time with these brilliant animals… how blessed are we?
Thanks for all your support.
Geoff
