Weeks 7 and 8

We started back after the half term holiday with lots of ....rain!  With Open Farm Sunday looming at the end of the week, we spent most of the day tidying / cleaning up the Covered Yard.   We had to move the sheep's electric fence, as they had eaten their 'strip' down far enough - we all managed to get thoroughly soaked!
Wednesday, Christchurch School children were here with Danny.  Tomas and Miranda were very helpful pulling out our old wallflowers and replanting the line of tyres alongside our paths, with flowers we had grown in the poly tunnel.
In the afternoon we met up with our other students at Cotswold Farm; where they had 'Open Gardens'.  The students had a stall in aid of the Care Farm, selling plants, and raised over £30!  We had a very enjoyable afternoon looking round the amazing gardens.  The best bit for me, was the wild orchid meadow - really beautiful.

Our Open Farm Sunday afternoon was as great success.  We had about 10 children, with their families, and were 'lent' 3 orphan lambs, from a neighbouring farmer (thank you Jane!) to bottle feed.

feeding time at Open Farm Sunday!

Quails!

I think along with feeding the pigs, it was definitely the highlight of the afternoon! (And great sunshine helped)  We have put our Quail out into the hen house we used for the bantams - they have their own run, and are just about getting used to going back into the house at night (i have to climb into the run on my hands and knees to 'shoo' them up there!!)

Monday we had to bring our flock of Wiltshire into the covered yard.  We have one lamb that is lame - can't find out why, and we wormed the lambs again.  Some of the lambs also seem to have swollen throats - soft tissue no lumps??  We may have to pay a visit to the vets again....(remember we took on of the Aylesburys last year!)
In the afternoon we had a visitor from Deer Park School, and two representatives from Mencap - and the weather was lovely.  We had teas outside, and Helen and William show people round. 

Wednesday, Niamh and Miranda were here with Danny - again extremely hot weather.  They helped fill the raised bed that Roly made with Mike and Alan; with stones, and took water up to the pigs (with delightful watering cans that we were given at the weekend!) 
In the afternoon we had visitors from Ruskin Mill, Jane Burr, Head Teacher at North Cerney School, and St Rose's Stroud.  The Art students from Owl Barn also came up, and Simon has actually done a trial 'Mural' on the side of the Porta Cabin - it looks great!  We were very pleased to welcome two representatives for The Barnwood Trust, who are going to help raise our profile.,

Thursday, Roly & Mike made yet another bed for flowers this time and Gerry spent all morning weeding the Fruit Cage!! In the afternoon we had the Chairman of Cirencester Rotary Club here with his wife, as we have been chosen as their main Charity for their coming year!  We also had Annabel here from Dobbies - she arrived with gloves & tools for the children, and other supplies for the poly tunnel - so a big thank you to her, and Julie Mantell, Head Teacher from Paternoster School.  Unfortunately, the weather yesterday afternoon was really filthy - so not easy to show everyone round.  Luckily both Gerry & Mike our two volunteers had made delicious cakes for tea!  (Mike recently won a competition for the best Victoria Sponge so we asked him to bring us one!)

Annabel from Dobbies handing out gardening
equipment!

By the end of yesterday, Gerry and i were completely shattered - but we feel the last four days have been a great success - all about raising our profile, and showing people what we have to offer at the Care Farm.  Hopefully, we will have a good group of new students starting in the Autumn...!

The last two weeks....!

See what i mean - beautifully
camaflouged!!

One of our lovely Wiltshire lambs
note their horns growing!

I seem to start quite a few blogs saying 'sorry' for not keeping up to date...!  The last two weeks have been SO full on with preparations for the Diamond Jubilee Garden Tea Party, that i'm surprised any of the Care Farm animals got fed / watered and that the Poly Tunnel is still thriving - but they did / and it is!
The pigs are thriving in their new home (the woodland up the track) they blend in so well it's quite difficult to see them - which is jolly lucky as i managed to ride past them today without my horse spotting them!
The quails have just moved from the playroom in our house up to the poly tunnel, in a lovely yellow ex-pet rat house....with lots of greenery to keep them happy - i can't believe how quickly they grow - they are three weeks old already. 

The young chicks Ericka gave us
have settled in well

Our lovely 'Tree Lupin' inherited
with the top soil we were given
last year from a garden in Cheltenham!
It also smells amazing....

 
We finally had our first visit from Christchurch School this term - they've been trying to get here for weeks, but the weather and ill staff kept cancelling them.  It's lovely to see the children again, and i hope they will enjoy their Wednesday mornings from now until the end of the term.


With all the Jubilee celebrations happening over this last weekend, it was inevitable that the Fete at Rendcomb College wouldn't be as busy as we hoped for - but due mainly to all our hard working volunteers and students, it was a lovely afternoon (even through the fog and rain!) Rendcomb College is such a fantastic setting - the Classic Cars looked amazing as they all arrived for tea after their 'Run'!  We had a great turn out with about 27 cars of every shape and size.  The 'best dressed' prize had to go to Austin Powers and his girlfriend in their 'SHAGUAR' - brilliant fun!.  Hopefully, with the sponsorship we had paying for the food for the Car Enthusiasts, we will have made nearly £5,000.00 - a truly amazing amount!  THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AND STUDENTS FOR YOUR HARD WORK, and especially to Gerry and her family for organising Rendcomb, and Gail & Derrick for organising the Classic Car Run.

Our students start back again next Monday, so till then, i hope you are all having a restful week and enjoying all the celebrations!

ps Did you hear us mentioned last Thursday on the 'Chris Evans Breakfast Show'??

week 5!

Weather definitely better this week!  Work has been devoted mainly to getting the pig fencing up along the side of the track - it's looking great and reckon after tomorrow we could see the weaners in their new site...! They will love it, as there's loads of small shrubs/weeds to grub around with!  The sty is ready in situ, and we just need to find a water container.

Emily, John, & Laura painting with Danny

Wednesday, our friends from the Owl Barn came over armed with paints and the students had great fun 'priming' the porta cabin!

We've also been planting out more veggies, and seeds in our raised beds - hoping to get carrots, peas, beetroot, leeks and broccoli and purple sprouting before long... especially with the last few days of sun we've had! 
Big excitement on Thursday morning, i came downstairs to hear 'squeeking' - and found the Quail had started hatching in the incubator!  We now have 6 - although one had a rather ropy start...but fingers crossed!  They are TINY - can't believe how much smaller they are than chicks!

We are busy getting ready for the Jubilee fund raiser, and i have persuaded Gerry & Penny, two of my volunteers to cut out blue triangles for our bunting...any help gratefully received for help on the day!

We are hoping to have lots of stalls, and games and have a great Clay Pigeon Shoot competition organised - you can also try your hand at dry stone walling and if you take to it, you can come up and finish our stone wall at the Care Farm!

Ella asked me to make sure i told everyone that the new ducks are called Jake, Lavinia and Dorothy..!

Don't forget to follow us on twitter.....

3rd and 4th weeks Summer Session



Happy as a pig in clover!

Well we've found it hard to believe it's the Summer Session! Last week was pretty much a wash out - we spent most of the week in the poly tunnel re-potting all the seedlings we brought back from Coln House school.  We've had a terrible time recently with a fox 'picking' off the chickens, bantams & ducks in broad daylight... So we had to invest in an electric poultry net at VAST expense - so far so good; but he / she managed to pick off Deidre duck, 3 laying hens and 3 bantams over the last two weeks



a few minutes before more rain ....!

This week we've been concentrating on building the fence along a strip of woodland to move the piglets out of their run - it's such a quagmire (great for them; they love it!) but quite a serious risk assessment before we can let any students  near them!  Only a few more weeks to go before they will be leaviing us - let's hope the weather improves and starts to dry everything up a bit.
I'm sitting here in glorious sunshine at the moment...!
We have been given 5 chicks this week, so with the others that are nearly full size; we should have a series of hens coming on to replace the ones that disappeared off with the fox.  We also have a dozen quails eggs in the incubator and are hoping they will all hatch next weekend...

week 2

We have had terrible weather this week...although we do desperately need the rain, it would have been good to have some warm sun too!  Monday we had to move the electric fence in the pouring rain, as the three ewes have eaten off the rather meagre grass behind the porta cabins.  We completely re-fenced the area, as the ducks were completely ignoring the electric tape, and going straight through it, heading for the water trough put out specially for the lambs - suffice to say it wasn't a very pretty sight afterwards - and certainly not what the lambs should be drinking....!   Completely sodden it was a good job done by William Alan and I.  Meanwhile Helen & Hilary cleaned out the poultry houses!   We spent the afternoon in the poly tunnel - rewinding electric tape onto spools - a very pleasing job, as it's SO maddening finding it all tangled up when we next need it!.

Wednesday was torrential again, and unfortunately the children that we  were expecting from a school in Cheltenham had to cry off, due to flooding.  We had a great day with Danny, first up at the Owl Barn (where .... great excitement, the students may have sold two pieces of their artwork!!)  Then we went on to Coln House school in Fairford, to look at all their seedlings, and poultry.  We came back armed with trays and trays of seedlings to plant on / out.

Today was dismal again, and no students turned up this morning, and just one this afternoon - all fairweather i suppose!  Never mind, we spent most of the afternoon in the poly tunnel - repotting lots of the seedlings.

We now have a twitter account - set up by Gerry - so those of you that like to 'tweet' have a look...!

First Week Back!

March with one of her lambs!

Well everyone was glad to be back!  Helen was SO excited about March having lambed, and she kept saying how happy she was all day!  (she had already thought up names for the ewe lambs)  We spent a very happy morning mucking out hens and ducks again, and then the afternoon bringing the ewes and lambs into the covered yard - Rain being forecast all week...!  It was faintly hysterical trying to get the ewes to come in, Alan and Helen and i were carrying a lamb, and William and Karen (who's just had a knee op!) were trying to persuade them to come in!!

Wednesday, we went up to the Owl Barn, to show Danny the exhibition, and did some preliminary sketches for the student's references; to help when painting the porta cabins.  They were all excited to see their masterpieces up; right by the entrance to the exhibition - someone had even asked if they were for sale!!
There is a lot of preperation going on in the poly tunnel and the raised beds outside; making ready for planting.  We've been discussing which veg we are going to put where, and general planning.

Thursday morning - MARY JANE starting 'showing'!  I've been getting up at 6am every day for two weeks so i was quite pleased as she is the last of the four to lamb!   By the time the students arrived, Alan and i had decided to give her a hand, as she was definately struggling - i lambed her twins successfully, and she has 'a pigeon pair'!  We are keeping them in till Monday, as the weather is so unsettled.   We also went up to look at the pig units on the White Way - researching electric fencing, as we are going to have to move No. 1 & 2 weaners....they need more to do each day, otherwise they will be breaking loose soon!  We are going to fence in some of the woodland up the track (it could do with clearing) and it will provide plenty of shade and keep them occupied!

EASTER NEWS!

Typically, whilst the students are off on their Easter break - the lambing started- on Easter Sunday!

June with her two ram lambs!

Just as we sat down for lunch, Lucy rang and said that one of our ewes was 'on for lambing' (they were taking the donkey for a walk!) March was first - she had two really sturdy ewe lambs in the afternoon / evening.  We decided to get them all in that evening as it was pretty cold, and Lamby looked as if she was starting too - they were born later that evening - 2 ram lambs!  Next was June - hers arrived out in the field Saturday early in the morning - when i went out at 5.30am she had already lambed - but quite a difficult time i think, as she /they looked very tired and rather forlorn - we managed to get her in with them, and very glad we did as it was a horrid morning.

The horrid morning was the start of our Spring Car Boot Sale - unfortunately, as it put a lot of punters off - still we had a fun morning, ably assisted by Tina's fabulous bacon, sausage & duck egg baps - she sold out!  We managed to raise £200 which was a feat as there were only about 6 'Car Boots'!!

The quail eggs we put in the incubator didn't hatch - i reckon they were not fresh enough - still we have the 5 other chicks - they have moved out to the field in a lovely old ark that we were given.  They have a great time running up and down the ladder from their 'sleeping quarters' - it's very cosy up there at night. 

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Ella with her 'Fiver'!

Our 3 new ducks have settled in well and have made friends with Deidre, and Fiver is feeling right at home again!  One of the bantam hens disappeared recently - we thought she must be broody and sitting somewhere, and have finally discovered her hidden between two of the dumpy bags full of stones in the field next to the other hens!  She's sitting on at least a dozen eggs - and should be hatching any day!!