Muddling Through
Mud is the key in the title of this blog! It has been a very wet winter and we've learned the hard way how quickly too small an animal area can lead to mud soup. Poppy the pony quickly poached her smaller paddock and has now been given hotel quarters in our big field. This is gradually being populated by the ducks and chickens in a new run, erected by a number of great friends from the Thames Valley who pitched in to help. The result - safer chickens and more mud soup. Roll on the spring, but another learning curve is to be had in how to ensure good pasture and the right rotation to ensure a good food source all year round, if we can manage it. Our neighbour has been a real asset in terms of pointing us in the right direction for a farrier, chain and roll services, 4x4 repairs etc. If someone knows a man who can, she's the one to ask!
We've had our first guests, admittedly friends, but that made a good dummy run to find out what we were missing, any issues etc. There were a few early teething problems, but we've got them sorted and the bookings for the summer are starting to trickle in.
Today, we were the proud recipients of two pregnant ewes. I've only just got a handle on looking after a horse, but how hard can sheep be? I'll let you know. Our son has aspirations to be a sheep farmer, so this is getting him started and who knows, by the time he's 21, he may have a Cornish sheep empire. Again, our neighbour has pointed us in the right direction for other local sheep farmers, so our son can hopefully tap in to some local knowledge and build up his sheep handling and husbandry skills.
Now the poultry have a new home, it's time to start thinking about developing some veggie beds. The seed pototoes are in the shops, so maybe that willl be our first planting if we can get digging beds soon enough.