Unbelievably we are just over a quarter of the year gone and we are moving rapidly into Spring proper. The lambs are now growing visibly which is probably not ideal for them as in a few weeks they will be off to Tesco – and not to do some shopping!! In the meantime they are enjoying the sunshine and obviously terrified of the hunter dog (not!) as you can see them happily grazing right alongside the fence that is between the farm and me.

Actually, it’s very good that Lottie isn’t interested in the sheep and they are not scared of her as sheep worrying is a rural problem and I’d be rather concerned if Lottie did bark at them.

The trees are starting to leaf now and things are turning green as this large willow in the lane shows.

Although we have had a couple of days with heavy rain showers, generally it has been a fairly dry period and the horses’ field, which I showed a few weeks back as a muddy bog, is gradually drying out and grass is starting to come through, much to enjoyment of Tommy who has now started to wander out further into the field for a bit of a munch.

Speaking of Tommy and munching, I have seen him give Flash very short shrift if the latter has tried to share his food and I certainly wouldn’t interrupt him mid-flow without very good reason. However, Mr. and Mrs. Pheasant have no such fears and joined in tea-time the other day. Tommy did not seem to object and they all ate peacefully together.

Some visitors who we haven’t seen yet but will undoubtedly show up in the next few weeks are the House Martins. We made the mistake once of taking down their nests in the winter, but the mess made when they rebuilt them was unbelievable -so their summer homes remain waiting for them to return from the southern hemisphere. Much more on these guys to come I am sure.