PIP'S PAGE April 2008

Dear boys and girls, spring is seeming a long way off at present. It seems a bit cool. The grass is only growing slowly and the sheep keep on getting hungry. Joy's students have been pumping special sheep treacle out of a big barrel and then pouring it into a trough for them. The sheep love it and all have brown sticky noses and mouths afterwards. We have taken trailer loads of haylage out for them and put it on the grass and some big ‘keep' blocks as well. They are like a big thick brown pancake of cereals all stuck together with more treacle. They are really heavy. Joy can't carry those by herself so she asks Eddy to take them by quad and trailer up to the highest part of the farm.

The vegetable garden is getting going. Some young children from St John with St Michaels came and had a really good look at what the winter vegetables were like, leeks , red cabbages and Brussel sprouts. They looked in the poly tunnel where it is nice and warm, lettuces, young spring cabbage, herbs and radish were beginning to grow. Some of the vegetable beds outside were all covered up to get the soil nice and warm ready for planting seeds and young plants. Rita was talking to the children she said the seeds and plants need a warm bed to grow just like us! The children laughed.

I have some really happy news. I am going to be a dad. Ben our shepherd brought his collie dog Meg to the farm. She really nice she has a slightly longer coat than me, her legs are slightly shorter and she is the same colour as me. We got on very well. She will have puppies in May and in June when their eyes are open they will come to the farm. These puppies will be able to help me work the sheep at the farm when they have been trained.

We have some delightful black and pink piglets, some orphan lambs and a set of twin pygmy goats. So we are really busy!!!