This very wet and mild Spring…

…is causing many problems at Bates Green Farm. We have had delivery of several lorry loads of material to spread on the muddy areas of the paths in Beatons Wood, but running heavy loads of this material in the trailer behind our quad bike, causes further mud and damage to the fragile paths. But we battle on and are doing the best we can.

My constant worry is how the car park field will cope from 10 April when we open. Last year was cold but without so much rain, and even then the tractor had to be used at times to extricate the odd car. I hope that the ‘mole draining’ that was done in late October when ground conditions were ideal, will prove its worth. But us farmers are conditioned to cope with whatever extreme weather we get, as from an early age we quickly learn that there is nothing one can do about it!

The mild winter means that the bluebells are emerging fast.

Ducklings

This week we found this mother duck with 8 ducklings waiting patiently at the gate trying to get out of Bates Green Garden. The whole garden is fenced to ensure rabbits do not visit. Once released off they went happily.

No viewing platform at the dairy this year

This year visitors will not be able to watch the cows being milked at Parkwood Farm. Our neighbour is finding that with milking over 500 cows twice a day, the existing milking parlour needs replacing.  The constant rain is delaying the building of a brand-new circular design that has, I believe, room for 80 cows at a time.  It will ease the workload and speed up the milking process, which for the cows means there will be less time patiently waiting their turn.   Due to health and safety issues, the contractors do not want the public on site, which means we are closing all access paths to Parkwood Farm buildings.  This major project should be finished ready for the 2025 Bluebell Walk for all those who enjoy watching the milking (and the 3 mile walk there and back).

Exhibition of past winners of our Photographic Competition

The blank walls of the new Animal Barn we felt ideal to display winning photographs from past competitions.  The images are grouped according to category, leaving room for future winners to join this growing gallery.  Now these can still be enjoyed by visitors (and the proud photographers) rather than just kept in storage to be eventually disposed of, once space became a problem. The current winning entries are displayed outside the barn as usual.

The fallen tree

Last month I mentioned the fallen tree in the Lower Pond. We decided to wait before its removal, due to the adverse weather conditions, but as you can see, new leaf is appearing even though most of its roots would have been sheared off when it fell. It just demonstrates once again the wonder of nature.