Time is Racing on.

Well, I'm not sure where the time has been going but suddenly it's a couple of weeks since I updated you and lots has been happening here on the farm.

Our main exciting news is that the borehole has been done so we now have a water supply for our glampers. As it is it is not quite ready to come out of taps and showers but it is the first step. It now needs to wait a couple of weeks and then be tested to discover what, if any, treatment is required over and above an infra red light. After this they will be able to install the solar pump to bring it to our pipes and taps when the time comes.
We have also been doing a spot of shopping for our guests comfort. We now have some very nice pocket sprung mattresses on order, tables and chairs for a spot of al fresco dining are ready and waiting and an assortment of other goodies are appearing and being temporarily stashed as they wait for their new Shepherd Hut accommodation.
Alongside all of this life on the farm has also been quite busy with the arrival of a gorgeous new litter of piglets,

 

At 2 weeks old they are now very busy and lots of mischief!

We also have the welcome return of our beautiful Bluebells beginning. We have many Bluebells in our sheep fields and in the small wooded area in the field. This is where the name for our pedigree flock of Dorset sheep comes form as we are The Bluebell Dorset. We are also naming one of our Shepherd Huts 'Bluebell' so they are quite special and seeing them return each year is a pleasure. This year they were just peeping out at the same time as 18 new ladies joining our Bluebell flock. :) We have also selected which of our home grown ewe lambs will be staying with us as our next generation of breeding ewes so on my 'to do' list is to apply to the 'Dorset Horn and Polled Dorset Sheep Breeder's Association' to get them their pedigree registration numbers. With half the flock being sheared tomorrow it is a busy time!

Busy, busy, busy!

Well the sun is shining and the world looks amazing in glorious mid Devon at the moment. If I was going on a glamping escape right now there is nowhere I would rather choose! Although we are enjoying the beautiful weather and the lovely countryside around us we are also very busy here on the farm just now.

 Blue skies and blossoming trees are a pretty sight to see on our way to check stock and carry out farm work. We are lambing some sheep for a family member who has been unwell at the moment so although our own flock won't be lambing again until October we are back on lamb watch for a while. I think this new mummy was wondering why her breakfast trough had a little foreign body in it!! Several of the babies like to hide themselves away in the patches of nettles and under

Strange Breakfast!

 trees!

In addition to lambs we have been waiting for our sow, Gunta, to farrow. In the early hours yesterday she produced 8 very spotty piglets for us.

Meantime, elsewhere work continues on our shepherd huts and the website and booking facility is all underway. Lots to keep up with. :)

Work in progress...

This week we have decided on our logo. We have fiddled and changed and finally agreed that we have one that we like. Hopefully you will like it too.

We wanted to show the Holly Water stream, the hut and the sheep who will be our glampers' neighbours!
We are happy with the result and now we can put it on the labels for our homemade jam jars and apple juice bottles. Some of the small details are getting sorted out now and it feels like small steps in the right direction.
In addition we have now got evidence that there is work going on with wood in the building of our huts!

How does this look for a stack of roof sections?
It's like a slightly monotone rainbow!
Meantime we have had some lovely Spring weather in glorious Mid Devon and some beautiful sunsets although I always seem to struggle to be in quite the right place at quite the right time and I rarely have  a better camera than my phone with me. 

This was one evening saying good night to the woolly ladies. Just a minute or two earlier and the sky was ablaze!

Sadly I am no David Bailey but maybe some of our guests will do a better job!

Time is flying.

I don't know where the time goes. I haven't been here for a while but lots has been going on. We have had some amazing Spring weather some of the time over the last couple of weeks and you can really see the beautiful Devon countryside waking up. One particularly exciting wake up for me is a small colony of wild honey bees that live in one of our mature Oak trees. We spotted them first last year on a gorgeous sunny day busily foraging and very much hoped that they would survive the winter. They have made themselves a nice safe nest as they have gone up inside the tree from a gap at the bottom so nothing can get in to hurt them. I filmed them when I found them and this last week I have spotted the first few stirring in the warmer weather. Excuse the commentary - I must learn not to chat if I film things!! 

As well as the survival of our clever little bees we have moved most of the sheep back to the fields around the glamping site after their lambing and winter holidays on other parts of the farm. It is nice to have them back.
We had a visit from the hut builders this week to look at access for when the time comes to deliver the shepherds huts to us. Although the lane still needs work, a gate needs putting in.....it is nice to imagine them arriving! I have also received a few parcels in the post as I have begun shopping for our glampers! Many hours are being spent browsing and considering how we will make a perfect glamping retreat in our glorious corner of the country. On days like today it would not take much as the sun is shining and the world looks beautiful bathed in the amazing Spring light.
Last night after checking on the last of the lambs I tried (with little success) to get a picture of the most amazing sunset from the hut-tub spots at the shepherd hut site.

Not the best photography but you get the idea. Just beautiful! :)

Right now I am waiting for a phone call from Iain to say that we have a visitor to look at the lane and site to discuss the necessary groundworks so we will hopefully see some actual physical at some point fairly soon. I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, how about thinking about a little jolly for a glamping holiday in a Shepherds hut in glorious Devon? Happy times and memories waiting to be made. 

A trip to the hut builders.

A very exciting trip out today. We have been to visit Ashton Shepherd Huts who are going to be building our beautiful glamping escapes. It has been a chance to talk about a few of the things we have been mulling over and exactly what we want to be able to offer to make our off-grid escape a wonderful experience for our guests. There are so many options and obviously a few limits with the off-grid eco nature of the plans. We want to be sure that our guests have luxury, perfect peace and relaxation in a beautiful setting to create amazing memories. Our location is fantastic and our accommodation  needs to match it which I know it will. The really exciting news is that, all being well, we should be able to take delivery and be ready to open for business by July which was our original plan! This being said I am very conscious that there is an awful lot to get done here in preparation....!
Meanwhile, back on the farm it has been a chilly and blustery day so before we set off I needed to make sure some of my newest babies were well protected in their little macs. Just how cute are they?

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Spring is springing!

Well as the time races past us there are new signs of Spring all the time now. Our glorious mid Devon countryside is showing that it is beginning to wake from it's winter slumber and we can only hope that the winter does not have too big a sting in it's tail.

We have had some stunning weather and the sheep across the valley have returned to their home fields for lambing. We only have a few left to lamb for this year and our early lambs that were born in November are now about to be weaned. We have been picking out which of the females are looking particularly good and with good pedigree that we want to keep to add to our breeding flock next year. 

In addition to the movement of livestock around the area the flora is also beginning to change. We now have daffodils, primrose and periwinkles to add to the snowdrops in the banks. Several trees and shrubs are also beginning to burst out of bud and into leaf.

 We have been discussing what is required for a solar powered water pump to get the water for the Shepherd huts pumped from the planned borehole. On the way to the field for a site visit the pump man was very taken with this gorgeous old tree in the bank. It will be almost exactly opposite the entrance to the Glamping site. It is pretty impressive, isn't it?

It is very exciting to think that all the power used for our glamping guests will be renewable and eco friendly. We are now waiting to hear about work starting for the water supply.
The other exciting plans for this week is a visit to the hut builders on Tuesday to discuss possible layouts and some of the detail for the actual huts that we will be having built. Exciting times!!

Is it nearly Spring?

We have been having the most glorious day here in Devon today. It was a little chilly first thing but the sun got up and it has felt more than a little Spring-like. Ok, so I know it is not even the middle of February yet and there is plenty of time for Winter to return on us but it has still been beautiful and the perfect day to be outside busy.
On the Shepherd Hut front things are looking promising as the hut builders have hopefully found a solution to our off-grid background heating problem. Log burners will be in the huts but we need an alternative if our glampers don't want to light them or just to keep the chill off if nobody is in. This would be easy on mains electric but is less so when we are completely off-grid and doing as much as possible by solar power. It feels like we are a little closer to solving this now.
Also this week we have had a water diviner to visit the site. He has done his magic and left a little red flag flying to show where he suggests we place our borehole for our water supply.

We also have the people who will be supplying and installing the solar pump for the water supply visiting this week. Obvious water is pretty major so this feel like progress. :)

Amongst other things I have been drinking tea! I want to source as much as possible for our glampers from local and sustainable sources. I am undecided whether I prefer the Cornish tea or the Dorset tea at the moment! The simple things in life are just as important as the big things! Who wouldn't like a lovely cuppa looking at these stunning views? I'm sure I can just feel Spring around the corner...

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