Sign in
BACK
February 2025
Posted Saturday 1st February, 2025
A not very nice January saw the farm experience a little of all seasons at some point with a mixture of snow, rain and freezing conditions making it rather difficult for all. The River Tern burst its banks soon into the new year and has only recently receded and looked anything like normal. We lost a fair amount of land to the rising water levels but fortunately we are blessed with higher ground towards the back of the farm which sheep and cattle were moved too. The only issue with this is that the ground can quickly get churned up and result in a slight loss of grazing in-between gateways and around frequently trodden areas.
The pregnant breeding ewes edge closer to due dates and we’ll hopefully have some newborns at the end of February so fingers crossed for warmer and dryer weather for them (and the farm team who will be on call during lambing season).
Beekeeper Andrew starts to monitor the hives whilst keeping an eye out for the first flowers of the year which will signal the first collection of pollen from the once dormant colony. Bee hives entrance points will often be littered with dead workers which were once used for insulation in hard winter climates but now just prove to be a pain and have been removed by the stirring workforce. A fluctuating temperature and atmosphere can be devastating for bee colonies which can struggle to gage what time of the year it is.