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middle farm ...

Today we visited Middle Farm, a 625 acre working family farm, which nestles at the foot of Firle Beacon on the South Downs in Sussex. As you can see I didn't bother to dress up!



Nor did the other half!



Lovely old buildings. The Skies & Scarecrow gift shop and entrance/exit to the working farm which costs £3 each for adults.



A Gloucester Old Spot. I love pigs, I was born and grew up on a farm.



A rather cute Jersey calf making the most of the sunshine, just like us.



This is a goat? Well it was in with them!



My dad had a tractor much like this back in the 1960s.



This really is the first time I have seen a turkey still with its feathers!



A majestic peacock.



Pets on the farm too. Just look at these sweet little bunnies!



This guinea pig has his own little house!

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baah ...

Happy May Day everyone!

These two must be quite used to having their photo taken, today they were enjoying basking in the lovely sunshine. Unfortunately I have missed the famous Lambing Time at Coombes Farm in West Sussex where this little woolly pair live, lambing time is between March 15th - April 20th. I did hint but the reply was, it will be too busy! Anyway I took the opportunity today to pop up and take some photos before they either get too big or end up on someone's plate!

I now have this photo as my desktop to look at when I log on. It reminds me of a recollection of mine.

A year or so back while driving through Exmoor in Devon, we stopped the car in a carpark to put the kettle on and whilst it was boiling on the stove, I stood by the fence to observe the sheep, something which surprisingly in my 43 years I haven't ever done. What I noticed is how a lamb, split up from its Mum manages to find her again amongst a field full of other lambs and sheep. Quite a commotion was going on, a bleat here and a baa there from this little lamb and the same coming from some way in the distance, well I didn't know that every lamb and its Mum must have a baa which each other recognises, because eventually the little lamb picked up on Mum's radar, and the next thing I knew it was bounding off across the field to be reunited with her. I will never forget this amazing sight which brought a tear to my eye, and a memory I shall never forget.

I needed a cuppa after that and a strong one too!

christmas cat ...

A lot of you have a cat around the place, this one's for you!

Here’s my advice be
as merry as mice
And take a part in
their glee – O
And when that’s done
there’s capital fun
In the pussie’s Christmas – tri – O!

Christmas Cats - Printed by Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd

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pigs ...

I hope you like pigs as much as I do, my dad was a farmer, I was born on a farm in rural West Sussex and brought up surrounded by pigs of the real kind, hundreds of them, but then I grew up and I now have only three. The floral one at the back of the shot is of no particular note but I just liked him, the little black pig was from a carboot sale for 50p (does anyone know where he may have been made?) of which I could never sell as he is just too sweet, and last but not least my lovely pig made by Rye Pottery which I bought at Ardingly antiques fair, he was not so cheap but I think worth every penny!

What do you think of the tradition to smash a money bank which has no bung, to get the money out? It is customary after doing this to make a wish, replace the money bank and spend the money on 'good things'. I could never bring myself to smash up a good bit of china (although saying that I would in a Greek taverna!), but then again I wouldn't put the money in, in the first place.



If like me you like pigs, pop over to Sandi from The Nostalgia Fairy who has a prized possession of a pig, and if you like pigs of the real kind take a look in at Sara from Farming Friends, who has recently been posting photos of her new born British Saddleback piglets, they are so cute, I think you will agree?

looks like he's been thinking pink too ...

Bless ...!

durrell on jersey ...

We hope that you will be grateful for having been born into such a magical world. Gerald Durrell 1925-1995

In 1959 Gerald Durrell set up Jersey Zoo (now known as Durrell) at Les Augres Manor in Trinity. Durrell breeds rare animals from all corners of the globe in captivity with the aim of releasing them back into the wild, they also fight hard to preserve the creatures’ natural habitat. Durrell also runs a number of projects that aim to preserve the local environment and wildlife with considerable success.

I really enjoyed visiting Durrell on our recent trip to Jersey, I had previously visited when it was still known as Jersey Zoo on a school trip back in 1977 at the age of 12, a lot of changes must have taken place since then. I especially wanted to visit the Gorilla and Orangutan habitat, I have always had a fascination with apes.



Me in 1977 aged 12 (note the Radio 1 247 teeshirt bought from the Roadshow)



The Gorilla


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The baby Sumatran Orangutan

We had lunch in the very inviting Dodo restaurant, we were sensible and had soup and roll, but there were other hot and cold foods, and of course lovely tempting cakes and cookies to be had. If you ever have a trip over to Jersey I can recommend Durrell for adults and kids alike, we easily spent a morning there but you could spend the whole day.