It's an incredibly busy time on the smallholding at the moment. I have had several blog posts on my mind since the last one but very little to write them! Please bear with me and forgive my silence as the land requires all my physical and mental energy at the moment.

Since the Spring Equinox, hours of daylight are increasing before they culminate at the Summer Solstice. We have now passed Beltane, the half-way point between the two and in response to the lengthening days, nature is very busy. Plants are growing fast and for the tender ones, it is …

As the new year begins, it is time to reveal our exciting project for 2017: we have a shepherd's hut and will soon be offering holidays and retreats.

Last Summer, we came across a local craftsman who was selling a shepherd's hut he had built himself, a new wooden structure on an old hay trailer chassis, with big lorry wheels. We immediately liked it and started the process to obtain the necessary planning permission from the local authority to site the hut in one of our fields. At the end of October, after an anxious two months submitting paperwork and …