Catch up on the smallholding

It is always busy at this time of the year because of lambing, sowing, outstanding pruning and, as the weather begins to warm up, dealing with sprouting weeds. The clocks going forward to British Summer Time helps with the extra daylight in the evening. 

Yesterday I brought the pigs back in again as the paddocks have become water logged with the recent rain. An unexpected turn after what has been an otherwise dry Spring. 

Apart from the rams, the sheep are all in the barn; four have lambed so far with three more to go. This afternoon, as I was feeding the sheep and replenishing the straw, a first time mum conveniently gave birth to twins when I was there. Two ram lambs. Two hours later they were licked clean, on their feet and suckling. Always a relief when a first timer takes to it straight away. 

Today the temperature was a bit higher and is forecast to stay that way for a few days at least so hopefully it will help get the grass growing. 

The ducklings we acquired as day olds are now four weeks old and have grown very rapidly. I let them out into their run today for the first time. No doubt later I will have to show them how to return to their housing for the night. They will eventually get the hang of it.

I have potted on the tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and chillies. In the last week or so I have additionally sown: leeks, banana shallots, cabbage, cauliflower, spring onions, lettuce and beetroot. I have also started to sow some annual flowers. More vegetables and flowers to sow this week and next. I will begin planting potatoes soon, too, and setting out the onions. 

The lawn that was sown last November has come up very well and this week, before the rain resumed, I gave it its first cut. It is a dense rich green and rather overshadows the adjacent established lawn. 

There is lots of Spring colour coming through now including bright yellow forsythia and, in contrast, the metallic blue anemone blanda. What really signposts the end of the bleakness of Winter for me is the long boundary hedge of hawthorn and blackthorn now springing into leaf.