At last the weather is starting to warm up.  The lambs are jumping around the padock and looking healthy and happy.  Aunty Joyce is very broody, and grabbing any and every egg she can to sit on.  Very curious to know if the eggs are fertile, but will just have to wait and see.  I've been told that you can candle the eggs, holding them to bright light to see if there is anything there, but don't want to upset Aunty Joyce.  Can't do it for 7 days, so will have to wait and decide nearer the time.

I am going to do my vegetable patch tomorrow, and that is a promise.  It has been sadly neglected since Charlie and Boat broke in and ate all the spinach.  Some "thing" has eaten the carrots as well - so will have to investiage more fully tomorrow.  My compost bin, which I emptied a few weeks ago has also blown over, and needs re-assembling and then compost again.  I should also muck the chickens out and use their mucky straw to start it off again. 

Unable to eat lamb at the moment, as the baby lambs look so gorgeous that I can't even consider eating them whilst I can see them from the house.  I'm going to a BBQ on Sunday, and shoudl take lamb chops - but will have to see how I go.  We've been promised a calf from my parents in law's farm, so might starve to death if I can't eat chicken - as too sad, can't eat lamb as too cute, and the calves have such gorgeous eyes, I can't possibly eat them!!! 

After great excitement of the first 2 lambs, we then had a third.  We were expecting her to have twins, and were suprised to only see the one come out.  Very sadley an hour later I found the second twin.  She was dead.  I picked her up, and she was still warm, and pulled all the gunk out of her mouth.  I rubbed her really hard, and covered her with my jumper whilst trying to get her to stand up.  But there was nothing.  I am so sad, as I feel that if only I had followed my gut instinct, as I knew she was having twins, and maybe I could have pulled her out alive. 

I've been out and bought some formula and 2 teets incase the other lambs need some help.  It is so cold at the moment, and they don't look very strong.  I don't want to start hand feeding unless necessary, but will be ready just in case.  I can't lose anothe one.  I am finding this farming a bit traumatic this week.  We have brought them in to the enclosure which is more secure, and hope that the foxes stay away.  They look so tiny.

I have just experienced the most horrific situation.  I went to check on my ducks and chicks in the garage, only to find one of the chickens seriously sick.  He was lying on one side, unable to stand.   I stood him up, (very gently) and he just plopped helplessly back on the other side.  All the while staring at me with helpless and hopeless eyes, chirping feebly. 

I knew that the end was nigh.  I held the defenseless chicken in my hands, ready to end her suffering, and then I felt my eyes start to prickle, and fill with tears.  I tried to be tough. These chickens are being bred to be eaten.  They are going to die one day - and it is going to be me that does it.  How can I not kill a 3 week old chicken who wants to die.  I could feel her heart beat through my fingers.  I tried to get her to stand up once more, thinking that maybe she would be better now.  But she fell like a drunk sailor.  At this point I had to call in reinforcements.  My husband told me what I needed to do.  These are my chickens.  I need to take control of my small farm in the garage.  I handed my chicken to my husband and heard her calling out to me.  Her final chirps before she died. 

How am I going to manage when it's a 3kilo chicken that I have fed daily, named and watched grow up.  Maybe I'm just not as tough as I need to be for this farming game.

It's that time of year when the Citrus trees are all producing more Lemons, Limes and oranges than we know what to do with.  Here are a few ideas of how we can use them whilst they are here - and hopefully keep enjoying them through out the year.

• Lemon/Lime/Orange curd
• Lemon Merringue Pie
• Marmalade
• Marmalade with ginger
• Preserved Lemons
• Preserved Limes
• Lemons squeezed, grated and frozen
• Lemon Chicken
• Lemon Cordial
• Lemon and Poppyseed muffins
• Duck a l'orange
• Orange Jelly
• Chocolate Orange Mousse
• Lemon gooey Pudding
• Lemon Tart
• Lemon Sauce
• Roast Lemon Chicken
• Lemon/Lime or Orange Sorbet
• Lemon Cheesecake
• Jaffa Cake
• Lemon Drizzle Cake

Theo and Aunty Joyce have both gone broody today and I have so many questions:

• If I want to count their eggs, will I disturb them and stop them hatching the eggs?
• Do I need to wait 21 days to see if they are fertile?
• Is there any way of knowing who the father is?
• Should I remove the other hens?
• Should I let the other hens carry on laying eggs, or will they sit on those as well?
• I have some eggs I collected yesterday - can I put those under the hens?
• How can I stop them getting mites/fleas when they sit for a long time?
• Is there anything else I should do for my little gells?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern twins born at about 1pm. 

Theo and Aunty Joyce gone broody.

Less than an hour ago I said we had yet to lamb - well I am delighted to announce that we have just had twins!

I was just going down to feed the chickens some scraps and saw first one, and then the other new born lamb.  They are still very wobbly on their tiny legs, but seem to be feeding well, and Mum is being very protective.  I will try and post some photographs as soon as I can.

We are still hoping for at least another set of twins, and maybe even a third set.  My midwiffery skills obviously need some more practice,as  it looked t me as though the other sheep was going to lamb first! 

We are also very excited as the two bantems, Theo and Aunty Joyce seem to have gone broody. I know it is very early days, but they have sat fast on a small nest of eggs for the past 24 hours.  I am going to keep the Isa's in there with Boat, Charlie and Lawn Mower, so that they will hopefully be sitting on around a dozen eggs.  I am then planning on moving everyone out and into the other pen, and see what happens.   By my calculations if anything is going to happen it should be about 17th August!!  I know I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, but I just can't help it!

Great Excitement today!  My Father In Law has been restoring a Fiat 411R tractor which he has given to us.  We have named her Betty and promised to take good care of her.  Her first job is to slash the paddocks (both of them).  The grass has grown ridiculously long, and is of really poor quality.  Not even the sheep are enjoying it.  I think it is going to be quite a time consuming job as our paddocks have a few big pot holes in, and a small dam which has overflown with all the rain and made a very boggy area, so will have to tread carefully.  We are also in the process of putting all the fallen branches into a pile to hopefully have a bonfire.  I've been given a dutch oven, so would love to try and cook with that in the bonfire. 

The sheep are still huge, and no sign of a baby yet.  Started thinking of names for the babies, and getting too excited.  I always do this, and am then heart broken if there is a problem.  We had a fox attack 12 months ago, and our first (and only) chicks were taken, along with the majority of our chickens.  We had about 6 chicks, who we had named, and I was absolutly devastated.

We sadly lost a baby chick in the night. All the chicks looked a bit unwell – the ducks were fine, but not the chicks. We found her dead this morning.  There was no obvious reason as to why she died, but I think she may have caughtg a chill.  I therfore put them back in the smaller box, which is easier to keep warm.  They seemed much improved by the afternoon, so hoping that is all that was wrong.  The ducks enjoy the water so much, it has been very hard to keep the bedding dry – so might need to separate the ducks and chickens.  I am not sure if it is advisable to keep them together – so will have to do a bit of research.

All the other livestock is doing really well.  The sheep look like they are about to explode, and I remember the feeling well!  I am hoping it starts to warm up soon, as wouldn’t like to be a new born lamb in this cold and windy weather.  We are also concerned that there may be a fox problem, as I think they can smell the afterbirth and are then likely to attack a new born lamb.  Last year we moved them into the very small paddock next to the house – but we can’t keep them in here for long as so small and no water – so we need to put buckets in, - which is fine for a short period of time – but not for the long haul.  Also, the grass would not last long.