Sunday 29^th January

This weekend, we hosted a lovely group, new to LSF, on a meditation retreat.

They were a serene and appreciative presence and showed great respect and understanding for LSF and the way we try to do things here.

They took an hour out each day to help with tasks around the farm but we were too busy looking after them to take an hour out to do some official bird-watching for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, which was earmarked for today.

A pity, because the farm is amazingly-full of feathered friends: in the garden, on the feeders, and in the trees.

It’s amazing, birds flitting about everywhere and chirruping all round the farm, as if spring had already sprung but before the first snowdrop has appeared.

Bizarre but uplifting and beautiful.

Right now, life is for birds and beauty at Lower Shaw Farm.

Although we also feel the pressure of plenty of less uplifting prosaic problems, like leaking shed roofs, a shortage of hay, the plight of locked up hens, and authors being slow in deciding whether or not they want to come to this year’s Swindon Festival of Literature.

Oh what a beautiful Sunday morning: bright, breezeless, and frosty.
Never was the sky so blue, streaked east to west with jet trails, from seemingly-small silent planes either flying to or away from the USA . . .
And we have a Bread Making course about to begin; and the CALM (Children’s Cancer And Leukaemia Movement) families due mid morning . . . but the Centre’s cold and the water pipes are frozen.
We have to get busy, and do.
By midday, the kitchen is womb-warm and dough is mixed, kneaded, and rising, and the circle of aproned apprentice-bakers are flour-flecked and happy; and the CALM children are happy too, helping carry kettles of water to the frozen Centre.
Life is for helping at Lower Shaw Farm.

Now big, independent, and international, LSF-bred offspring Anna, Jacob, and Rosa delayed their departures for Beirut, Bristol, and Bali to make sure they here for their father’s biggish birthday on 12^th January.

In fact, they were instrumental in celebrations, cooking, serving cocktails, and trying to control their pa’s perpetual patter. 

He was very happy, with a champagne breakfast, lunch, and supper, and the appearance at LSF of some pretty fine people throughout the day.

By the weekend, visitors, youngsters, and birthday frocks were gone and the older folk were back in wellies and working clothes, running a Wwoof weekend, that saw us, damp but undaunted, pruning apple trees, carting wood chips, and fixing a leaking hen house roof.

Looks like life is for working at LSF, whatever our age!

Sunday 8^th January 2017

A week into the new year, and the hens and ducks are still locked up.

And, ironically, part of their roof has blown off, offering them a bit of fresh air, sunshine, and rain.

Their plight has made the regional press, with usual quota of journalistic errors.  See http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/15010478.Farmer_takes_action_after_avian_flu_alert/

Blissfully unaware of a flu epidemic, wild birds hereabouts are much happier than the incarcerated domestics ones. Today, a little flock of four fabulously-feathered Goldfinches clung on to the wire birdfeeder, prising out Niger seeds with their pointy beaks.

And on the other side of the house, a bright-beaked blackbird tried to mate, or do something pretty passionate, with its own reflection in a dirty old mirror by the compost loo. Could it be the same bright blackbird that swoops down to nick scraps of food the very moment it’s been thrown out to the pigs?

Our Newsletter looking back at 2016 and our hardcopy programme looking forward to 2017 are both back from the printers and will be stuffed into envelopes this week and sent out to those of you who are on the mailing list.

You will also be able to see both on our website shortly.

Sunday 1^st January 2017

Happy New Year dear reader!

Today, at Lower Shaw farm, it rained, and rained, and rained, despite which, for the first time in living memory, there is no water in the duck pond.

We are puzzled. By this time, midwinter, it is normally full. What’s going on?

And it’s a strange first day of the year, with so much rain, and us being out in it, walking and running (parkrun) but the animals all under cover, the hens locked up in the hen house because of Bird Flu (DEFRA’s orders) and the pigs in their neat beds of straw because their pen is a mud bath.  

We have a lovely group of winter walkers here, who celebrated the passing of the old year and arrival of the new one with walks in the day time and games, puzzles, and songs in the evening, plus saunas, and plenty of good food too.

This afternoon, we saw a buzzard, in the trees behind the sheep pen.