April on The Farm

It’s been quite a month! First we had a heatwave, then we had snow, then we had high winds, and at the time of writing the sun is back out but there’s more rain forecast for tomorrow.

Sometimes I leave the farmhouse to walk 50 metres across the garden to the yard and by the time I get there I find I’m in a different season and wearing the wrong clothes!

At the moment my most favourite place at Swallowtail Hill is the wood – it’s currently awash with little white wood anemones and it looks glorious. The trees and hedgerows are greening up fast and it won’t be long before the meadows start to do their thing! The birds are busy nesting all around the farm both in the boxes we provide for them and in housing of their own making – including one blackbird who has taken up residence just outside our front door in the eaves of our porch. She’s made the messiest, most precarious looking nest you ever did see. I’m thinking that she was either in a hurry, or she’s a bit of a bohemian blackbird and has an eccentric aesthetic, or maybe blackbirds in general aren’t the most skilled when it comes to nest making? Either way, she seems happy enough even though we’re in and out of the door every five minutes!

Last week the three spaces that hibernate over winter reopened their doors for the 12th season at Swallowtail Hill. Wood and Penfold Cabins and Meadow Keeper’s Cottage all look sparkly fresh and are already busy with guests.  It’s lovely to hear the sound of children running around enjoying themselves, seeing smoke drifing up from campfires at the cabins and smelling breakfasts and suppers being cooked outside! 

The housekeeping dream team is on top form, and we’re recruiting again to add to our numbers. If you’re local and you know the perfect person to join our squad then get in touch!

Projects for this month are mainly focused on getting the veg patch planted up – better late than never! We’ve been busy creating some new campfire suppers to put on the menu, you’ll find some new treats in the shop, and there’s a gorgeous big oak sign outside when you arrive for your hols (no more guests getting lost in the lane!) but everything else is exactly the Swallowtail Hill you know and love. 

In other news, our leader (she who must be obeyed) has a significant birthday later this month. but we’ve got strict orders to keep quiet about that…