May On The Farm

May is one of my favourite months on the farm. The blossom, the hedgerow coming back into leaf, the lush grass – everything feels fresh, new and lovely. It’s been a little late in arriving this year thanks to such a prolonged cold wet spring. As a consequence our bluebells in the wood were late blooming and shorter lived than in other years but they were still spectacular while they lasted. As with every year we have guests who book especially for bluebell season which we love!  

Most of our nesting boxes appear to be busy again which is good news. The bluetits are particularly noisy in the barnyard whenever I walk past one the box they’ve chosen. We’ve a very scruffy looking male blackbird helping his mate with feeding duties for their young who are nesting in the plum tree in our garden – he looks every inch the tired new dad!

The swallows of Swallowtail Hill returned last month and we have three nesting pairs in the donkey barn and tractor barn – interestingly although we have put up fake swallow cups to save them the effort after their long flight from the southern hemisphere, they always ignore these in favour of building their own. Our wagtailed tits are nesting inside the tractor engine on top of the battery, fear not – the tractor won’t be used while they are there! They fly in via a hole on the engine cover – it’s a smart choice as it’s obviously a super safe and private space. They’ve done it for years – they’ve obviously pass on the location info to the next generation!

The wildflower meadows are at the starting of their blooming season right now – with the buttercup in full bloom, but the orchids are slowly coming into flower along with all my other favourites – it won’t be long until they are in their full glory.