The cows have gone on holiday for the summer to our friend Sallys house. They have grass up to their backs and its hard work being a cow, you have to eat and sleep all day. 

The turkey poults have arrived ready for christmas. We have 25 this year, so if any of our readers would like a turkey please reserve  yours now to avoid disappointnent. We had such huge demand last year we could have sold twice the amount. 

We have also got another six meat chicks  to help stock the freezer up, hopefully by the end of the year we will have raised 18 for the freezer.

The garden is coming on well, the flower bed in the back garden has been im bloom since february. We have a huge array of perenials which are increasing year on year. Most the lavender is in flower and the dahilas are stunning. Mum was given a really pretty french lavender plant with white ears for her birthday, its so pretty. 

We also have the most magnifiscent arum lillies. I must take a photo and post tomorrow. 

Most if the potatoes are in flower so i hope soon we will be earing Furzedown Spuds.

The pumpkins/marrows/squashes are doing well i keep watering them and fingers crossed soon we can enjoy

Picking and  eating our crop.

The sheep are all well, mum is busy checking them at three other locations. She had a scare with Fred earlier in the week, he didnt come when he was called  and the grass is so long Mum

Couldnt see him. She is also really scared of Fred and his mate David the jacob, they always see Mum as a butting post. 

So she had to drive home to collect my brother to only find out Fred was in a really deep sleep enjoying the sun. Silly boy!

The horses are living out at the moment they are having a lovely time and are as fat as butter. 

We are making sausages next weekend, so an early start on Tuesday delivering pigs to the abbatoir. 

Im off to bed now i will share the lilly photo tomorrow. 

Over and out 

Danni 

I can't believe I haven't posted for a month, I am sorry to all of our followers. Summer is such a busy time of year. Time is very short at the moment, for me everyone seems to be building, and I am clocking up the hours at work. I am working on bathrooms at the moment about 48 of them for a prestige development in Hertfordshire. Hard work but very rewarding! Poor Gareth is working in Dover and a Dad is in Ramsgate so both are having to use the dreaded Dartford Crossing everyday. Mum is busy at work and also training for the race for life! She is marching around the Prom is Maldon as I type. If anyone would like to show their support to this good cause and Mums enthusiasm by sponsoring her please email her Donna@furzedown398.freeserve.co.uk.

Well all is well on the animal front, Esme didn't have a kid so her time with stinky didn't pay off. We do have a new steer Red. He is wonderful, he kisses me, I don't no how we are going to eat him! He might have to stay. He has settled in really well with Tilly and Tulip who has grown so much.

Most of the sheep have gone on their summer holidays now so it's quiet at home. The pigs are growing well, we have 7 left, and will be making sausages again at the end of this month. 

The vegetable garden is going well, mum has been busy! Although she is so disheartened at how the slugs are eating everything and the pigeons stripped her broccoli in a day. We now have a brassica cage and hopefully that will help. SLUGS the Bain of our life! Any tips please do tell us.

Our extended veggie garden in the wood is looking good the potatoes are flowering, we have leeks and sweet corn planted as well as a huge array of pumpkins, squashes and marrows on the muck heap. We are just staring to eat our raspberries this week. 

Elderflower cordial is made and will be for sale at the gate this weekend. 

Anyway off to work so I will endeavour to catch up soon.

Danni

Busy day shearing! All the sheep are now ready for summer!

The shearers sister Nancy has told me all about Halifax mill

 And how they will process small quantities of fleeces. So i am going to arrange to send a few of ours! I want it washed and carded into batts so i can spin it.

When we put Esme in the field, she insists of eating the trees on the way. She really is a big goat!

Its been a lovely weekend the weather has been good and we have done so much gardening.

Mum has all the gowing under way and a fair amount has been planted out. 

Maurice has been sieving muck with me with it so well rotted its like compost. 

We have so many different beans, broad beans, french beans, patio beans, climbing beans and runner beans.

The potatoes are doing really well, Gareth keeps telling me off for watering them! Most of the onions and shallots are planted and seem to be doing well.

Dad and Maurice have finished the drains for the cutting room and Maurice has restored the ground level by rotevating and Gareth harrowing with the quad.

Busy day tomorrow the shearer is coming! We have our sheep and Nigels to have their hair done. What Am i going to do with all those lovely fleeces? Make time use my wheel and spin, spin, Spin!

A photo to finish, Tilly and her baby!

We have thirteen wonderful lambs, although I must say it's been a very stressful lambing. Thank god for our friend Niegel, he has been wonderful with his excellent midwifery skills!

We have lambs stuck galore, for some reasons they all wanted to come out with a front leg backwards. We have premature lambs and huge lambs. But we are all done and dusted now, well apart from our original sheep Disney. We aren't sure if she is in lamb and if she is she is a way off. 

Esme the goat is now in the maternity pem, she has milk so fingers crossed her kid is on the way.

Maurice has been busy moving muck, we have a toy from his work to stay a lovely teleporta which reaches over 12 meters. We have mucked out the barn with it. I have never known anyone to be so excited about cow muck, but our friend Phil reckons it is the best you can get so he has had all the cow muck delivered to his field so he can rot it down for the future. Maurice has also been moving our muck heap, I think he has moved over 100 tonnes via the tractor and trailer to Phil and our neighbour Levi. It is just like compost! 

The pigs are now all out in the wood they are having a fantastic time, although it is very tiring. 

Tilly and Tulip the dexters are now out in the field. Tulip is growing so quick, I have could resist the photo of her sitting in a paddling pool. I thought it was a great way to contain her haulage, however she thought it made a better bed. We have purchased our next Dexter, he is a laugh red coloured steer. He will only be with us until the end of the year. We are sharing him with Nigel to thank him for all his help at lambing. 

The garden is changing daily. We are planting more and more out and I hope we will have the most productive garden ever.

Maurice and I have finished planting the potatoes and we have a little space left. So inspired by Country File we are going to plant some rainbow coloured carrots, parsnips, sweet corn and leeks. 

I find myself sitting at the kitchen table typing this post, Gareth has an early start today so I thought I would make use of blogging at 5am. 

I hope you are all enjoying spring.

Easter has arrived for me, today was the first day of my week off. I have had a wonderful day, i am now sitting in the garden under the most wonderful blossom from the pear trees drinking tea and typing this post. I don't think life gets much better than that! Or am i easily pleased? I don't care, i love our life.

Today has been very productive, i have mowed, weeded and planted several things in the garden mainly floral. Although i did get chance to plant the broad beans out that Mum has been nurturing. 

This afternoon i have been on lamb watch, all is quiet! The poor girls are so uncomfortable, and overdue now.

Margorie lambed yesterday morning, we had a nose and a foot. For those of you that watch lambing life i think you all know we need two feet, a head and the diving position. I got my lubrication out and went in, however i failed i couldnt find the other foot and could feel something over its back. Nigel to the rescue! It was twins and the second one was backwards. The backwards lamb is struggling a little, her legs are weak, however with a bit of tender loving care we hope they will come right.

The potatoes have stuck their heads through? So i have invested in a new sprinkler   today.

East Essex Smallholders meeting this evening an Easter Cake Competition! 

Lottie has lambed, a lovely little girl who i think we will call Peaches in memory of a young life lost. 

Tulip is a wild child now experimenting with strange hair styles!

And the place is alive. This is an area in the wood that is soon to be a haze of red campions.

Did you all see the wild seed give away on country file? I have ordered ours and can't wait for them to arrive.

I love this time of year!