As I mentioned last week, work has now started on the soft cheese production house here at Godminster. On day one the contractor cut through our water pipes, so that caused a bit of a commotion!!  Richard had a fabulous time down at the at The Master Builder’s, Food & Drink Festival in Buckler’s Hard last weekend. If you’ve never been it really is worth a visit. Richard’s new organic blackcurrant and honey sorbet was a huge success, so watch this space for more.

The farm is looking beautiful thanks to a very welcome mix of sunshine and showers.  Our herd of cows is milking well and enjoying some sun on their backs, and the warm and dry weather has given us the chance to make 125 acres of sweet, well made hay. Richard tells me that unfortunately wild oats are beginning to rear their ugly heads in the triticale crop, and one field of beans now has chocolate spot disease, but the others are still looking incredible.

In the garden the gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and raspberries are in full bloom and Richard is having great fun experimenting with them to create ice creams in his development kitchen (where he loves to be most of all when he’s not on the farm!).

We’re seeing lots of life on the farm from magpies, squirrels and rooks teaching their young how to survive, to the mallard with her seven ducklings and rabbits tending to their babies, it’s a very busy environment at the moment. Richard even spotted house martins for the first time in years, it’s fantastic to see so many animals calling Godminster their home.