Sutton Mawr Farm Bed & Breakfast

25th Feb 2012

2012-02-25T07:03:00.001-08:00

We woke up to a lovely morning,, at Sutton Mawr. When we went out to check the animals. We discovered our first lambs. People think that sheep are completely stupid, but this ewe waited till our first spring like day before giving birth to two beautiful Jacob lambs

4th Feb 2012

2012-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Had the most lovely wedding here at Sutton Mawr Farm today the snow was very beautiful and romantic until it turned into rain.
The bride looked stunning and the party is now in full swing.
Happy Wedding Day Huw and Laura!

31st January

2012-01-31T07:22:00.000-08:00

January has been a quiet month for bookings so we have been busy deep cleaning Sutton Mawr and giving all the rooms a lick of paint. We have also been making a few changes to the website.
Group bookings are very popular for the year ahead.
We have our first wedding of the year on Saturday so all looking forward to that.
Off to the flower market tomorrow.

23rd January 2012

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

I have been busy researching bread recipes so got statred with Tom Herberts Sourdough Bread and Riverfords Wholemeal Loaf both yummy. Will definately be baking these both again.
A taste of things to come!

15th January Hobbs Bakery Course

2012-01-16T02:46:00.000-08:00

Vicci went on a Hobbs House bakery course today. She decided last year as she had started making bread every morning for our guests to see if she could improve her baking skills. But the courses had a waiting list probably due to the fact that Tom along with Henry have been very busy with their new tv series on channel 4 Wednesday 8.30 pm The Fabulous Baker Boys, I have to admit to not seeing thwe first 2 episodes but will now be avidly watching! In the meantime I brought the hobb house bakery pack a complete home lesson with DVD which was great really easy to follow until I thought I had killed my sourdough starter. So when they rang to say they had a place I decided to go along for some bread advice. The day was very enjoyable and definately worth going to to really get to grips with the basics of bread making and give your confidence.
And hopefully our guests can look forward to some exciting new loafs on the breakfast table.
Watch out for Tom and Henry Herbert. Henry cooked a very delicous leg of jacob lamb for lunch the same breed we rear I urge you to try jacob lamb if you can it is quite special. Looking forward to going to the new Hobbs House Butcher Henry runs in Chipping Sodbury next time.
　

5th January 2012

2012-01-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

What a night! The wind was relentless. Our poor Christmas tree finally gave in..

It coincidently is twelfth night!

We have an Australian Family, the Positti's staying with us. They have been on tour for 8 weeks.around European. they have arrived in wet and windy Wales. They braved the mud and did a farm tour. They are probably missing the summer weather back home, but they are packing in the sights, and having great time.

1st January 2012

2012-01-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

FROM ALL THE STAFF AND ANIMALS AT SUTTON MAWR

28th December 2011

2012-01-03T05:01:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a great Christmas. it was a lot warmer than last year. It was minus 15 degrees and all our pipes had frozen. We had to carry all the water from the house to the animals. It was exhausting.

This year it's the opposite there is too much water! The pigs are walking in muddy soup, so I decided to build a new pig house in a paddock we haven't yet used.

It only took a couple of hours and I am really pleased with result. The pigs are very happy

Leonie and Cliff came to stay with us for a few days and they fell in love with Rosie s last puppy. We were so delighted they wanted her as they will spoil her and really look after her. I think they are going to call her Tiger Daisy.

The Parson gang have turned up to stay at Sutton Mawr for the New Year. They came last year, there are 14 of them and a few dogs.

17th December 2011

2011-12-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not blogging this week. Its been manic and my camera is on the blink.

Martyn my very patient nieghbour has been up to rearrange my balls and also light them up. The christmas tree now looks lovely.

We were visited by the Lyon family for the third time this year. Scott their middle son wanted his birthday down on the farm. So they spent the day clearing up all the sheds and yards. It was a messy business but their all helped out. The animals were all very happy.

They are now fully qualified egg collectors, as they did it all on their own and no breakages..

9th December 2011

2011-12-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

The puppies are very mobile! The little monkeys are running all over the place. Aunty Dora is taking her role very seriously.

Sarah Clarke revisited Sutton mawr for a treat, and fell in love with the puppies...

Jessie our last pregnant cow has had a massive red bull calf, which we are going to call Rudolf.

All the cows and their calves are doing really well....

5th December 2011

2011-12-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

Our very patiant and helpful nieghbour was at hand to assist in the erection of the Christmas tree. It was up in no time ....

and before I knew what was happening I was putting on the decorations.

I have been informed by "the boss" that I have put my big balls at the top and it should be the other way round. We are going to have to rearrange the balls and install the lights. I will have to talk nicely to our nieghbour, to do a return visit with his big machine.

The whole process was overlooked by our guests Douglas Hughes and Sandra Martin, who stayed in the cottage, they came down to see the rugby. They had a lovely time, and enjoyed seeing the puppies

3rd December 2011

2011-12-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

We got our Christmas tree today, it's massive and its going to to look spectacular in the courtyard. But we are going to need at least 3 strong men to put it up, we are hoping to put it up tomorrow and decorate it. Watch this space.

The puppies are seriously cute...

They are now mobile.

Full tonight with fans going to the rugby. However we do have a french family who have come down from Kent to pick up a new puppy. They have brought a parrot with them. Our first parrot to stay at Sutton Mawr. His name is Charlie. It is his first time to Wales

Trio had her third calf on Tuesday. Its a bull calf and going to call it Moses. Photos tomorrow

27th November 2011

2011-11-27T03:46:00.000-08:00

This week we went to the Red Lion pub in Pendoylan. This pub has been closed due to renovation. We had a lovely meal. Large burgers served on rustic oak platters. Vicci had a ribeye steak which she thought was one of the best she had ever had, which is quite an accolade.

It has been finished in a typical gastro style. The staff were very friendly. Worth a visit.

Went shooting with the Nicholls family in Wiltshire had a great day out. Lovely weather and fabulous birds. Having pan fried pheasant breasts Monday night, can not wait.

Puppies are growing at the rate of knots! Will take lots of photos of them mid week. They do look like miniature Holstein diary cows.

Two more calves due soon from Jessie and Trio. We tagged all the calves . They look so silly with these massive yellow tags in their ears, but its required by law.

The berries are out on the Holly bushes. Xmas is coming!.

I have got to get a tree for the courtyard, last year I got a 25ft tree for half price as its was damaged. A week after I erected it the top 3ft fell off!.Try and do better this time

A mate of mine down in Pembrokeshire delivered two large bags of fallen apples. The pigs have loved them.

22nd November 2011

2011-11-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

As promised I have taken a few photos of the puppies. The small boy has been taken by the Renwick family. It has been named Marvic! Sounds like a comic book character, but it is in fact make out of our names Mark and Vicci. We are very touched.

Here is Marvic with his new mum....

This is the biggest of the 3 puppies... She has slightly longer hair than the other two.

She was the first to open her eyes.. she has started moving about, it will not be long till she is running around, making a nuisance of herself.

This is also a girl. She has black patches on both eyes, the rest is white. Really unusual markings, very striking.

This is tiny Marvic, the only boy. We have to make sure he gets his milk every day, as his two big sisters would have it all!

21st October 2011

2011-11-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

There was a lot of mooing first thing this morning. We rushed over and bluebell had given birth to a baby girl. She has been in labour for weeks. The Calf as predicted by the vet is very large.

They are both doing really well.

We had some brilliant dogs staying at sutton mawr. They are French Bull dogs.

20th October 2011

2011-11-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

We had a full house this weekend. The Jolly family joined us from Northern Ireland, to celebrate Johnny Graham 18th Birthday. It was a fancy dress party with the theme "The boat that rocked".

It was great fun! What a bunch..

The Jolly family,

The Andrews gang

Ready to rock !

The next day it was Justin Jolly's 16th birthday. It was lovely to be able celebrate it at Sutton Mawr. We all had a massive Sunday roast, ate far too much!

The Birthday Boy

We have finished our alteration to the main reception.. We think its a great improvement. Guests can now relax on comfy chairs in front of a woodburner .

Just been out to check on Bluebell, still no calf!..Will blog photos of puppies on Wednesday, their eyes have just opened.

16th October 2011

2011-11-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Decided to take Dora and Tiger Lily to Barry Island for a run around. There was a number of dog walkers, the tide was right out. Took a few photos... to show you what you were missing...

Dora and Tiger Lily loved it..

The sun was just going down...

not many kids on the rides

Rosie puppies are getting cuter and cuter every day.

Their eyes are still closed.

Rosie is quite happy us picking them up..

Bluebell still not given birth, How much longer?

14th November 2011

2011-11-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

The days are getting a lot shorter. The sun went down at 4.30pm today.

We moved all the pigs around on the weekend. Stella and Ruby were too muddy so we moved them to a new paddock. They are delighted. The move went like clockwork... It seems to either go really well or really badly! There is no in between. As a friendly pig farmer told me, when I first started. " you only have one chance at moving a pig". He right if it doesn't work first time you might as well give up!.

Rosies puppies doing well. Here are a few photos

They still have their eyes closed.

This is the only boy and he is tiny.. The girls at definitely bullying the poor chap!

I am checking on Bluebell all the time. She has still not had her calf. I have been told it can take weeks from when they first show signs of labour. It must be any day now.

10th November 2011

2011-11-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

We had a bit of a shock this afternoon. Rosie and the puppies suddenly disappeared! We spent hours trying to find them. We looked all over the house, in all the out buildings. We had given up. Then Alice found them in our bed...She had picked them up individually and taken them upstairs. They were very comfortable. We have now made a more suitable bed downstairs. Polly Daisy and myself carried them down. Rosie didn't put up much resistance.

The two girls are absolutely enormous! talk about girl power, the boy is starving, so twice a day we make sure he gets some milk. Rosie only has 2 teats working.

Here are some photo...

One of the girls...

all fast asleep....

Bluebell is in labour, we are checking her every few hours. The vet has told us she is having a large calf so fingers crossed

6th November 2011

2011-11-07T02:17:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy weekend at the farm. Moorhen has given birth to a black bull calf. We are going to call him Mutley Moses or Spooks. They are both doing really well

Rosie had puppies on friday night. She had 6 in all 2 girls and 4 boys. She had them in Polly's bedroom. Polly was a brilliant vet with the assistance of her elder sister Alice. Unfortunately, the first one was still born. Then we lost the smallest black one, the next day, and last night a third one died. The 3 which are still alive are doing really well and we have one girl and two boys left. They are mostly white with small black and brown spots. Rosie is being a brilliant mum. Experts do say that jack russells have very small litters. So it possible that Rosie can only feed three successifully. Rosie is very protective so photos are not easy. I will put loads on the blog when I can.

We have lived in Barry for 14 years and have never been to the Barry Island firework display. Well we did on Saturday night with Polly and 6 friends and it was tremendous. Must of been 7 thousand people all on the prom and down on the beach. The night was ideal for fireworks and we were not disappointed. Really good display, everybody was on great form and brilliant atmosphere. Well done everyone involved, which was mainly the Barry Rotary Club.. We will be there every year from now on!

2nd November 2011

2011-11-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

The clocks have now gone back, and you do feel winter is on its way. Its still very mild. but there are massive amount of berries on the Hornthorns, which if, old wife's tales are to be believed, we are in for a cold one!. I hope its not as cold as last year -15c.

We harvested all our lavender from around the courtyard. This needs to be completely dry before removing all the heads. We then place the lavender heads into small embroided sacks to place in the guests rooms.

Today we went on a long walk from Barry to Aberthaw. It was beautiful day, lovely walk along very interesting coast line and passed the power station, which is Wale's largest polluter! The walk took over 2 hours and we got picked up in Gileston by R D taxis.

When we got home on the news was all about a massive landslide at Porthkerry Caravan park, which we walk through. 5 Caravans nearly ended up in the sea. Luckily no one was injured.

29th October 2011

2011-10-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic night out. The theme was "the boat that rocks" 70's night. The girls went down to Kutz and co Barry for a bit of hair styling. They looked brilliant. It was in aid of Velindre Hospital and held in The Bear Hotel. We danced the night away, all the moves came flooding, back John Travolta watch out!

The Thom Family... fully trained egg collectors.

We had a lovely family stay at Sutton Mawr over the half term break. We got them fully trained, so they were collecting, packing and stamping the eggs!

This morning woke up to no water. Called welsh water, who very politely told me, its nothing to do with them. Our water main crosses under another farmer field to the main road. All in all ,its about 200 mtrs. As the man from welsh water said "finding a burst pipe in that lot, is like looking for a nettle in a haystack". He advised me to lay a new water main. This would mean digging up the farmers field, which has recently been seeded. The farmer Edward Thomas kindly shot over and we sorted out a route. I ordered the digger....

Well luckily we found it! I had to dig the area out, which resulted in me getting very dirty and wet. After finding the problem, I was a bit stuck so I had to refer matters to my very patient neighbour Martyn David (plumbing expert) who directed me through the whole process.

In addition to this BT arrived for the 5th time to sort out our telephone line as our broadband has been down for the last month. Vicci has being going nuts. I have wasted hours on the phone to Sky. We have had a new modem, new power supply, new filter, some rewiring of the internal phone lines.

But today they find the real problem. When I was giving the house a haircut as it was covered in ivy and goodness know what else, I accidently nicked the phone line with the hedge trimmer! It is always my fault.....

Anyway we are now with water and broadband, Hooray!

19th October 2011

2011-10-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

We had a family gathering at Sutton Mawr over the weekend. We had a massive evening meal in the village hall, everybody stayed and enjoyed a cooked breakfast in the morning.

It was great fun, we loved every minute.

No more calves born this week, but we hope to have some in the next few day..

One job that needs to be done is the hanging of hams. They have been laying in salt for the last month. I need to wipe them down with white wine vinegar and cover with olive oil, before hanging in our back porch for a year!

17th October 2011

2011-10-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

For the last month we have been struggling to see out of our windows, the house has been so dark that we thought it was the middle of winter. So Martyn David our very helpful and patient neighbour came round with his tractor and bucket and we gave the house a good haircut!

The views were amazing, so I took a few pictures....

I have been trying to get Poppy and her calf in all day, as they forecast a storm tonight. Unfortunately, she is not keen to play ball, so she is still out in the field. I hope they will be ok?

16th October 2011

2011-10-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

I finished the half marathon in 1hr and 55mins which I am very pleased with. It was brilliant day, 15000 runner all in great spirits. The only trouble was when I got back I had to spend the next 1hr and half chasing piglets about..

Luckly Ross and his family turned up, just when I was giving up. Emily their daughter had brought a friend to see Grace (Scarlet) the new calf.

Had difficulties getting down stairs this morning, legs were very stiff. So had to hop, one step at a time!

Jamie ,Jacke Kovicak and their kids came to stay this weekend. Jacke is an expert at Half marathons. This morning they help me collect the eggs, at the same time as looking round the farm. The kids are natural chicken handlers! They have just left to travel down to the Gower, where there are stunning beaches

Jacke encouraged me to try a marathon, so I am tempted to do the Edinburgh Marathon in next year..

15th october 2011

2011-10-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Scarlet doing really well, and Poppy is being a brilliant mum. We let them all out into the field. Scarlet is already one of the gang.

I am doing the Cardiff half marathon tomorrow, along with 15000 other people, so wish me luck!

14th October 2011

2011-10-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

We had a surprise yestersday. Poppy are oldest cow had a lovely red calve. We have called her Scarlet.

Poppy has been trying to have a calve for 3 years so this was her last chance. Scarlet is very like her mum. All the other cows are very jealous. Their calves are due any time in the next 3 weeks!

Tomorrow we are going to move Ruby and Stella into the large paddock, and wean off the piglets. So I expect there to be chaos.

6th October 2011

2011-10-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

The quince jelly and paste was a great success.! We baked the whole quinces in the aga for 2 hours. Then pureed them, sieved it and then returned it to the heat, add sugar and stir.Wait for the mixture to go dark and become quite thick. Beware it can take along time!

I had some with my cheese for lunch and it was delicious. We are going to make it available to all guest for breakfast.

Victoria is now on a mission and has ordered some damsons, plums and oranges to make some more jams..

1st October 2011

2011-10-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic day! We started the day by moving the chicken huts closer to the house. This makes it easier to lock up at night and allow us to fix electric lights. Chickens need 14 hours of daylight to produce the maximum number of eggs. So with the shorter day, our egg produce would be slowing down, if we didn't trick them into thinking it was still summer

Andrew Studley delivered 40 bales of hay, to keep us going through the winter. Last winter was a stocker with animal feed in very short supply, so this year I being organised (for once).

all the animals had such a good day.....

The chickens out in the field

the piglets with ruby...

The dexter cows enjoying the lush green grass.....

Great picture of Teddy who was born in February...

The pigs don't like the sun, so they are very happy in the shady woodland

We gave the pigs all the fallen apples, which they absolutely loved...

This stella our oldest oxford sandy black sow, she is 4 years old and weights 210 kilos..

Leaves are falling from the Lime Avenue, it doesn't feel like Autumn...

Vicci is in the process of making Quince jelly for the first time , we will let you know how she gets on....

22nd September 2011

2011-09-23T07:41:00.001-07:00

You can not believe it ..... It has finally stopped raining!!!

This is a photo I took in the spring, it seems like the last time we had some sun..

Our broadband has been playing up so sorry for the lack of blogs.. I am going to put lots of animal photos on this week, so look out.

Autumn is definitely here

2011-09-15T02:35:00.000-07:00

Not only are the leaves falling, but the blackberries are looking a bit shrivelled - never a good idea to collect them after 15th September which is when the devil spits on them and makes them bitter, according to legend!
The bees are still working when they can. Of course, clover and balsam are still evident in fields and hedgerows but the surprise of the season to most people is IVY. The beautiful flowers are now very evident and are attractive to all sorts of pollinating insects.

Ivy is everywhere - on trees, walls, fences. It's fabulous for insects now that food is beginning to get scarce and with its shiny green leaves and beautiful flowers it is a real plant of Autumn.

It was difficult to get the leaves, bees and flowers to pose for this photograph so it's slightly out of focus but have a look at the worker bee on the right. You can just make out the pollen baskets on its back legs with pollen the same colour as the ivy flowers. This is where the pollen is raked into hairs on the back legs to form the distinctive kidney-shaped pellet that is taken back to the hive and used to feed the young brood. There is a central hair that 'spears' the pellet and holds it securely so that it doesn't fall off. When the worker bee transfers the pellet to a cell in the wax comb back at the hive, there is a little hole in the pellet where it was held on by this hair. Isn't nature wonderful and efficient!

2011-09-08T04:42:00.000-07:00

Very exciting news??? Rosy had a sleepover with Ralph last night he is a very dashing jack russell of our pig friends Terry and Jude so we are hoping for great things around the 10th November.
Extra thick togs put back on all our duvets today for guests to snuggle up in this wintry weather.
Have a small but special wedding party this weekend, whom we send our many congratulations.
Rubys piglets are beautiful she is a wonderful mum they are not keen to leave her side in this blustery weather dont blame them so its cuddles in the shed when it stops raining I will take some pictures.

28th August 2011

2011-08-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

Wallter has found a lovely home in Gloucestershire. We moved him last night into the holding pen.. He is such a fantastic pig. He wandered in with no trouble at all.

So when Camilla arrived at 9.30am to pick him up, I was waxing lyrical about Walter's easy going nature. What I had forgotten was Walter has never been in a trailor before, and had decided he didn't want to!

We tried food , apple first, then nuts then double cream and egg (his favourite), but nothing would tempt him. We lay carpet on the metal ramp to stop the noise. Meanwhile the B and B quests were waiting for directions, their bill and some eggs!

Luckly Alan came to our rescue with his camera, so the whole event was captured. We tried to push him, not a good plan, we tried to talk him in, with encouraging pats and rubs, completely useless.

2 hours later, Walter decides he was really bored, and wandered in. No not really. I had to get in the trailor, and stick Walter's head in a bucket while Camilla and Alan pushed from behind.

The quests were really patient and understood the dilemma..Good luck Walter hope you love your new home. He has gone to Bay Tree Rarebreeds n Berkeley.

25th August 2011

2011-08-25T04:25:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce myself. I'm Eloise and I've just done a week here at Sutton Mawr Farm and was asked by Mark to do the blog... so here I am typing with hands which have been well worked for this past week.

This is me. As you can see smiley face after just doing breakfast, up since 7am and walking up and down the stairs of the village hall, having a good old chat with some guests and interviewing Bert for my work experience booklet.

And this is me in the kitchen.... where I've spent most of my time making 5 loafs of dense chocolate cake, 3 Victoria sponges, 4 batches of welsh cakes, 3 batches of chocolate brownies, a batch of meringues and a Maple Syrup and Parsnip cake. It's also where I've been doing the washing up and cooking meals as well. It's also the home of the Sutton Mawr Farm B&B full breakfast.

So that's a few of the things I have done here. I've also been on exciting shopping trips to Costco and Cash and Carry (its a bit sad really getting excited about supermarket shopping but hey I like it!) I've also done a big online Tesco shop which was delivered the next day (I was so excited when it arrived I managed to spill a pot of tea down my leg!) I've also done the breakfast each morning as well as setting up for afternoon tea.

I got to greet guests most turning up between 2pm and 6pm and some arriving at 11.30pm. I've practised my language skills (Russian), tried my hand at chamber maiding (not very successful) and been a professional dog stroker. It is safe to say Dora, Rosie and Tiger Lily will miss me giving them 5 minutes worth of belly rubs every two hours!

So today I leave Sutton Mawr Farm. I'm glad to say I leave here alive! Only 12 burns on my hands, a few blisters on my feet, some scrapes on my legs, some skin missing from grating and only one serious cut. I'm blaming all on this on the fact I'm blonde and clumsy.

I have to say if you are looking at a place to stay, Sutton Mawr Farm B&B is the place to come.

Thanks and I'm outta here!

P.S.

Here are the piglets! Sweet aren't they! Six of them. Unfortunately the runt of the litter has gone but the others are all healthy.

Just thought I'd update the blog. Here at Sutton Mawr we are in the middle of brilliant sunshine on one side and a terrible thunder storm!

I thought I's just nip out and take a dramatic picture!

24th August 2011

2011-08-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yet another busy day at Sutton Mawr Farm. So much going on with guests coming and going, pigs having piglets and baking for afternoon tea/ welcome. So today I thought I would share with new cake on the platter.

The Maple Syrup and Parsnip cake

This is the mother of all cakes. If you like carrot cake you will love this! It is the NEW Carrot cake! Here to take the cake industry by storm. Happen to be an avid baker? Your classic Victoria sponges with droop at the sight of this cake. It shows skill (not grating your own hand off) and sophistication (the complex flavours) all while looking home baked and yummy (the mascarpone frosting running down the edge).
Here at Sutton Mawr we decided we liked it warm and with a runny frosting (Its called Eloise (here on work experience) being too impatient to wait for the cake to cool) but if you want the recipe here's the link
Maple Syrup and Parsnip Cake

More from us later!

20th August 2011

2011-08-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have just moved all the rare breed chicken in with the free range. I had to lock them in for 3 days, so they know where they are.

Now they are like a big happy family and my life is alot easier as only have one place to feed them and collect the eggs,

18th August 2011

2011-08-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have just put Dennis the ram with all the ewes, so hopefully we will have lambs in January 2012. He is very happy with all his girls!

16th August 2011

2011-08-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ruby is getting so close to giving birth to piglet, she is massive and all her undercarriage is very swollen.

I have been checking for milk everyday as that signals that the piglets are hours away!

14th August 2011

2011-08-14T03:06:00.000-07:00

Wales pulled off a much needed victory against England. Rory brought 4 of his friends to Sutton Mawr for his birthday

They had a mega Sutton Mawr Breakfast followed by a farm tour and egg collection. I was very impressed as one of the boys said "are those Dexter cows?"

Busy, busy bees

2011-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

What a lovely day, today and very good flying weather for bees. They are coming back to the hive covered in white pollen which makes them look a little mutant! This is from - love it or hate it - Himalayan Balsam. The scourge of conservationists, it is a wonderful insect, and particularly, honey bee plant. See how busy they are ...

By now, there should be 50,000 to 60,000 bees in the hive - wow! That's a lot of bees to be working with.

Apart from bringing back pollen and nectar to the hive, they'll also be defending it against predators. Mostly me, disturbing them with my regular inspections. However, at this time of year, wasps will be attracted to the source of carbohydrate (honey) and will be attempting to get into the hive to rob it from the bees.

The guard at the entrance of the hive reduces the area that the bees have to defend and is very useful. Once the winter comes, the guard is turned upside down reducing the defensive area even further, as there will be less bees in the hive then. Mice looking for a warm home are kept out by this narrowing of the entrance.

If the hive is really strong and there aren't many wasps around, then the guard can be taken out altogher facilitating the heavy bee traffic as well.

What is going on?

2011-07-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday was an amazing day - if it had snowed or sleeted, I wouldn't have been surprised! There was sunshine, rain, showers and cloudy gloom! And the temperature didn't fall below 18 degrees. If the bees were inclined to fly at all, there would have been plenty of forage ...

bramble ...

white clover which they love ...

lots of red clover ...

which is more difficult for their probiscus (tongue) to reach. They wait for the bumbles to bite into it and then take secondary nectar from it.

But lookee here - blackberries ready to pick in July!!!

With the apple crops coming weeks early, too, now would be a great time to learn how to make pastry for yummy, scrummy blackberry and apple treats.

14th July 2011

2011-07-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

That a fantastic day! Let hope its a classic summer. Sorry I havent done any blogs recently, but we have been away.

Walter the boar has had a bad leg so we have brought him in to the farrowing pen for closer observation. He does seem to be getting much better

Victoria has been busy doing all sorts of jams. The red and blackcurrants have been brillant this year. The guests seem to love the raspberry and redcurrent the best.

2011-07-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

What a change in the weather and the bees are loving it. With no rain, and the sun to help the flowers bloom, they're out collecting the pollen and nectar necessary to sustain developing bees. You have to look closely but there they are - coming into land or preparing to take off.

And inside the hive, all is well. The queen is laying like crazy and the nurse bees are feeding the worker larvae with a mixture of the pollen and nectar (called bee bread).

There was a lovely contented buzz in the hive today. More like a gently hum, really. Bliss.

Sutton Mawr Farm in the rain!

2011-07-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

It's July - what do we expect!!!

The umbrella isn't for me - it's for the bees. They don't like the rain - at all. They are usually quite spiky if the hive is opened up in bad weather and this was no exception. However, if I miss a visit and they start to build queen cells, then the first warm day and they'll be off!

All was well inside the hives. The queens are laying well, the pattern of brood, pollen and stores is as expected in spite of the weather.

2011-06-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

What a joyful day - the sun is shining, the Rowan trees have berries on them all the way up the drive to Sutton Mawr Farm, and we have two brand new egg-laying queens in the two hives we split from the parent hives in recent weeks.

I saw the queen in one of the hives run across the top of the frames and will be marking her next week with a blue numbered dot. This will tell me that she started laying in 2011 (each year has a different colour so that you know the age of the queen), and the number will allow me to start a family tree if we decide to breed from her.

I knew as soon as I opened the hives that the virgins had been successfully mated. The bees were delightfully quiet and industrious and barely conscious that I was in the hive. There was a calm, quiet and contented buzz which is indicative of a happy collective colony and a heralding of an assured existence. For those of you who can't imagine why anyone would want to be messing around with insects, this is a time of rebirth and natural succession unfolding in front of your eyes. There couldn't be a greater sense of satisfaction.

This is a frame of bees from one of the parent hives. Can you spot last year's queen (green, numbered dot on her thorax)?

What appears to be empty cells in the middle of the frame, have eggs like a grain of rice in the middle of each one. When I visit the hive next week, that eggs would have changed into a larvae and the week after will be capped with wax and the week after that will have emerged as a new bee.

The wax capped cells in the middle of the frame have larvae pupating into bees in them. The flat ones are the workers and the lumpy ones raised from the surface are the drone males which are larger. Just above the queen and to the right, you can see exposed drone larvae that haven't developed enough yet to be capped, but are just about ready for that.

The open cells around the edge of the frame are shiny with nectar that the bees have brought back in their honey stomachs. The bees add enzymes to it and then fan to evaporate the water content and once it reaches the consistency of the honey we are familiar with, they cap it with beautiful white wax. They use this to make bee food for the larvae and mix it with pollen for a mix of carbohydrate and protein that is very healthy for developing bees.

2011-06-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

This is what a Thermo Beehive looks like. Double celled industrial plastic for healthy bees, warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The bottom box is called the brood box and this is where the queen and her attendants and a lot of the female worker bees are: drawing out wax and feeding the young. This is also where the greedy boy drones are. Above this box is the queen excluder which is an internal barrier to the queen moving up to where the honey is stored and laying in the comb that will eventually be extracted from the 'super' boxes above.

The alighting board is helpful to the bees. They can land with their heavy nectar and pollen loads and then walk into the hive. The entrance cover is there as shelter from wind and rain.

And here is one of my girls, coming to investigate the early morning ruccus! The entrance has a removable block (not seen) that has bee-size holes in it. This will be inserted later in the summer to help the guard bees defend against wasps as it narrows the area to be protected.

29th June 2011

2011-06-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend at Sutton Mawr. On Friday we were joined by Bernice Wills and her 93 year old mother. Bernice's mother used to live in Barry. During the second world war, she met her husband who was an american navel officer. They both returned to the states after the war. They travelled over on the Queen Mary 2. They have meet up with relatives and can not believe how much the area has changed.

We had a family from Watford and another from Singapore. They collected eggs each morning. I lost a few of them on Saturday morning as it was pelting down with rain. Sunday was lovely.

This one of our guests doing some commodity trading! I don't think the mud was too appealing.

Today we moved the piglets about. Aunt Nell is leaving us tomorrow so we are worried that the piglets will start fighting. So we put 6 in one woodland paddock and 6 in the other. This sound easy but we ended up with 8 piglets running around the field.

They loved playing on the muck heap. After 4 hours we manged to get them in to their new paddocks with a bit of help from some tasty food. Daisy our youngest breeding sow is just about to give birth for the first time. I am checking everyday for milk production as this indicates that labour is only a few hours away.

Tomorrow we have to seperate the rams from the eves otherwise will will have lambs for xmas!

17th June 2011

2011-06-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Last night we had Mark Newton to stay with us, he camped in the meadow. He is following the coast on a mobility scooter. It the first time it's ever been done. He is raising money for Help the Heros. A film crew turned up at 7am to wake him up. Bacon sandwiches all round and then. Mark went off to Cowbridge, to meet the mayor. He finishes in Llanelli on the 27th June. Good luck and Well done Mark!

We sourced local rolled barley from a local farmer called John Thomas. He delivered a ton, which we feed to the pigs and the piglets. It needs to be soaked in water before feeding . Andrew Stoodley also delivered a large organic bale of hay. The cows we very excited, and happily tucked in immediately. The chickens were lording it too.

It's Vicci birthday today and Izzy our middle daughter is finishing her last GCSE. So we decided to celebrate with a lunch in Cardiff. Just as we going to leave we got our first visit from Environmental Health.. Lovely chap but we had to scrap all our plans. Vicci then spent the next couple of hours going through everything. No major problems but not the best of birthday present. At first I think she thought it was a practical joke.

My mum came to the house this week , to collect her minature Labradoddle, she is called Charlie and came from a lovely home in Oxford. They were coming to Cardiff to watch Take That. She is a fantastic little dog and it has settled in really well.

Charlie and Tiger Lily in the garden.

Contented Bees

2011-06-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

What a lovely day - the first day of sunshine in a while and just perfect for a mating flight for the virgin queens in two of the hives. By next week, assuming that they manage successful mating flights, I would hope to see evidence of eggs and perhaps, even some larvae.

Here is a picture of the marked queen in one of the other hives. Each queen is marked with a colour denoting the year of her birth. In this case, blue means that she is a 2010 queen.

See how her abdomen is extended. This is perfect for dropping her tail end into the bottom of the cells and depositing an egg there.

The bees around her are her attendants. Their job is to follow, feed and groom her as she is unable to look after herself.

14th June 2011

2011-06-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

Lovely day. The band Take That are playing in Cardiff Millenium Stadium tonight. We are full of fans both tonight and tomorrow.

We laid on a cream tea and a glass of Pimms in the courtyard

Then they were ready to rock!

I think these ladies like Take That !

I had my feet sucked by hundreds of small fish at Dr Fish in Swansea. It was a really weird feeling. But I soon forgot about the fish as I was joined by Bonnie Tyler. No not really but its a great photo. My feet were a bit tingly after the15 min session. Not unpleasant, will do it again. In fact Dr Fish is so popular he is moving to bigger premises in Castle Street in Swansea - well worth a visit.

11th June 2011

2011-06-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

Tizzy the hen and her 20 chicks arrived last night for our first hen party kicking off with a few Mojitos they sat down to a Moroccan Feast, they all had a great night with a lot of laughter.

It was a beautiful morning, so we laid out breakfast in the courtyard for full Sutton Mawr cooked breakfasts all around.

Then a farm tour with Mark followed by white water rafting in Cardiff Bay which was a great success and are now tucking into a few drinks and heading into Cardiff for a night on the town.

The theme for the evening was the circus. Watch out Cardiff they are on their way!

10th june 2011

2011-06-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

I finished cleaning all the other chicken sheds today. I have to say I am pleased that is over! Not the nicest job..

We had our first chick today a female Cotwold Cream Legbar.. It is one of only a few chickens you can sex at birth. Females have a black strip on their heads. Hope to have more tomorrow.

We seived the flowers heads from the elderflower mixture, and then into steriled bottles .. a brilliant drink for the summer

We have our first hen party this weekend Hannah is bringing 20 of her friends so watch this space!

Tomorrow I am going to clean out the cows. Nice change from chickens.

The honeysuccle has now come out in full bloom, it smells fantastic.

Flower our last puppy is off today to my sister in Somerset. She loves dogs so I am quiet sure she will be completely spoilt. We will miss them all. We are keen to have puppies from Dora and Rosie. But will wait as having Tiger lillie puppies was lovely and very rewarding but quiet a responsiblity.

Thursday morning hive inspection

2011-06-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

It's really important to inspect hives on a weekly basis to avoid the bees swarming - not good as you not only lose the old, laying queen, but you also lose half your bees.

Today was a beautiful day and it was a pleasure to be out with the bees. The two hives I inspected with Vicki, were calm and happy and very productive. The queens in both were laying well in a beautiful ovaloid pattern surrounded by pollen, nectar and capped honey for use in producing the food the developing larvae are dependent on.

We are busy building stock on this site. So, over the last two weeks, we've isolated the productive queens and split them away from the rest of the hive. The two hives that are now queenless by design, will have drawn down queen cells from larvae of the right age by now. One hive is a week ahead of the other, so the virgin queen should have emerged. With the poor weather over the last week, today would have been the first opportunitiy for her to attempt a mating flight so hopefully when we inspect next there should be evidence of eggs.

The second hive should have a queen cell in the final stages now, ready to be capped for the final stages of development before emerging next Friday. Hopefully if the weather continues to be good, there should be evidence of eggs in a fortnight to three weeks. Fingers crossed.

These, plus the two 'queenright' colonies make four on the site, with room for development later in the season.

For those of you buying honey from Mark and Vicci, you should know that my honey kitchen has been awarded 5/5 after a Food Hygiene inspection. Furthermore, the Regional Bee Inspector for Wales has done an inspection on one of my apiaries and there is no evidence of disease in my hives - hurrah. After all the hard but gratifying work to survive a harsh winter, early spring and now the June gap, here's hoping that we have a good summer so that the good work can continue positively.

The June gap is where the Spring flowers have stopped flowering and the Summer flowers haven't yet started. However, there is some blackberry and some clover, and poppies are a good source of pollen. If you can spare a patch of garden and you don't mind your lawn having some clover in it (heresy, I know!), then bramble and clover will live happily in many situations. Besides, picking blackberries later in the year and cooking them in a pie with apples is one of the highlights of my Autumn, reminiscent of my childhood with real shortcrust pastry made from scratch - yummy.

Jeannie Hainsworth Lamb

8th June 2011

2011-06-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to clean out the free range chicken sheds. It was a massive task as there was evidence of red mite. Red mite is a very common insect which lives in the nooks and crevises. Every year you should remove absolutely everything from the shed, remove all debris. Two shed took 12 man hours. They are now as clean as the day they arrived. We put down some herbal parsite prevention power and sprayed all the woodwork.

In the middle of this major operation, we were visited by Ashgrove School. They were a great bunch of boys and they were soon picking the eggs

driving the tractor....

and picking up the chickens..

we finished with feeding the piglets. Jamie and Micheal are coming again next week, which we are all looking forward to.

7th June 2011

2011-06-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

I sheared the last sheep on the weekend, with the help from Denise. It made a massive difference having someone holding the sheep. First, I tried to shear them on their back, then I tried them standing up, which was so much easier and kinder on your back. Below is a photo of the last ewe I sheared, and I have to say I am quite proud of it.

Now I can not wait till next year, to try again....

We are sending all the wool up to Hull to Pat who will work her magic. I know what my family will be getting for xmas..

The Elderflower cordial has be resting for over 24 hours, we know need to filter off all the solids and bottle. It smells delicious!

5th June 2011

2011-06-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Early start this morning, the guests doing the Dragon ride needed breakfast at 6.30am. Vicci did aga porridge. Fat free and great for releasing energy slowly over the morning.

The Shaun Griffith team.

Nick Hopgood and his daughter

We had a few families staying at the farm, so we arranged a tour of all the animals and the kids collected all the eggs.

Today we are going to prepare edlerflower cordial. So I have cut 50 heads of elderflower mixed it with a boiling water and sugar syrup along with citric acid. It needs to be left for 24 hours. I will let you know how we get on.

4th June 2011

2011-06-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had Share Forrester here, who is doing the Iron Man in Tenby. This consists of a 3 mile swim in the sea. 120 kilometer bike ride followed by a marathon. She is 52. Lovely lady but must be a bit mad! She will be doing a trial run this weekend so good luck.

We are full at Sutton Mawr this weekend. Today we have to change over all but one room, so it will be a bit manic.

We have Nichole Lehmann staying with her husband Robert and mother in law Joy. They have enjoyed 3 lovely sunny days here and are going today. They live on Vancouver Island and are doing a quick tour of Wales. Last night they stayed in the Gyspy Rose and had the best nights sleep of the holiday!

Very romantic, not with the mother in law who had a luxury room to herself.

It is the Dragon Ride tomorrow. I did it 3 years ago. It is 80 miles or 120 miles depending how brave you are. It comprises of 3 massive climbs. The countryside is beautiful, the hills are painful! We have a few cyclist staying with us. So breakfast will be extra healthy and early.

We have the Wong family staying from Singapore. Who have come especially to Sutton Mawr to be close to the animals. Where they live there is no chance of visiting a farm or seeing farm animals. The kids thought that chickens came from the supermarket!

We had our first honeymooners. Emma and her husband stayed 3 nights. With the weather being so fantastic they could of mistaking thought they were in the south of France.

Darling Darcy to be known as Henry now left today he has a lovely home with the Cole family locally. All upset again!

Bertie also left Wales today for Victorias's sister Charlotte in Suffolk who has taken a sabatical to bond with the little thing and enjoy her young family over the summer. Think he is going to be very spoilt.
Sure both Henry and Bertie will have lovely homes and we hope you enjoy them we miss them terribly already.
We only have Flower left now so she is lapping up all our love and attention.

2nd June 2011

2011-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today was lovely with a slight breeze and rising temperatures - ideal for the bees. They could fly after a week of wet weather. This means that the boys (drones) can fly to their mating areas and the virgin queens can be mated. The mating flights are the only flights a queen will make (other then swarming) and the first sign that she has been successfully mated will be eggs in the hive, laid in the middle of cells in the comb. Beautifully little grains of 'rice' signifying the survival of the colony.
I recently took some honey off the hives and Vicci and Mark have some for sale if you'd like to try it. It's primarily from Rape, with a texture like toffee and a taste that bursts on your tongue. It's too precious for cooking as it's little filtered and cold extracted so as many of the pollens and oils remain intact as possible - just as nature intended. Great in porridge or even by the spoon - yummy.
If you'd like to more about the bees, just let Vicci know as she intends to run some courses and come and share my passion for these wonderful, fascinating creatures. Otherwise, follow this blog on Thursdays after I've inspected my colonies on the Farm.

1st June 2011

2011-06-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

This morning we were visited by some children from Crossroads Care for Young carers. The first thing they did was to collect the 250 eggs.

After that we went to feed the Jacob sheep.

Then, the piglets. they all went into the wood....

and some got stuck!

We checked out the Dexter cows

We finished with a treasure hunt

and a large lunch....

The puppies were a great hit....

It was lovely showing them round, and we hope we will see them again soon...

30th May 2011

2011-05-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Rachel! Who has been been staying at Sutton Mawr for 3 days. They travelled all the way from Kent. They went on their own Gavin and Stacey tour. Their first experience of Cardiff's night life which they all agreed was wicked.
They are hoping to come back again, next time with the whole of their local ladies football team.

The Jenkins family were down visiting family. This was the first time to Sutton Mawr. They loved the farm . Dan was roped in to moving hay bales and feeding the pigs. The kids Sam and Ellie enjoyed picking the eggs' even though it was pouring with rain.

The Hillan family were also down visiting family. They went to the Cardiff Bay and the St Fagans museum of Welsh Culture. They relaxed last night with the Jenkins family in the Village Hall where they all enjoyed Free Range Roast Chicken Stuffed with homemade pesto stuffing with homemade Sutton Mawr Parma Ham. with Spring vegetables and then by request Summer Berry Pavlova.

This morning Adam Hillan also braved the weather to collect some eggs.

29th May 2011

2011-05-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

Emily was up early to collect the eggs today. It was a real family affair, even the grand parents turned up. The chickens loved Emily and followed her everywhere.

Lisa had her 30th birthday party at Sutton Mawr, she went on the Gavin and Stacey tour followed by a knees up in the village hall. They looked like they were having a great time.

28th May 2011

2011-05-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

First thing this morning little Emily braved the weather to collect the eggs. Loved the pigs and had big hugs with the chicks and the puppies.

The three cream puppies are going today, so Victoria took them for a long walk, they had great fun in the polytunnel. Don't think the plants enjoyed seeing them!

We have a new recruit. Freddy Harris started working for us today. He started work at 7.15 and quickly got into the swing of things. Tomorrow will be the real test as we are choca so will let you know how he gets on.

Jackie Barrett was the first to collect Bingo. They have rabbits so Bingo should have a lot of fun.
Her son didn't know they were getting a dog, so I hope it was a great surprise.

Then Porsche arrived from Oxford to pick up Stud. She has just had a son who is the nearly the same age as Stud and I know they are going to be best mates. The little chap was fast asleep.

Finally, Danielle arrived for Chuck. They have travelled down from Birmingham. It is going to be a companion for her mum, who has had Dashunds before and is really looking forward to having Chuck.

They all promised to let us know how they get on, so will keep you posted.

26th May 2011

2011-05-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

All the puppies have been sold. They all had a trip to the vets today for their first vaccination. They didn't enjoy that very much. since then they have been crashed out on the sofa.

The lambs have been very funny the last few nights . Their new game is king of the castle.. we have a large muck heap which has dried out. They all get to the top and then try and push each other off. Dennis the Ram sometimes joins in!

The weather hasn't been great the last few days , I decided to bring the cows in. They were spoilt this evening with a lovely bale of hay. Even Teddy tucked in!

Little Katie is going really well. Her mum is very attentative. She loves all the other lambs too.

I haven't been very clever with the incubator this month. Toby needs to give me a few lessons. I put 50 eggs in last week and only half have taken.

You can tell if its incubated successifully, by placing a very strong light to the egg if its clear like the one above then it is not fertilized. If it has a dark spot then it its . shown below. This can only be done at 7 days. This process is known as candling.

However the Walkers have just rung to say they had 4 chicks born today we gave them to go under their broody hen last time they came for sausages and parma ham. Good luck Andrew!

23rd May 2011

2011-05-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

We have had a rush on the puppies. We only have one cream boy left. We have called him Chuck, he is the laziest and fattest of all the puppies, a real character.

All the puppies are in top form. We take them for a few strolls every day and they are getting very good at doing their business outside.

They are fully weaned. They are off to the vets on Thursday for their first injection and final health check.

The first puppies are leaving on Saturday, we will miss them, especially Polly who has been great with them.

22nd May 2011

2011-05-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

Fantastic game of rugby, all our guest can back very happy, after seeing a classic final. Cardiff was hopping with jubulent rugby supports.

In the night we had a storm. Poor Kate and Ricardo had to abandon the bell tent to take refuse in their car.. They were in amazingly good humoured in the morning. We were hit by 60 mph winds!

Then the power supply went down, just as people were getting up.. Luckily everybody teamed together and it was seen as a bit of fun. Western power came out straight away and sorted it out. Just as well we had Allan and Emily Renwick helping us out for breakfast

Some of our guests had a late night so by the time they rose, everything was back to normal..

We had a really good crowd, that loved the rugby and Cardiff.

21th May 2011

2011-05-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

Our waiter Allan wasn't feeling at his party best this morning! He was out till 3.30 this morning in Cardiff.

Wakey wakey Allan. you have 16 people for breakfast!

It is the Heinekien Cup Final in Cardiff today. We have people from all over staying. We have Albert Sune and his family from France.

Anita and David Hashtrudi from Scotland.

Padraic Delaney and his family from Ireland

We have been so busy that we have erected our bell tent for Kate, who has travelled over to see her brother play in the final. She stayed in the Gyspy Rose last night and loved it.

Jeannie the Bee Keeper, came over today to sort out her hives. She was there for two hours moving them around.. She is going to write on the blog each week letting people know what she is up to as I haven't got a clue.

In preparation for this buzy weekend we have erected a new sign at the bottom of the drive as visitors were getting lost. So i think this should do the job!

We also we did the driveway, as it was getting a bit bumpy!

This required me to go to the local quarry Sleth Hill and collect some stone dust.

18th May 2011

2011-05-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Did my egg round to Penarth today. Delivered to Foxy's Deli, which was very buzy, but managed to get a photo...

Then went on to North meets South in the windsor arcade which Tony owns and runs with Anna his wife.

Back to Sutton Mawr where the sheep were waiting to be sheared.. Poor thing I only managed to do 5, and they looked terrible!

The others will have to wait till the weekend, as my back is killing. How, they do 200 sheep in a day I don't know!

The wool is beginning collected and will be sent up to Pat in Hull who makes wonderful thing with it..We hope to have some of them for sale by September.

I promised a lady who is interested in the last two puppies, to upload some more photos of Bingo and Spud.

We have been asked what the progress on the ill piglet, and we are pleased to tell everyone he is much better and will be returning to Nell and the gang tomorrow.

15th May 2011

2011-05-15T03:49:00.000-07:00

Chickens were a nightmare! It might be 150 yards but when you have 75 chickens to pick up and place in their sheds, it took hours.

We have had a poorly piglet which I had seperated from the litter. It really wasn't well but this morning it was eating and up on its feet . So hopefully, will be fully recovered in a few days and can return back to Aunt Nell and her gang..

The Hall family stayed last night. This morning, they collected the egg and came across the puppies, which they loved.

14th May 2011

2011-05-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Manic morning , all the rooms needed to be cleaned and turned around for the new guests. Managed to complete everything by 11.30am.

Last night we sold the last black and tan puppy and this morning we sold a cream one, all to great homes locally so really pleased.

Job for to day was to move the two free range chicken sheds down the field.

Its quite a tricky process as the shed are heavy and difficult to move, also the water needs to be disconnected and re-fitted.

Think of me tonight as the chickens will all stand around the area where the sheds where and we will have to redirect 200 chickens to their new move some 150 metres away! It may takes hours....

13th May 2011

2011-05-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th.....Always a little bit worried what might happen today...

We had the Maxwell golf group here, who have been playing golf the last two days at Royal Porthcawl. They have picked up a nice sun tan. The photo below is to prove that they were actually here and not sunning themselves on the Costa Del Sol!

Also staying are the Zarfarty family, who are staying in the Gypsy Rose and Glamorgan. Tomorrow they are keen to collect eggs which is alway good news!

12th May 2011

2011-05-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Puppies went to West Farm vet clinic in Cowbridge, where they had their health check. Tom gave them all a clean bill of health

Mark and Margaret Burden from Canada arrived with their 3 daughters. They helped me lock up all the animals and collect the 250 eggs! They are currently on a tour of the UK.

Katie has been out for 2 days and is doing really well. She is still tiny.

11th may 2011

2011-05-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Egg delivery day in Penarth. First stop was Windsor Fruit Shop in Penarth, they were a little camera shy, but we managed to take a photo of most of them even if we had to take two photos!

They are a lovely bunch! Fantastic grocers everything is very fresh, I should know the rejects are given to our pigs! Lucky pigs!

Next stop Something Tasty... Justin the owner and head chef was cooking some delicious bread puddings.

10th May 2011

2011-05-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a lovely lady from Switerzland, who has taken a sabatical from her job as a lecturer, to travel European with her faithful companion Chilli a scottie dog who was a great character. Chilli sort of enjoyed the farm tour but was a bit scared of the large pigs. We wish them well on their epic journey.
I promised Vicci would post the simple recipe for our cream porridge as our recent russian visitors loved it so much.
The secret is too cook long and slow over a low heat, I never measure out milk and oats just have the milk at the ready if it thickens up too much and add as necessary. A sinful good glug of double cream at the end of cooking as requested by quite a few of our guests now make it very special. Very naughty but nice and the oats are so good for you !!!

Still got one ewe to lamb but she is taking her time. It was looking very encouraging this morning but nothing has happened

Puppies are now very mobile, and exploring.

Toby has had one chick with furry feet hatch but no other which is bizzare. Hope more will come over next few days.

Garage just came to take my spitfire away for repair after its crash. Probably will not see it now until after the summer!

Meant to be playing tennis tonight but rain stop play.

Guests had Mel from GM fitness for a personel training session, they used all the gym equipment and were pushed to their limit. Mel left with 3 trays of eggs for the Cardiff gym, where they go down a storm!

9th May 2011

2011-05-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

The Ekaterina family left us today after a 4 day stay. They were here without a car. They were very adventurious walking down to the beach, and train station. Along with cycling and walking to the local pub, all without the need of a map! They are going back to Moscow tomorrow, so wishing them a good journey.

8th May 2011

2011-05-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

No new arrivals last night. The Godfrey family had a farm tour with their little boy Theo. He loved the puppies.

Taylor the lamb had his first feel of grass between his hooves. Both Katie and Taylor are doing really well.

I have a re match at tennis tonight with Alex so wish me well!

We have Wendy and Graham coming back for a few days with Liqourice their dog.
Vicci is cooking them Slow Roast Belly Pork
Slow Roast Belly of Pork..
Score the rind in wide chunks

Rub with a couple of bruised garlic cloves
Brush olive oil season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme.
Sit on a bed of 2 onions.halved. and 2 tomatoes halved some carrots and a handful of fresh thyme

Cook on a high heat 180/200degrees for a good hour then on a low heat 120 degrees for 8/10 hours
Ideal for Aga cooking.
All the fat will have melted away and left with crispy skin and sweet succulent pork...
Yummy! we served it with leek and spring onion mash, roast carrots with honey and thyme sugar snaps, asparagus and mange tout from the garden.

Followed by a ginger and rhubarb cheesecake

The tennis was a bit more respectable this time with one set all. Great game!

7th May 2011

2011-05-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had another arrival this morning! This time assistance was needed, it was very hard pulling the lamb out, but eventually it he arrived still in one piece! We have called him Taylor after the family who were staying with us. Taylor a ram was large with very long legs. I had to help with the first feeding as it is essential that a lamb gets clostrum in the first 6 hours and nothing was happening so I put the lamb to its mothers udder sucessfully. Last check both mums and both lambs doing really well.

We had terrible thunder and lighting last night and lots of rain, so ideal conditions to muck out the holding pens.

Tried our latest batch of salt cured bacon this morning, very good although I say so myself, should keep us going for a next month.

We celebrated by going down to the fox and hounds for a delicous lunch their Bang Bang Chicken and Honeycombe Ice Cream are the best!

6th May 2011

2011-05-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

This morning Denise Taylor and family arrived at Sutton Mawr for a family celebration, it was a double birthday. They are all Gavin and Stacey fans so have come down to the Island for a bit of a fix! They fell in love with the puppies.

We sliced up all the bacon, if I say so myself it looks fantastic. Will try it tonight.

Andrew and Julie Walker arrived to pick up some sausages and parma ham. We got talking about chickens and the problems he was experiencing with his broody hens. The local farmer had suggested barb wire in the egg boxes which seemed abit extreme so I presuaded them to take some fertilized eggs for them to sit on.. Lets hope they have some chicks in 21 days.

The Taylor family returned from Barry Island to a special birthday tea, outside in the courtyard. They did a great job finishing off all the grub. They have now collapsed watching DVD in their bedroom!

We had a brillant surprise today. We were locking up all the animals and noticed a ewe was seperate from the flock and with closer inspection saw she had given birth to a lovely lamb. We have named her Katie after Denise's mother who's birthday it is today..

Alex who is over from Moscow, arrived yesterday and informed me he played tennis. So this afternoon he suggested a game though he had not played for 2 years and had a wrist injury he still won the first 5 games, luckly I managed to win 2 in return. Can you image what would of happened if he was fully fit! I am hoping for a rematch.

4th May 2011

2011-05-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

Puppies becoming more active by the day, except for one of the cream boys which loves to sleep! Here are some more photo.

They are really good. We put them out 4 times a day and they all do their business.

Last night Polly clipped their nails, which they seemed to enjoy.

3rd May 2011

2011-05-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Teddy our young calf escaped into the nieghbours field, luckily we had Cel and Hoggy to hand to push her back.. Trio the mum was not happy with him! Kids...

We planted an enoromous amount of beans seedlings, hope we do not have a frost. Had to water the whole garden as no rain forcast for the week and we missed the rain that was forecasted on the weekend.

The Stamp family left today after a 3 day stay, the boys were mad for tennis and seem to play whenever possible, they saw the Harlem Globetrotters last night in Cardiff.. They are moving to New Zealand to live at the end of the year, fantastic country and we wish them the best of luck! Sorry forgot to take a photo, a bit too manic this morning.

Yuri and his family also left, they went down to the Gower and loved the beaches. He said we could ring him if we needed help with translation with our next Russian guests due this weekend. He might regret that!

1st May 2011

2011-05-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

We had our youngest farm tourer today Yuri junior, who is 5 weeks old, he slept through all of it!

Toby Hawkins came round with some more chicks that he has successfully hatched, for us, bringing our chick numbers up to 50. There were some lovely Lavender Araucanas which is great news as they are a rare breed and lay lovely light blue eggs. Thanks Toby.

We planted up most of the tomatoes in the polytunnel. We planted them inbetween the spinach and the lettuce which we will be using up over next few weeks. We also harvested some polycess which is delicious in salads or a garnish.

I had to pop down to the local shop to pick up some last minute supplies, and as I was waiting to park another car reversed into my spitfire which had only just come back from the garage. He said it was so small he didn't see me!

1st May 2011

2011-05-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

The puppies are now very mobile. They are scampering around the place. you really have to watch where you putting your feet!

W e had are youngest ever guest 3 weeks old. Unfortunately, I did take a photo of Daniel Robin with his lovely daughter, but forgot to put the memory card in !

The Patel family had the first BBQ outside in the courtyard. Here is Raf showing off his cooking skills!

The Stamp family arrived back this evening to a meal served by our new waitor Allan Renwick. His sister Emily is our usual waitress, but Allan did very well. Here he is serving Free Range Corn Chicken on a bed of Spring Green Vegetable Risotto followed by a Banoffee Pie.

30th April 2011

2011-05-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

Its been a lovely week at Sutton Mawr. We have planted lots of seeds and transplanted lots of veggies. All waiting to go into the vegetable garden.

We have made lots of sausages, chorizo salami and bacon, which should keep us going for a couple of months.

We have had lovely guests over the Easter break. We couldn't of asked for better weather. Unfortunately,the tulips in the courtyard are starting to lose their petals.

Last night we had the Jenkin's family stay on their way to Pembroke. Alfi loved the tractor.

We delivered eggs to Knive and Fork in Cowbridge, they are selling more and more eggs each week..Cracking news!

27th April 2011

2011-04-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

The piglets are very happy all together. We did put in with them, Nell an older sow and she is acting as mother hen.

I gave them fresh lettuce and carrots which they loved!

The chicken had a treat of pineapple. 5 large pineapples disappeared in seconds.

John from the Fox and Hounds popped up for some eggs. We were completely sold out, so we both had to raid the chicken houses.

My sister is having the only girl in the litter and has named it Flower, I did promise to blog some photos of her . she is very sweet.

The puppies are just starting to walk so we are having to watch our step.
Tomorrow we are all day making sausages, bacon and chirizos. We will try and take some photos.

25th April 2011

2011-04-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Full on day . We had to move all the pigs around. The piglets are 8 weeks old and need to weaned which has been happening over the last 10 days. So today we split the piglets from their mothers. It is also the day we put the sow back to the boar as they are at their most fertile 5 day after weaning.

Basically we had pigs and piglets everywhere. we started at 12 o'clock and didn't finish until 6pm! I know the photo shows me holding a piglet upside down, by it's back legs but I can assure you its the best way and causes the least amount of stress on the animals

Jeff Smith came to pick up his two piglets. Jeff is having a go at pig rearing. I did warn him its additive!

We also weeded the poly tunnel, planted lettuces and camomile. It been so dry that everything needed a good watering, so Huw Bennett came up and helped us water. He is also very good at pig whispering!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

Toby who incubates all our eggs had a big surprise this morning when he discovered a unexpected hatched chick in the incubater, which was not due until the end of next week. What a lovely Easter suprise!

We had a lovely group of guests this weekend. The kids took part in a easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny was very shrewd this year... almost certainly haven't seen the last of those eggs! Breakfast was alfresco,complemented by the morning catch.

There was an amazing sunset tonight over the rape fields.

23th of April

2011-04-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

It was such a lovely day we just couldn't resist take the puppies out on the lawn for a little play around and some fresh air! We have currently sold 3 puppies, 2 black and 1 tan, if anybody is interested of buying one of these delightful puppies please contact us for futher details.

Berty!

22nd April 2011

2011-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Another cracking day. The Lazorchak family are staying at Sutton Mawr, they have recently moved from the USA . They are very willing helpers. First thing this morning they were collecting all the 210 eggs, cleaning , packing and stamping. Brooke was very careful and Shane was very fast. All in all the family made a good team. Tomorrow, I am hoping they can do it all on their own.

They learnt how to hold a chicken.....

they even feed the pigs

We then had to bring in all the cows, as Samson the bull was leaving us. He didn't want to go as I think he fell in love with Poppy. He is now with some ladies in Bridgend. Our cows are missing him.

Antony Jarvis popped round to pick up some eggs, and show off his new toy a Sprite

We treated our guests tonight with a pavalova, made by Izzy which we hope they all enjoyed!

22nd April

2011-04-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

The Duncan family arrived at Sutton Mawr after moving home from Germany back to St Athan. After a very busy day they all came over for supper. Vicci cooked Crispy Slow Cooked Pork Belly followed by Berry Pavlova . It was such a lovely evening all the guests came round the farm with me shutting up the animals for the night, and rounded the night off with puppy hugs!

The puppies have open all their eyes and are starting to chuffle about. Today they had their first trip outside on the lawn.

Polly took lots of photos and here are some of the best.

The weather has been fantastic and the garden has come into full bloom. All the tulips are out in the courtyard and the cherry trees up the drive look stunning.

The vet came over this morning for the results of the TB test all clear for Sandyman the bull to leave us. The vet scanned all the cows and they are all in calf which is brillant news, especially for Poppy who has missed out for two years.

Sandyman is off to another farm tomorrow, we will miss him.

20th April 2011

2011-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

For Alan Renwick's 22nd birthday, the whole Andrews family went to Go Ape! We arrived late, in a hot sweat after having to run 1km across Margam Park (uphill). The staff we very patient with us, going through the safety instruction. As a family we are not the most attentive students, and after 40 minutes we were let loose. It was terrifying, but brillant. The ropes are very high and a fall would be fatal, so the use of the safety ropes and cables were essential. Vicci, was a trouper, doing all the section including the Tarzan swing. She did however scream for the whole way round.

We then had a lovely picnic under a shaded tree , lots of laughter followed by a BBQ at Sutton Mawr. Great day. Happy Birthday Alan!!

16th April 2011

2011-04-17T04:06:00.000-07:00

What's occurring! We've had the Allcot family at Sutton Mawr to celebrate their daughters 18th Birthday today. They've had a cracking time going Gavin and Stacey mad... Barry Island followed by a Gavin and Stacey tour and finally a meal at the Glendale Hotel. Have a brill day!

Sally-Anne and Scarlet staying in Gyspy Rose with their dogs Dora and Bella. Scarlet was a great helper round the farm. Her favourite thing was trying to catch the small chicks.

Fantastic weather. Vicci's family have come over to see the new puppies. Poppy and Henry have been deciding which puppy to have, which is very tricky as they are all so cute. All but 1 have opened their eyes.

13th april

2011-04-14T06:07:00.000-07:00

Perfect guests, the four boys helped collect all the 250 eggs, feed all the animals and then pack and stamp the eggs for sale. They want to do it again tomorrow, which is brillant!

12th April 2011

2011-04-14T00:52:00.000-07:00

Today we got a taste of our first asparagus of the season. There is something very exciting about this event as it is the first new green crop we harvest after rhubarb from outside and a definite sign of activity within the vegetable patch.
We are still harvesting leeks, carrots, parsley and chervil that have overwintered in the vegetable garden and are now enjoying delicous spinach, pak choy, lettuce and mixed leaves from the poly tunnel.

This is a one of our favourite recipes

Grilled Spring Asparagus Parmesan and Balsamic Dressing.
For the dressing mix 60ml good olive oil 30ml balsamic vinegar sea salt and pepper and a tablespoon of chopped chives
Coat washed and trimmed asparagus about 750grms in 2/3 tablespoons of olive oil heat a griddle pan until hot and sear asparagus all over.
Alteratively roast on baking tray in the top of an aga or hot oven 200c for 5 to 8 minutes.

Put the asparagus on a serving plate drizzle with the dressing, sprinkle grated parmesan, chopped chives, sea salt and ground black pepper over. Enjoy -Yummy!

11 th april 2011

2011-04-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

We have just finished dry curing our bacon, which will be sliced tomorrow. We are nearly out of bacon and sausages so we are not going to be able sell any this month, apologies in advance!

The puppies eyes are still closed, bets are on for the weekend! All very much looking forward to observing their first glimpses of the world, special moments to be had.

We have a lovely family staying with us at the moment from Belgium. They are helping us collect the eggs and feed all the animals. Through collective efforts we managed to catch a small chick that made a chance escape, in the words of Borat- Great Success!

The flower and blossom are all out, love time of year. Lets hope this is not the only good weather we get!!!!

9th april 2011- puppy update!

2011-04-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

Puppies, getting cuter and cuter every day! We have 6 in total, 3 black and 3 light brown.Eyes still closed, but going to open any day now!

9th april 2011

2011-04-09T03:45:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day, guests enjoying breakfast out side in the courtyard. All the animals sunbathing! Egg production record high. Over 220 eggs collected today must be the sunshine. Found that scattering grass cuttings around the chicken huts is making the eggs yolk yellow orange .

Good luck to all the girls including Andy and Antony who are cycling from Windsor to Cardiff this weekend in aid of Alzheimers. Keep going!

3rd April 2011

2011-04-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

We had a weekend in the garden. Vicci asked the girls that instead of going out to lunch, she would prefer we all worked in the garden. We weeded, planted sweet peas, seeded lettuces.

The cows love their new barn. The sheep are happy as they have claimed the old cow shed! The piglets enjoyed the sun shine, they were either fast asleep or chasing round the field.

Tiger lily puppies are all well and growing at the rate of knots! Aunt Dora and Aunt Rosie are still waiting to be allowed in to see the new arrivals!

Chicks arriving tomorrow.. photos to follow

1st April 2011

2011-04-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

We woke this morning to find no puppies, we were really concerned as she was 3 days late and the puppies had stopped moving. we rang the vets for advise and they told us to take her in.. We had to wait till surgery opened at 8.30...It was now 7.30 by 8 o'clock she began to get very restless, and then the contractions started.. It was her first litter so the 1st puppy caused her alot of pain! The first puppy was a very large black boy and we thought there can only be 2 or 3 puppies, but she went on to have 6! (3brown and 3 black). 5 boys and the last one was a girl. It took 5 and a half a hours in all.. they are now all resting

29th march

2011-03-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Great 'doing' day at Sutton Mawr. The sheep all had a pedicure and wormed them. Then ear tagged all the lambs ears. Nearly finished the cow byre. Incubated some more eggs. The first of our chicks hatched this weekend .

Tiger Lily is hanging on to the last minute, so big now its agony to watch! Hope she has them tonight.

Anyone interested in sausages we are making some on the weekend. Orders please as limited supply.

26th march 2011

2011-03-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Tiger Lily is enormous! Puppies must be due any moment. All the kids are very excited. fingers crossed that it goes well.

We had a lovely weekend in the vegetables garden. weeding and sowing. we planted up the new strawberry bed.

Thursday 17th March

2011-03-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Dora & Hoggy