Spring isn’t all snowdrops and sunshine! But the hard work certainly brings its rewards. This is a brief insight into life on the farm in this busy season, and what lambing season is really like!

From Jemma Doyle, owner of Fisherton Farm, Vintage Vardos in Devon:

6:00am - Up and making tea and milk for ravenous Alistair and now girlfriend Annabel, dog and cat out for a wee, cat in, feed cat.

6:10am - All baa-ing, woofing and meowing has stopped. Let the day begin…

6:15am - Up to the shed to see if any new calves or lambs . All A-ok.

7:00am - Back in for breakfast and feeding children…peace, all humans now fed.

8:00am - Mucking out, bedding up and feeding the cows and sheep. Put Alistair and Annabel out in the garden for a play…not interested in eating the daffodils YET…Another maternity round, help ewe lamb twins.

12:00pm - Feeding time again! Getting thru the 20kg sack of milk powder. Lamb triplets appreciate a milk tipple too.

12:20pm - A & A freezing outside so back in the kitchen in their pen.

1:00pm - Back on the rounds, cow calving, in for a coffee and back to calving cow to make sure all goes well.

2:30pm - Beautiful heifer calf born. Thinking of names beginning with ‘E’. Paperwork, registering new borns.

3:30pm - Sit down! Watch news, have a coffee and packet of jammy dodgers with children.

4.30pm - Feed sheep, bottle-feed lambs in need of a little extra, feed heifers, lamb another sheep…triplets…move strong lambs and mothers to green pastures.

5.30pm - Feed children, bath and bed for them (lucky things).  

8:00pm - Another look at all the expectant mothers.

8:20pm - Dinner and lie on sofa…

10:00pm - Back out on the rounds , some expectant mothers showing early signs …

10:30pm - Bed. Aaahhh…

1:30am - Up doing the rounds, help deliver a calf…no lambs yet.

3:00am - Back to bed.

6:00am - 2 sets of twins on the way…  

And off it goes again!