Nettle hay

 

We have moved our goats from our Nearside allotment to our farm. The Whinnies Community Garden, from whom we rent our two allotments, have revised the rules (for insurance purposes) on keeping livestock on the site. No goats can be kept there. We kept some of our goats on the Nearside when they were needing extra attention, such as when they were expecting but the entire livestock setup is now on our farm. The problem now is that we had a runaway surge of nettles growing across the Nearside. I've spent the last few days stripping out the nettles and leaving them to dry out. This nettle hay proved to be very popular with the goats.

Lovage

 

We have a good crop of lovage this year. Great in salads and soups.

Handing over the hives

 

We need to spend more time looking after our bees. However, time is something in short supply for us. So we have come to a deal with a friend. He keeps his bees on our farm and we have handed over to him all our hives and equipment. In return we get a regular supply of honey. Yesterday we moved a large number of empty hives to the farm. More will go there shortly.

This is our friend's existing apiary on our farm.

Getting ready to move the goats

 

A change in the tenancy agreement at the Whinnies means we have to remove all large animals from the site. So the goats we have there have either already been moved to our farm, or will go soon. The only ones left are Florence and her two kids. They will be moved soon. Our cockerels will also have to be removed as part of the new terms and conditions. We had already planned to slaughter all but two of the cockerels anyway. They too will be removed to the farm where we will build a chicken run to house them and the hens.

Moving Florence

 

Florence is very pregnant! She had been on the farm over the winter but we have now moved her to the Nearside, the allotment where we keep the pregnant goats. In the photo, she is on the farm eating Christmas trees, one of her favourites.

Blackthorn blossom

 

Blackthorn is common in local hedgerows where we live. And it is now blossoming. Hopefully we will have a good crop of sloes in the autumn.

Taking the goats to the library

 

On Saturday 21st March 2026, we took Nettle (one of our milking goats) and one of her babies to Whickham Library fair. This has become something of a tradition for us. They help raise money for the library. As usual, they got a great deal of attention and helped draw people into the library.