In the first of a weekly diary, Gressenhall Farm give us an insight into its life under lockdown.
Well, what strange times we are living in. The museum has no visitors, no volunteers and only a few staff. But life goes on at the farm and spring really has sprung!
We hope you enjoy this glimpse into what is happening down on the farm. We’ll be keeping you in touch with what is going on each week – our animals, crops and wildlife.
This week we have been busy sowing grass seed and potatoes. The potatoes are going in so we have a crop for our school visitors to pick in the autumn.
People picked potatoes by hand in the past (no machinery then!) and at Gressenhall we like to work in the traditional way. Often it was a job for children and women. So we get the little ones to pick potatoes.
For some of them the first time they have seen a muddy spud! They all get a paper bag full to take home with them – more than the Victorians got! We are planting the potatoes now so they are ready for harvesting later in the year.
The animals are happy and safe out in the fields. Our litter of piglets are enjoying the sunshine with mum.
Born in early March, they are growing quickly and doing well.
We are still waiting for our lambs – perhaps they will come over Easter.
The horses are also happy – although we hope they aren’t getting too lazy! We are not currently making them work on the farm because farm staff are working by themselves following current government guidelines.
We are trying to keep them active in the field and monitoring their condition.
The wildlife around the farm seems larger than life. We’re not sure whether it is because it is so quiet, or if it is because we have more time and space to notice it – but every tree is in blossom, the birds are tweeting and twittering and we have even spotted a blackbird’s nest complete with three eggs in a tree by the river.
The Gressenhall bees have been buzzing around the pear tree in the farmhouse garden and we are looking forward to this year’s honey.
We hope that you take the time to get out into your garden and notice what is around you. Nature and wildlife get everywhere. You might just notice the flower in the crack in the path, or a sparrow singing from the garden fence.
Take a photograph, draw a sketch, make a memory. Take the positives from nature around you.
Stay safe and stay well and we’ll have some more Gressenhall Farm news for you next week.
•Gressenhall Farm have teamed up with the Eastern Daily Press to bring you a weekly diary of what is going on behind the scenes at the farm
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