Being fully aware that there have been very few news updates over the past few months, I thought it was time to put 'pen to paper' so to speak and detail what has been occurring down on the farm since the Autumn.

Well firstly, on the marina front, we have been busy getting quotes in for the cost of developing White Mills marina at Earls Barton, this process alone has taken so much longer than we first anticipated. We seem to have generated a lot of interest already with several names on a waiting list, which is encouraging.  Despite the delay in gathering quotes, our enthusiasm has not been quashed and we still believe that it could be a very exciting and successful project indeed.  We are off visiting other marinas over the next few weeks, to give us a better picture of what is involved and hopefully pick up some tips along the way.

On the farming front, the fields look very cold and wet.  Everything in terms of cultivation etc is up to date, the spring wheat seed should be delivered very soon, in time for drilling in March.  As ever the pigeons are causing much anxt on the oil seed rape, as no sooner have we turned our backs and scared them away, they come swooping down once again to try to nibble their way through the crop!

Alice  is in seventh heaven with all this wet, she is totally loving getting covered in mud. With a strong belief that every living creature should have an opportunity to procreate, we are thinking about sending Alice back down to meet up with her previous love interest Timone.  John feels that he would really rather raise pigs to eat, instead of keeping one as a pet, so she may probably go on permanent loan. We will have to wait and see.

We have had various progress reports about the litter of labrador puppies Hattie had last year, all of them seem to be doing well although the big white one did manage to cause his owner some concern after eating a huge chunk of carpet which resulted with a visit to the local vet.  Occasionally we get photographs sent to us via face book or email and with three or four of the pups living locally we get to hear regularly of their progress. Which is lovely.

Well that is about it for now.  Oh yes - one other thing the starlings are back and they are still performing their wonderful routine just before dusk everynight... so if you do fancy a trip down to the reedbed - then we can not recommend it highly enough.  Its a truly splendid sight.