Scattered amongst some brief sunny spells there have been heavy bursts of rain accompanied by strong winds. Total rainfall amounted to 42mm over the week, which has made ground conditions increasingly soggy.

Some farmers are running out of silage, following last year's lower yields caused by the drought and with waterlogged fields turning the cattle out is not an option. Although the fields have become greener the soil has not warmed up, due to lack of sunshine.

Although lambing the late flock is now underway, Kevin has told me that the births are steady. So far 100 ewes have given birth, which is an average of 20 a day. It is probably a good thing that the newborns are arriving steadily as these lambs and their mothers are being taken to the park to graze. This usually happens once Kevin is happy that the lambs are well and strong; that they have formed a good bond with their mothers and that these ewes are eating properly, which will usually mean they will have plenty of nourishing milk for their offspring.

However Kevin has delayed turnout due to the miserable weather we have been experiencing. Newborn lambs will not do very well in chilly, wet conditions. If the older groups have to be turned out soon it will be because Kevin will be running out of housing space. If the weather continues to be wet the lambs will be turned out wearing biodegradable jackets.

The lambs and ewes will also be marked with coloured numbers, to make it easy to reunite and mums and babies that may become separated. It will be Kevin's father Francis who will be responsible for checking the wellbeing of the flock each day.

It is at this point that I would like to remind families and dog walkers to be aware of how easily the lambs can become separated from their mothers and dogs inflict injuries and death if not under control. Please keep to footpaths and dogs on leads.

During the week all the January born lambs were given their second vaccination to protect from a number of clostridial diseases. While the lambs were gathered into a holding pen, the pods they occupy were cleaned to the floor and bedded up with fresh straw. At the moment Ian is helping Kevin once our Angus cattle have been checked, fed and bedded up each day.

During lambing two veterinary students have been helping on the farm to gain more experience working with sheep and learning how to deal with problems that may arise.

It is nearly four years since the passing of my husband Richard,with whom I spent nearly 50 wonderful years. I am however pleased to say that I have recently found happiness once more and moved in with my new partner Ian . He farms in partnership with his brother Mark, on a dairy farm near Royal Wootton Bassett. Like many farmers now trying to utilise slurry to add nutrients to their grassland, the wet weather is preventing this job from being undertaken, as it is now impossible to travel over ground. Hopefully drier weather will soon arrive as there needs to be at least two weeks between slurry application and harvesting the grass for silage.

A job on Ian's farm that is well on the way to being completed is the laying of new concrete around the farm buildings housing all the cattle. It has been a logistical nightmare making sure all the necessary jobs on the farm, such as feeding the cattle, could be done each day.

Also making sure all brought in goods were not delivered while the concrete was still setting. Then there was the milk tanker, which could not get any closer than 30 feet from the dairy door. But the farm was supplied with a long milk hose, which fortunately solved the problem. The new concrete will soon be accessible and is a great improvement.