March certainly went out like a lion, very windy with plenty of rain, but then the weather has slowly settled down. Temperatures have risen ,with plenty of warm sunshine as Easter approached.

Lambing for this year is coming to an end. The two veterinary students have gone home, with just 84 ewes left to give birth. Turning the ewes out into fields on Manor Farm has been ongoing, with my brother-in-law Ian being the one mainly in charge of this job. Ian has also been responsible for moving ewes with younger lambs into larger pens, before they too will be turned out to graze.

Before turnout Kevin checks each ewe's feet, trimming if necessary and every ewe is given a dose of wormer. It has been Natasha's job to do all the tagging up, so that each lamb can be identified and linked to its mother by the number written on them. She has also been responsible for putting on specially designed rubber rings for tail docking and castration. When done at birth this is a straightforward procedure. Tails are docked to keep the lambs cleaner, so help prevent fly strike and ram lambs are castrated for obvious reasons.

Annabel 's job has been to bottle feed all the lambs in the nursery and offer any newborn lambs a top up before their mothers' milk has come in properly. Melissa has been electronically tagging lambs with an ear tag and recording this on the computer system and also making sure that all workers are fed and watered .

The pet flock has also been weaned, with mums and offspring separated for a time. Most of the ewes are grateful to have an easier life once again, as by weaning their lambs are rather large and boisterous.

A new pair has been added to the pet flock. These are the lamb with the black and white face and her mum. The lamb has been given the name Bluebell and my granddaughter Annabel is hoping to halter train her. Bluebell is also special as she is Ross 's daughter. Ross is the new high quality Llyen ram purchased last year.

Recently Melissa has taken three groups around the farm to see the sheep and lambs. These were Stanton St Quintin Primary School, Chippenham Young Farmers and the Beaufort Pony Club.

It was only the school visit that coincided with a lamb being born and there was also a chance for the groups to do some bottle feeding. The school also asked to see a tractor, so with Melissa sitting in the largest tractor parked safely on the flat, each child was able to safely climb into the cab for a bird's eye experience.

While on the subject of safety, my partner Ian and employee Kurt attended a refresher telehandler course. This course has to be updated at least every five years, with a certificate given if all sections of the course were passed.

The course began with a health and safety briefing, followed by a check round a telehandler, when Ian and Kurt had to tell the instructor what checks should be made.

Then there was a theory test followed by a practical handling test. The test involved the safe moving of pallets and boxes, especially up and down a set of shelves, the top shelf being very high. Serious farm accidents are still too frequent and I would just like to remind all farmers to be mindful of health and safety on their farms, it's too easy to become complacent.

Maybe spring has arrived, as my swallows have returned and I've seen my first butterflies, two yellow brimstones. They are one of the first butterflies to emerge from hibernation. They can be seen as early as February.