It's been a while since my last update; the first of April already!  Winter is not a particularly exciting time progress-wise.  There's not a great deal can be done outside with everything underneath one and a half metres of snow.  We have been lucky this winter to have a metre less snow than last year, but our hopes of an earlier spring have been dashed by a new delivery of snow this weekend.  Perhaps the weather gods are playing an April Fools joke on us?

In sheep news, at the end of January the girls had a scan to see how many lambs they are having.  It might sound a little odd, but it's definitely worth knowing for all kinds of practical, economical and other farmer-y reasons.  They've also had their winter shearing and their immunisations, and we're now a week away from the first ones lambing.  Most of the sheep are having two lambs, so we should be very busy over the next month.

Just before Christmas the house (first stage) was completed.  We've also finished cutting down the enormous fir trees at the side of the house, so already it feels like a completely new place!  My Easter project is now painting the window frames inside (among other things).

 The huge storm we had on Christmas Day, when we lost the electricity for nearly two days, sealed the fate of the fir trees.  The risk of one or more of them falling over in a storm and smashing through the house was too great, so down they came.

Despite the loss of the trees we're getting a lot of visitors to the bird feeder, which I can watch from the kitchen window.  We have daily visits by bluetits, great tits and coal tits, as well as occasional visits by chaffinches, greenfinches, jays and a robin.


Winter is also a good time to get on with some arts and crafts, so I have been making good use of my time.  Here is a collection of my projects.

A Rowan pattern I've had my eye on for ages.

Knitting project: a challenge in cable and lace patterns.

Leftover wool project.

"Tilda" sewing projects.

My own invention: a Bo Peep angel.

The 1950s sewing angel, minus accessories.

Full collection including sewing case, pin cushion and scissors case (my own invention).

Well, I must get on with painting the window frames now.  Downstairs is all complete, but I need to finish upstairs now.  Happy Easter, or, god påske.  Perhaps it might even stop snowing......