It’s been a wonderful month – between the showers!
We’ve finally opened Suffolk’s first and only Butterfly House here on the farm! Thank you so much to all those that attended the Grand Opening - it was simply a wonderful day. Ninette (Our lovely Nature Trail Coordinator) and Nathan (Farm Manager) have worked like Trojans. They planted, weeded, painted, dug and slaved to make the day a success and indeed, the Butterfly House is looking simply incredible. It’s a tropical world where you can see butterflies from South East Asia and South America – some are as big as your hand. Canaries and Zebra Finches fly above your heads and are now starting to nest behind the pond. Tropical fish dart in the shallows and are breeding like billio! The wild flower meadow will be in all its glory next year laying host our native butterflies, bees and wildlife. It’s been a real ambition of mine since I was a child to set up a Butterfly House and I feel so privileged and proud to be finally running my own – please do come and explore it if you have a spare day!
We’ve also introduced some Kelly Bronze Turkeys to the farm. Paul Kelly has kindly donated four who now roam freely with our pygmy goats – they’ve settled in well and are eating us out of house and home … roll on Christmas!
Our new Chilli Pork Burgers are going down a treat too. The Chilli Company in Norfolk are now supplying our little butchery to really put some fire into the BBQ season. We’re even doing a Beef Chilli Sausage and Burger – so if you’re feeling the summer sun, do give us a call or order on line and we can send them direct to your door.
My new series ‘Jimmy’s Farming Heroes’ has finally aired! From both the public and the farming community, the feedback has been incredibly positive. I had an amazing experience filming it and feel immensely privileged to have met, worked with and celebrated some of the UK’s leading farmers. The diversity, determination and ingenuity of the farmers I met were truly humbling – a real eye opener. What a demonstration of how, against great odds, how formidably well British farmers do their job.
My little farm back in Suffolk continues to grow with my better half, Michaela, ruling the roost. She’s done a smashing job – well done lovely lady. It hasn’t been easy across the board for all farmers with spiralling costs and the credit crunch – we’re just about hanging in there thanks to a wonderful team of employees and volunteers. If you want to be part of our ‘Farmily’ do just drop us an email!
Our Kid’s Courses are booking up quick too – we’ve got a few places left so give us a call and turn your kids into the next generation of farming heroes!
We can’t do it without you visiting so please ignore the rain, don your wellies and come and enjoy the farm!
Take care until next month’s blog entry ……
Jimmy x