Smudge, the puppy, has settled in well and – unlike the other collies on Stowell Farm – tucks into her meals.

So far, the whole family has remembered not to leave any footwear unattended on the floor, but there is still time.

Richard and I continued to check the small flock of ewe lambs grazing on Manor Farm, but they are due to return to Stowell Farm any day.

Although winter is far from over, sheep can sense spring is on the way. When the sun shines they play, head-butting each other and jumping into the air off all four feet.

On the ground among the sheep, there is usually a large flock of rooks, a buzzard circling and a raven’s croak from the neighbouring wood.

Rooks take to the air as I walk across the field, circling back to the rookery, before landing in the field again.

They breed early in the season, building large, twiggy nests high in bare branches.

It always amazes me how the nests are so well fixed, hardly affected by winds.

Rooks gather in huge numbers, with gatherings of hundreds or even thousands of pairs. Although they mainly feed on leatherjackets and wireworms, they are not very popular with farmers, as they descend into crops of growing cereals, knocking down large expanses of them.

On Stowell Farm, the family is busy preparing the main flock of ewes for lambing in March. They have been split into groups, according to the number of lambs they are carrying, and Kevin – with Melissa’s help – has begun to “crutch” them.

Crutching is the removal of wool from around the tail and between the rear legs of sheep to keep them cleaner, make lambing easier and providing the newborns with a cleaner suckling area.

Melissa has been collecting colostrum from some of our calved cows, to take back to Stowell Farm and freeze in portions, to give to lambs that may need it.

Colostrum is the first milk produced after the mother has given birth. It contains a high level of nutrients, as well as antibodies against a variety of infectious agents.

At birth, a lamb carries no antibodies because those in the ewe’s blood do not cross the placenta. It is critical that each lamb gets colostrum within the first 24 to 36 hours after its birth. The best absorption of these antibodies takes place in the first few hours.

Ideally, colostrum should come from healthy ewes in the field, but that of healthy dairy cows or goats may be used if the ewe’s cannot be given.

Mark and Kevin mucked out all the covered yards housing the main flock and continue to footbath the ewes, as well as attending to any lame animals.

There have been problems on Manor Farm. One of the in-parlour feeders had to be repaired and the shedding gate decided not to work.

The shedding gate operates as cows exit the milking parlour, directing any needing a procedure – such as foot trimming, inseminating or post-calving checks – to a holding area.

In the farm buildings, I found Ian replacing some worn chains in the muck spreader. These chains, with lugs at the ends, are fixed to a rota, which runs the whole length inside the spreader.

When it’s working, the rota turns and chains and lugs throw manure evenly from the spreader over the field. The problem with Ian’s replacements was he had to get into the manure spreader to do the job. Yuk!