Bark, bark, black sheep

Tom, Alice and Jane joined this morning's keen-beans Rob, Helen and Jer at Bath City Farm for some bark chip shifting ahead of the farm's reopening to the public next week.

Important things first... when we'd signed up to this mission, we'd been teased with the possibility of there being newborn lambs on site, and on arrival we learnt that 5 new lambs have indeed been born over the past few days. But first work...

Our host Josh issued us each with a wheelbarrow and a shovel and pointed us to a huge pile of bark chips next to the chicken roost, which we were to load up and transfer - first over to a garden area further up the site, and then the remainder onto a grassy border which was luckily right next to the initial pile.

We made steady progress and quickly completed the first area before setting about the second with that promise of lamb cuddles getting ever closer...

As we reached the last few barrows of chips, Josh remembered to mention the other even bigger pile of bark chips further up the car park. The lambs would have to wait!

The other pile of chips needed barrowing up the hill to another area near the farm's entrance. By now at least one of us double-shift workers (yeah, me) was seriously beginning to flag - but the promise of lambs is a great motivator. I soldiered on.

We finished up, before finally the pay-off. Many, many lamb photos are attached for your enjoyment.

Afterwards, on the way back down the hill down to Twerton Jane and I also met a couple of tiny horses, and also a 7 month old husky puppy. You're jealous.