We were back at the farm this evening for more lifting and shifting and log chopping and burning!

We moved lots of pallets and gates from the top of the farm to the bottom and then chopped lots of wood to be burnt down and turned into ash to help the crops.

We had lots of fantastic new faces getting stuck in and helping out, it's always nice to see new people!

We kept ourselves nice and warm around the fire too!

Unfortunately not all of the photos will upload 🙁 but here are the ones which will!

Tonight Lucy and I set off to see if we could deliver approximately 80 leaflets in 20 minutes. It started out feeling like we would never get through them all quick enough, but it wasn't long before we were down to the last few and with time to spare. We hope this will encourage some more people to participate in the Southampton marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k races coming up in May and raise money for a local charity that supports disabled children and young people.

Great to have Lauren and Mitchell join us for their first Wellow Toad Patrol. We set off just before it got dark and didn't find any toads to start with. Sadly when walking back towards the main crossing section we found 2 deads toads. All the toads found seemed to be heading back off to the woods and away from the breeding ponds now. My first save was a female with a male on her back. They were very close to being squished by a car! Kim, the patrol lead, had actually already saved them once and put them back towards the breeding ponds, but they were obviously determined they were back off to the woods. After this we didn't spot any more toads for a while and Lauren and Mitchel unfortunately had to leave before the rush started. At one point I found 3 toads, with the third one again being a very near miss. I had to run to save the little fella! It was nerve-racking stuff. You can look for ages and see nothing and then suddenly spot them on the road edge or half way across. There was a bit more rain which brought even more toads out. It was actually hard to leave as I kept finding them as I went back up the lane! In total I rescued 12 toads. I think 7 females and 5 males. I need to work on my toad IDing! The total successfully crossed over tonight was 38 toads and one froglet. That increased the success rate to 41% which is up from 33%. Sadly 14 dead toads were found which goes to show how important the patrols are as many more could have been lost. This was the second busiest night for the Wellow Toad Patrol.

We enjoyed looking at the water themed art, eating cake and singing and dancing to the Southampton Ukulele band. That got us nicely warmed up to help pack away the event. We carried boxes downstairs, put the tables and chairs back into storage, and swept the floor (with the most unhelpful mop/broom thing!). It was a great event full of smiles. We can't wait for next year!

Ashleigh, Clare and her lovely partner (apologies as I have forgotten his name) and Stephanie popped along to assist in the set up for the fantastic Toes In The Water Art and Music festival. Clare was on hand early in the morning arriving at 7 am to assist the fabulous Rachel and team who run this wonderful community festival. It was an interesting exercise in picture hanging for us all. Still every day is a learning day! Luckily there is always some delicious cake and great music to enjoy once you have got the picture straight!

Tonight we were tasked with helping to tidy up the supplies in the fund raising section of the loft and creating an inventory for raffle prizes/donations. First of all we had to divide into Spreadsheeters and Non-spreadsheeters! Those with IT skills set to work listing the inventory while those with a bit less IT skills begun sorting through the stationary and craft supplies. We think we came up with some logical yet novel categories. Everyone will know where to go now to find "Pegs + sticks" and "Feathers + Pom Poms + foam"! We look forward to planning our Rose Road session for next month where we will have finally made it back to lighter evenings!