It's always a bit of a struggle to make sure that everything is complete before opening the gates for the new season, and this year was no exception. With the dreadful weather making our annual task even harder, we were trying to drive fence posts into sodden ground, and pump out water from the livestock pens. Ben the electrician was balancing on his ladder whilst the wind whipped around him, and Chris and Gareth, the plumbers, were paddling around in the mud whilst they dug out the old pipes. Bearing in mind that these tradesmen only normally see the wind and rain on the golf course, we are grateful that they didn't give up on us, and they completed all their jobs successfully!
For the first time in the 30 years that the farm has been open to visitors, we have had to close off the outdoor play area. This was a decision made by me after the third time I had slipped up on my  backside whilst I inspected the grounds. With slightly wounded pride, I decided that it would be far too risky to open that area up to the public.
The day before our season started the heavens opened flooding the goat pens and the pathways, so with an early morning start, we pumped away the surplus water and cleared the debris that the gale force winds had deposited around the farm. With minutes to spare we were able to open the gates. Guess what? One of our first visitors complained that the car park was very wet; I did employ the ‘customer care smile’ as I explained to her that it was something to do with the weather!
It hasn't helped our staffing situation having Dawn off for the first few weeks of the new season: whilst on holiday she managed to slip up on some rocks and break her wrist. She now has a bracket and some stainless steel screws inserted into her lower arm and is on the road to recovery. It has made all the staff appreciate just how much we all rely on her.
Our main area for improvements this year has been the seating area for eating, which has been extended by over 30 more seats. Not only that, we have really spoilt you by installing heating and air-conditioning units in as well. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that the farm staff have been creeping in there to have their lunch in comfort.
The farm is fully stocked again with over 100 small chicks, rabbits and guinea pigs, 50 new young goats (which were rescued from the floods in Oxfordshire), 20 calves, and 40 or more hungry pigs... all looking forward to being fed by our visitors. Sandy, one of Kune Kune sows, decided to produce a litter of 11 piglets on one of the first days of opening, so there will be a chance that you will be able to cuddle a piglet. In fact, it feels like a real farm once again!
Louise has returned to take on the goat area, which she will find challenging as we are expecting 250 young goats in during the next month or so. Kayleigh will continue to look after the stables, and has inherited the poultry as well, which should keep her very busy! Coner prefers the real animals, so he will continue looking after the pigs and calves. Callum has joined us to relieve the other stock people when they have a day off, and we also have employed some new weekend staff as well.  
Our season ticket promotion went very well this year with record numbers of visitors purchasing season tickets for this season. This increase is partly due to our new online purchasing facility, which we think makes life easier for everyone - although it does amaze me what time of day people are on their computer parting with their money! Despite having a 'cut off period' for our discounted season tickets, we still had phone calls from people who had forgotten to renew their tickets, giving imaginative excuses such as: "My letter had a different date on it", "My dog ate the form" , and "I thought that you were not opening until Easter".
Our thoughts go to all the farmers throughout the country who have suffered during the extreme weather conditions. Only half the story can be seen on the television: the devastation of finding your sheep floating down the river, sheds full of cattle wading belly-deep in sludge, and whole houses of chickens being drowned are just some of the cases that the farming world has been confronted with. It will take a very long time before this will be rectified. We are very grateful indeed that we seemed to have missed the brunt of the weather here in Ashurst. 
Hope to see you soon, Farmer Bryan

START OF A NEW SEASON

With Christmas over for another year, we are now busy planning and scheming for the new season’s activities, and reminiscing over last year’s events, the year in general, and how it all worked out. We are looking at ways that we can improve the Farm for this coming season. We were delighted with the response that we had from our visitors who visited the Christmas Barn. Our sincere thanks go to Tim, all the staff and the contractors that helped us turn the straw den into a Nativity scene, and of course Steve, John and Matt who literally bailed us out when we got flooded; bringing in a JCB to dig out a trench to divert the flowing water away from Father Christmas's house. It was 6.00 o'clock one morning, that I realised that the water was reaching a dangerous level, not just flooding the pathway, but by now it was shooting off the roof and flowing towards Father Christmas's house. Realising that the pump that we had installed the day before was not working, I clambered over the fence and tried frantically to exercise my electrical skills. I soon re-discovered that electricity and water do not go together, as a massive spark and a few choice words flew in all directions! I decided to find a replacement pump, which I soon attached to the pipe work and was pleased when I found water squirting through the pipe. What I hadn't realised was the end of the pipe was now above me, showering the dirty water down on top of me - the smell of this water left me wondering where it had come from! The worst part of the morning was about to begin, as I struggled to get the end of the pipe into the outside ditch, I slipped into the ditch. Now this is not the best place to be just three weeks after having an operation on your foot. I was unable to put any weight on my right foot, and my left foot was sinking further into the now full ditch, filling up my welly boots. As motorists slowed down, I can only assume that they thought I had had a few too many the night before, as not one of them stopped to give assistance. The only way out of the ditch was to roll up and over the bank, and by now I was looking like a pig in mud, but definitely not so happy! We are making some changes at the farm this year: all the materials have been booked, machinery hired in and a great team of staff raring to go. A new guinea pig village is being built, where visitors will be able to watch them play, and hopefully see some being born. The Animal Encounter will now be in the Rabbit House, which we are hoping will give visitors more time with the smaller animals. This is Kerry's new project and she has put a lot of effort in making this work. We are also working on a new "meet the pigs area", however this has encountered a few unexpected problems, so just watch this space. There will be very few staff changes this season, as most of our loyal staff wish to stay on, so once again we have a great team. Chez, a little Shetland pony, has joined us during the winter with the intention that he will be a stable mate for Billy. It is time for our orphan New Forest foal, Toby, to move on to pastures new, simply because he is being wasted at the farm, as he has great potential of being broken in as a child's pony. We open again on the 16th February, but please remember that if you wish to renew your season ticket or purchase a new one, the discounted price ends on the 13th February 2013. We all look forward to seeing you soon. Farmer Bryan.