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A Week on the Estate: Drilled Barley, Restored Paddock & Littlest Bridesmaid

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The clocks went forward last weekend and this week gave us a taste of summer with some daily high temperatures above 20C. Our livestock and wildlife may be in for a shock, however, with an easterly front set to bring us single-figure highs and sub-zero lows by early next week.

On the land, we’re making hay – or barley and wheat to be precise – while the sun shines. We’ve been busy drilling the spring barley, rolling the winter barley and working down our wild-bird food areas. Charlie also cracked on with rolling the winter wheat crops ahead of last weekend’s showers.

Closer to home, it’s really cheered us up to see the Lincolnshire Buffs out and about in the Walled Garden after being (literally) cooped up for months. Housing restrictions due to avian flu were eased on 31st March and our chickens have made the most of their freedom to forage.

Farming

The Easter holidays are upon us and the Sheepdip Paddock temporary parking area is ready to receive walkers. The gates are open, the free maps are fully stocked, the ground has dried out, the grass has been cut and a few potholes have been filled with estate woodchip. We’re grateful  to Andy Bonnet and his team for their hard work in making the parking area user-friendly once more. We’re planning to lay some matting very soon to make the space as weather-proof as possible.

Are you a hard-working 16-24-year-old with a willingness to learn (or do you know someone who fits that description)? Do you want to be in at the start of a big, exciting project that could make the Lincolnshire Wolds a better place to live, work and play? If the answer is yes to both these questions, then South Ormsby Estate needs you!

We’ve had an enthusiastic response to our Kickstart vacancies but opportunities are still available in various aspects of the estate’s work. Some Kickstarters will gain experience of a range of hands-on work, from gardening and estate management to distilling, cheese-making and looking after our Lincoln Red herd.

People Working On The Estate

Others will find out what it’s like to manage a 3,000-acre, 21st-century rural estate, in roles ranging from IT and project management to product development and marketing. We’re thinking long-term and there’s a real possibility that some of our Kickstart roles might just become full and rewarding careers. If you’d like to explore these opportunities, contact your job coach at Jobcentre Plus.

Finally, this week’s beautifully written instalment of ‘Our Days’ comes courtesy of Cecile Stevenson, Kath Brown’s ‘littlest bridesmaid’. Cecile is the three-year old bridesmaid with the frilly dress and stern expression in Kath Brown’s wedding photograph, taken in October 1940 on the steps of South Ormsby Hall.  Her vivid and poignant account of that day can be found on our ‘My Days’ page.

TAKE A LOOK AROUND

Explore South Ormsby


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