Spring has arrived at Court Farm in Somerset

It looks like Spring has finally arrived. We spent a fun day bottle feeding the lambs, cooing over the chicks, watching some baby goats settle into their new home and lots of fun on the zip wire at Court Farm in Somerset.

In Britain we love to moan about the weather. But if we didn't have the damp & dreary Winter months, I don't think we'd appreciate the re-emergence of the sun & lazy days outdoors quite as much. My Mum has a friend with a son who is an artist in Los Angeles. He loves to travel back in Winter to his parent's house in the UK just to see the beauty of a frost in the morning.

Saturday was the first day this year we've all been out & about without our coats on...a red letter day for us Brits!

It really was lovely to feel the warm sun on our faces.

Court Farm is located about 2-3 miles outside Weston-super-Mare and in my opinion, March & April are two of the best months to visit. They have lots of baby lambs to feed & all the children who came along to sit on a straw bale got a chance to hold a bottle. Some were brave enough to hold very wriggly lambs for a cuddle. Magoo loved holding the bottle, although it's always a shock to see how strong these small lambs are when they get a whiff of some milk.

We also saw baby chicks making quick progress around the farmyard...with the mother hen never too far away.

There is plenty of farm land to roam over and we took a stroll down to the lake to say hello to the donkeys.

Alongside the newer residents taking most of the limelight in the large barn, there is a selection of more 'mature' sheep, goats, ponies and pigs in various other barns dotted around Court Farm.

Enjoying our first outdoor ice lolly of the season...

Court Farm also has plenty of outdoor play space, including a large wooden fort, trampolines and Magoo's favourite - zip wires!

I'm linking up with these lovely blogs Country Kids, #ordinarymoments over on www.mummydaddyandmemakesthree.co.uk, #magicmoments on theoliversmadhouse.co.uk, Let Kids be Kids, ‘Living Arrows' on Shutterflies blog and last, but not least #brilliantblogposts over on honestmum.com

Storytelling on the Somerset Levels

A couple of years ago my Mum visited a garden on the Somerset Levels...she kept telling me what an amazing place it was & saying things like "I can't really describe the place, but you really need to visit it next time it's open". So when we heard that the annual 'open garden' event was happening, we jumped in the car and drove out onto the Somerset Levels to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, she was right. It is an amazing place & it is hard to describe...but I'll have a go. The owners of the main farmhouse have created an intriguing garden which covers about three acres of land. You move around the garden from one part to another, almost like moving from room-to-room in a house and you never quite know what's going to be around the corner...here are just some of the things we saw...

a metal UFO-type sculpture cum look-out post,

We saw compost toilets adorned with silk scarves and flowers,

a disused bus turned into a cosy home,

a beautiful artists studio,

an outside bath warmed only by a log fire underneath,

the best handmade metal swinging garden seat ever,

hammocks dotted about the place,

a cosy yurt in the orchard,

willow sculptures,

fairy doors into the woods,

nets draped in the trees for adults to climb into & bounce about like big kids in,

and a lake created by the owners complete with arched bridge leading out to an island in the middle.

All this was accompanied by the atmospheric sounds of Fiddlers on the Hoof who were strolling around the garden with their accordion and fiddle. Later on when we settled down for some storytelling outside the artist's studio, they bought out a harp to accompany the stories. The whole place was magical.

I think it's wonderful that the creative people who own this home open their doors to raise money for the local hospice. If they didn't, we wouldn't have had the chance to glimpse into the amazing, enchanting garden they have worked so hard to create.

I'm linking up with #countrykids...hope you've all had fun out & about this week