According to the Life of Brian – blessed are the cheese makers and this week I joined Steph as one of this hallowed band. We’re getting around three litres of milk a day right now and we’re working hard to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Cheese making is easier than I thought and much more fun. I made cottage cheese this morning and shall be having some for my lunch a little later; you can’t get much fresher than that. The milking machine is more than earning its keep, it has simplified the whole process and milking the goats is no longer a trial, but a pleasant job. Foxglove particularly has taken to the new regime very well, and over all I am very pleased with the way things are going. As another potential use for goat’s milk I’m researching soap making. It seems goat’s milk makes very a very milk moisturising soap. If the process is one we can manage here at Alledal then it could be another step towards being self-sufficientish.

We may have had the Spring Equinox last week, and we may be putting the clocks forward one hour this weekend, but the snow continues to fall here in Skåne. We had another six to eight inches overnight. It does make everywhere so beautiful. The wild birds are making the most of the bird table which is rarely if ever unoccupied. The snow hasn’t had much impact on the poultry though. The geese are now laying well and I’ve put the first eggs of 2008 into the incubator to test fertility. The second incubator is full of duck eggs and should be hatching in the first week of April. The young Blommehöns three week old now and I’ve been really with their growth rate, they feather up so fast. The fertility of the Blommehöna flocks has been excellent. Boris’s flock has a rate of over 90% which is good, but the old master Charlie has 100% fertility rate which is amazing. This can only get better as the weather improves.

We’ve had houseguests this last week and I have to admit for the first time I have found it a strain. I never realised how one person could remove the joy from life so quickly. I haven’t felt so stressed in all my time being here as I have these last few days. It’s an unpleasant reminder of an aspect of life I thought I had left behind; I rarely have anything in my life here at Alledal that gives me any real stress.

Twice over the last couple of days I’ve seen flocks of cranes heading north. Their eerie cries echoing through the skies over the snow covered landscape. It’s a reminder that despite the weather spring is on the way.  I have never seen them rest anywhere in Skåne I just have to enjoy the fleeting glimpses of these beautiful and graceful birds with their enormous wings taking them north to their breeding grounds.