The weather over the past two weeks has been extremely variable. There have been some very hot days when temperatures got up above 30C, also a number of cooler days, with temperatures back into the teens.

There were strong breezes making it feel quite chilly when the sun was hidden by passing clouds. Rainfall has been low, with only 12.5 mm in total falling over two occasions during the past fortnight.

However it was over the weekend of of June 19 to 19 that the days literally went from one season to another. These were the days of the Three Counties Show, held on their showground in front of the Malvern Hills, where I was a horse steward. On Friday it was extremely hot and sunny, followed by a very cold wet day on Saturday. Sunday was cloudy ,with a temperature somewhere between the two. The temperature recorded on Manor Farm was 15.6C on Saturday evening, dipping to 11 C Sunday morning. We also had some fog and a lovely rainbow. What a mixture! Our cereal crops of wheat ,barley and oats could really do with some more rain to swell the grains developing in the ears.

Second cut silage on Manor and Chiverlins Farm is now complete, with the second cut of grass taken from the two- year leys. Grass for hay was cut on both farms from permanent pasture. Ian had our hay put into large square bales, whilst Kevin made his into round bales using his own baler. Mid summer is the best time to make hay as the sun is at its hottest and daylight at its maximum. Rain can interrupt this process, but fortunately not this year. When conserving forage teamwork is employed, with Kevin and Ian working together, also twin granddaughters Natasha and Annabel getting stuck in, as they have now finished their A levels.

Another job was shearing all the ewes - about a thousand. The two shearers completed the job in three days, with help from Kevin, Ian, Annabel and not forgetting the three collies Winston, Star and their mother Smudge. Apparently shearing the ewes was not an easy job this year. The three days were rather hot and the ewes were not very cooperative. They did quite a good job of wrecking the portable crocodile race, used to guide the ewes to the platform where the shearers were working. However when the weather is hot and sunny it brings the lanolin into the wool better, making the actual shearing easier. Sheep have lanolin producing sebaceous glands that spread into the wool to help keep them dry.

All the ewes were very happy once their wool had been removed, feeling much cooler.While shearing was going on Natasha used a tedder towed behind a tractor to spread the grass for hay, to help it dry quicker. If conditions are right the quicker the hay can be dried will help it retain more nutrients. Natasha also topped some permanent pasture to get rid of thistle flowering heads, before they matured into viable seeds.

You may recall that Kevin is growing lupins to feed to his sheep. He is growing a variety of white lupins, which give good quality fodder, grow in a range of soils , which tolerate heat and drought, good addition to crop rotation and contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Lupins have the highest protein and yield of all the native legumes, also a high energy content, but they do have a story, which I will tell you next week.

During the recent sunny days many butterflies have been on the wing, Red Admirals, Tortoiseshells , Common Blues and Meadow Browns to name a few.

It is also the time of the year when a number of ants from each colony take to the wing, which they regularly do for a few days in my house!

Melissa has seen a heron perched on top of a barn roof and while riding their horses Annabel and Natasha saw a roe deer with a fawn.I have seen a barn owl being harassed by a crow and a muntjac deer chasing a cat across a lawn.