When winter turns to Spring

Well January is more or less over and the snow is disappearing as quickly as it came. We have been feeding the little birds constantly as the autumn didn't bring the usual winter feed of hips and haws and other berries. And now we have it Spring must be on the way the bulbs are starting to peep out.,although they have a long way to go.Here you see the sheep getting a supplement to their feed when there is only snow and winter grass

to eat We haven't started lambing yet but that will come shortly and with 2 little shepherdesses now living on the farm Rubi-Sue 3 and Martha 1 will be excited to see the lambs arrive. I have been told I was under five when I used to go to check on the sheep by myself. When the men folk where busy milking I run back shouting "Fireman Fred ,come quick". That was to my uncle as another sheep was pushing her babies into the world.It was no big deal and at least living on a farm there is not much explaining to do about the birds and the bees.We have a family coming from California in march when we will be right in the middle of lambing .Although their children a lot older I guess it will be an experience they never forget.

David 'the AGA man' Simpson's Point-to-Point Racing Diary: Yorkshire cracker as Sheriff Hutton hosts the retu...

David 'the AGA man' Simpson's Point-to-Point Racing Diary: Yorkshire cracker as Sheriff Hutton hosts the retu...: AGA Home Business is the theme for our point-to-point sponsorship this season so the award winning Carr House Farm bed and breakfast in Am...

Disappointment and excitement all in a day

I was very honoured to get an invitation to the Black Tie Dinner in Leeds to welcome the Tour de France to Leeds.It is to celebrate LeTourYorkshire will be coming to Yorkshire in July 2014. To dine with 349 of what was said on TV as the goods and greats of Yorkshire would have been wonderful. 60 Tour de France officials will be flown in from Paris to attend. Unfortunately I have had to decline the invitation as I have not been well and don't want to upstage the show by keeling over. Gary Verity and the team at Welcome to Yorkshire have worked very hard to bring this great sporting event to Yorkshire,It is hard to believe, YES it is coming. To celebrate the occasion I have bought 2 Dawes Diploma cycles complete with baskets from Ralph Yates of Malton . I choose Dawes because they are English and Yates as they are a very old established firm in Malton.They will service these bikes and for years have given reliable service. That is what its is all about. The bikes will be here for guests to use for free. Hopefully I am sorting a deal out with delis in the area for you to enjoy. The excitement is that LeTourYorkshire will be coming. Here is your opportunity should you wish to try out the roads that le Tour de France bosses saw which lead to Yorkshire clinching the event. All you have to do is come and stay and a couple of nights and book to use our bikes for free.

Our 2012

Well we all had the Queen's Jubilee,followed the Olympic Torch around the country and then watched with pride the Olympics. But for us here 2012 held other memories too. There were highs and lows. Our biggest low was losing Quozzi our beautiful cocker spaniel. In May, Jack celebrated his 60th birthday. He was a youngster compared to my Dad who was 90th birthday in September. In June we went to Canada -the first summer holiday in 34 years of doing bed and breakfast. We travelled from Vancouver to Calgary. We had 3 days on a ranch rounding up cattle in Alberta on horseback. As neither of us had ridden for 15 years it was a bit of a shock to our bodies. In Jan it was announced by BBC Countryfile that we were in the top 10 places to stay in the UK for a rural experience. We had a great breakfast party at the end of Jan and raised over £8.7000 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The year was topped off by being in a Finalist in the Deliciouslyorkshire Awards for Best Use of Local Produce on a plate. I couldn't have done this without the great support of my wonderful friends and family. My main prop in all of this show is Jack as without him it just wouldn't have been possible. So here I am summing up the year,Jack is is bed as morning will soon be here. We wish you all ...

.. A Very Best for 2013.We wish you Good Health and Happiness as money can't buy these.But also little wealth too as it makes the world go round and also buys a few bars of chocolate too .

Tour de Yorkshire

Well #BackLeBid has paid off. Last Friday it was announced that Yorkshire is going to host Tour de France on the 5th and 6th July 2014.It is thanks to Gary Verity and his dedicated team at Welcome to Yorkshire that the deal was clinched. Although the routes have not been disclosed yet I would be very surprised if Sutton Bank is ridden up which would mean Tour de Yorkshire will be on our doorstep. To celebrate this from Spring 2013,

we are buying 2 brand new cycles for guests who will be staying with us for 2 or more nights will be able to borrow these free of charge. Here you see the type of bike I have my eye on. Dawes is a well known British made bike. Hopefully this is what I will be getting. I can buy them locally and they can also service them for me.Above all I want ones which will have baskets on the front.We hope to carry a stock of Yorkshire produce which you will be able to take to picnic on your ride and take in the scenery that you see going at a leisurely pace. Safety hats.waistcoats and routes will be there for you too.

Freezing weather...

When did -2 degrees every stop you from doing what you like to do?. Here is my Dad with Alan another die hard fisherman on Wednesday.Togged up to keep the cold out it was carry on regardless. The fog wasn't nice and it was bitterly cold but it didn't deter us from having a few hours over at Filey on Wednesday. It is good to have the Beach hut to go into to get a hot drink and shelter from that bitter wind. With fish and chips and Sterchi's chocolate inside us for subsistence we brave the bad weather.High tide was around 3pm but the tides were high and there was plenty of swell in the water. A few people walked their dogs but there was only Dave and Alan with us fishing. They were luckier than me and caught a flattie apiece

. They kindly gave them to us . My mum and dad share one for the tea and Jack has the other as a starter. All said it was very tasty . I had the pleasure of gutting them and cooking them .

Nunnington Hall

Welcome to Yorkshire held its Christmas event at Nunnington Hall this evening. I used to pass the Hall every day when I was going to Malton Grammar School 45 years ago. The Clive family lived there along with their St Bernard and it was very much a family home.Now run by the national Trust.it is home to the Carlyle Collection of rooms in miniature. There was reindeer, outside to welcome us, and a green sleigh but no sight of Santa Claus. Indoors a huge fire and decorated Christmas tree. I had a chat with "the butler" about days gone by. In the dining room, he served us sherry in his tailed jacket. The table was set for dinner. Upstairs they had reconstructed what rooms would be like in the 1920s. A

bedroom with metal bedsteads and very sparse dressings. There was also a collection of wild life photographs on display I saw the Canon camera had been used by many entries. There was a raffle in aid of the Yorkshire regiment. I was lucky and won a voucher to be spent at ebony Interiors in Pickering. The staff as always from W2Y where working hard. Jo Kendall in the forefront wearing her never ending smile -such a happy soul. Behind her Sarah Barrowby was doing a sterling job selling raffle tickets. Janet Deacon gave the welcome.It was nice to see Jo Francisco back to work after having her little boy.Hopefully Santa was back at his workshop overseeing the elves making something for Jo's little boys first Christmas.