Lowlands farm, in southwest Birmingham, is home to Beth Withers and her husband, Tom. Here, she talks about bringing up her growing family at Lowlands, a beef and sheep farm, and the balance between motherhood and farming.
Signs of spring have been appearing and lambing season has begun. It is the time of year when, for no apparent reason other than a glimmer of sunshine, I smile that little bit more and feel a little bit better. After all the cold and rain, you naturally have that slight skip in your step, and look forward to the warmer summer months ahead.
Lambing this year brings another new challenge to the farm as we have our new family member to throw into the mix. With two toddlers and a baby, you can look at it from two different angles - wow, this is going to be hard work, or the way I prefer, wow, we have two mini helpers.
To be successful at lambing is to be prepared. The baby doorway bouncers (for those who don not know, this is a bouncy seat for babies which attaches to the door frame) are not very popular for the home anymore, but I have always had one out in the lambing shed since my first was born. We lamb in a polytunnel, so by attaching the bouncer to the metal bars and putting some clean straw underneath, baby can bounce away and keep busy until they tire themselves out and fall to sleep. It is safe, contained and means you know exactly where they are at all times.
Two toddlers are slightly harder. I use to make an extra pen, put some straw bales round and add some news toys for entertainment. As they have got older, they can simply climb out so it is no longer effective, and I now have to focus on snacks. Yes, all parents know, if all else fails bring out the snacks. This month I invested in a standard tool box for 10 and filled it with everything we would need; nappies, wipes, tissues, drinks, snacks. But, the sheep always start to lamb when you are about to leave, or when you just popped in for a quick look, so is that happens this takes a bit of pressure off - if I dont have my normal bag, I have a backup.
Instead of a small play pen this year, I have taken two little camping chairs for them to sit on. This way they can get involved and help our or simply sit back and watch the show from their corner.
So, the question you are asking is, is this going to plan? I would say it is more of a success that not. The bouncer has, and still works wonders for the little one. The snack box, despite being raided by my husband more than the kids, has been a massive help too. My eldest, who is three, will sit and happily drink his juice, eat a snack and chat away for hours whilst we get everything done. My middle child is two, and will of course snack, but his attention span is a little less focussed. He does tend to wander, empty the water buckets rather than fill them, and, well being quiet is not really in his vocabulary. But hey, you cannot have everything, two out of three is not bad going.
We also have the vets surgery set up in the house for those lambs that need the bit of extra care. The boys really have enjoyed keeping them warm and bottle feeding them when needed, but it certainly makes the house smell of sheep I am glad they are not a permanent indoor fixture.
The best part about it all is that they get involved. They get to watch new life coming into the world; they get to ask the questions they would not otherwise know to ask; they are learning about life and death, right at the heart of it. I never had this exposure as a child, and I think it is really important. As an adult, we attach emotion and look at things from a different perspective. To my children it is all a very clear concept, and they are taking so much information on board every day.
Lambing is a time when everyone pulls together. Everyone has to be involved to make it work. Although we are often spending less time together, and less time doing things away from the farm, the sense of working on something for a common end goal makes you feel connected.
With everything going on in the world right now, one of my favourite escapes at the moment is sitting in the poly tunnel in the dead of night, listening to the owls and waiting for a new lamb to be born. It is a peaceful, and there is a stillness I cannot explain. I will not take it for granted.
This is the element about farming I love the most. I learnt to lamb from my husband and his dad over many years, having never even seen a lamb born previously. My hands-on experience means I am now more than capable in most lambing situations and just get on with everything as if it were second nature. It is wonderful to watch our children grow up around the lambing shed, and I would not want them to miss it.
With every day that passes, we add new lambs to the flock and the signs of spring increase.
Daffodils are blooming, the weather is getting warmer and soon those butterflies will be making an appearance.
