This notoriously bad at timekeeping GoodGymer arrived at this task not only on time, but 3 mins early AND NO ONE WAS THERE TO SEE IT! So noting it here for posterity as it will likely never happen again.

Anyway, I arrived EARLY, and realised I was the solo rep for GoodGym that evening. Best behaviour! No saucy jokes!

Gemma, who runs the farm and who I had met on previous GoodGym tasks, introduced me to the FarmGym group who are regular volunteers, and explained the evening’s tasks needed some extra pairs of hands and that’s why this was going to be the first GoodGym meets FarmGym crossover! Many hands make light work as they say!

To begin with we were to sweep the pathway by the river because the squirrels like to get up in the trees, crack open some walnuts and leave the shells everywhere! We were all surprised to see how much mess they made, that is a lot of walnuts! We all got to work sweeping and made short work of cleaning the path, only occasionally interrupted by squirrels throwing walnut shells at us! On the way back in, I spotted a cheeky squirrel carrying a massive walnut and looking for somewhere to bury it!

Anyway onto the next task! Kate and I got stuck in to sweeping the goat yard, not the most glamorous of tasks, but a familiar one for GoodGym! Meanwhile the rest of the group were busy trimming the gigantic hedge. Once the yard was nice and clean it was time to get to carrying the bits of hedge and adding the foliage to the yard for the nanny goats to chew on. Both Kate and I were soon disguised as walking hedges….

At the end of the evening it was time to take some hedge trimmings to the young male goats who earlier had been busy alternating between coming for cuddles and showing off with leaping, play fighting, and locking horns, but soon changed their tune and settled in for contentedly munching bits of hedge.

I took a little detour to admire the work made at the on-site blacksmith forge (rapidly becoming a lost skill I am sure) and take some photos of sheep with punk rock hairstyles before hopping on my bike to head home.

Always such a treat to visit the farm, and I think I may have recruited some of the FarmGym crew to join us at GoodGym as well. 😍