AS I WRITE this, the cuckoo is calling so loudly that I can hear it over the children completing their online schoolwork!

The birdsong dominates wherever we go, the blackcap, stonechat and willow warblers accompany us through the day.

The spring of 2020 will be one we will never forget and may perhaps never seen again.

The sky, free of contrails and pollution is the deepest of blues, the leaves of the trees, now mostly out, are the most vibrant green. Wildflowers brighten the fields and hedgerows on the farm, green winged orchids, primroses, bluebells, speedwells and bugle to name just a few.

Whilst in the Forest the holly trees are alive with the sound of bees feasting on their delicate flowers.

Farm work continues with the whole family helping out. The fences have been repaired, we always use hardwood fencing materials such as oak and chestnut rather than the imported, treated posts which never seem to last more than a few years.

Most of the fields have been laid up, ponies which have been in for the winter have gone back out to the Forest including our yearling filly, Cuffnells Clover, who has gone back out with her mother.

Just this week we spotted our first foal on the Forest, one of grandad’s mares. The ponies tend to foal at night, finding somewhere quiet away from others and returning the following day with a foal at foot.

The Verderers have announced that this year less stallions will be turned out, a good decision which will result in less foals next year.

We have no idea what the next few years will bring and it would be wrong to breed foals without a promising future. There will be ten stallions turned out for a maximum of six weeks from the 16th of May, you can find the stallion areas on the Verderers website.

Our cattle are still at home and the daily feeding routine continues, although they are also grazing in the field by the house.

Without rain, the grass hasn’t really got going so we won’t be cutting grass for silage any time soon.

The Forest without cars is a wonderful place, I don’t think any of us realised how much road noise impacted on our lives. Normally when moving the farm machinery we have to go out either early or late in the day to avoid the traffic.

We have begun cycling through the village to deliver essentials to my parents who are self isolating, something we never thought we would be able to do or need to do.

Life has become simpler in many ways, and old fashioned activities are much more appealing to the children, from potato printing to making bows and arrows.

We know we are very lucky to have the freedom of the farm.

It was brilliant last weekend to be able to deliver our home produced beef locally, and brilliant to know that many people are turning to local suppliers for their food and other goods. It has been lovely to receive so many messages of thanks on our social media feeds from people unable to visit the Forest. Stay safe.

Lyndsey Stride

Commoning Family

Follow on Twitter: @Cuffnells