Caroline and Chris with the first of our new goose team

I just want to start by saying a huge thank you to all of the @CaenhillCC_xtra followers on Twitter. I am so honoured to have over 1000 followers. When I first created the account in September last year, it was a channel to talk about how Casey and I supported the farm, but I've had the privilege of turning the account into a place for all of our animals photos, blogs and news. To share photos I've taken and have them enjoyed and liked by so many of you means such a lot to me.

It also means a lot to me to be part of such a fantastic team, a team that inspires me. Just look at Caroline who joined us at the farm to paint a few of the animals. She's gone on to join the rush hour, create a calendar, do more illustrations and this week she started her own vlog. I really am happy for her and am inspired by her amazing start to vlogging. I've really enjoyed seeing her views of the farm and I can't wait to see what else she has coming up on her YouTube channel.  Please take a look and subscribe.

Caroline will also be featuring the beautiful kitten Bea on her channel really soon as Bea is going to join Caroline at home. I really hope this move goes well for the both of them. While we'll miss Bea at the farm, she's still going to visit and we've got a fantastic replacement stepping in, the super cute Coral.

Coral joined the kitten team in the cabin last Saturday and is the last of the Smudgelets remaining at the farm. As she's from the only litter of kittens our wonderful Smudge will have, she's been given a rather special name, she's named after my Nan (Chris' mum). Through all of the years at the farm, my Nan's favourites were always the cats. She used to tell me how she dreamt of having a rescue centre for cats and together we used to look after the farm cats and take in some of the cats and kittens that occasionally appeared at the farm to tame and rehome. This tribute to my Nan, who's unfortunately not been here to share what the farm is today, means so much to me.

Farmer Casey helping out this week

Now that we have a strong cat team, we've sent kittens to new homes and we're able to have volunteers again, we've managed to get Smudge, Alfie and a couple of feral cats neutered this week. We're so thankful to the amazing local couple who stepped forward to make this all possible. They not only took the cats to the vets for us and returned them home again, but helped us with the care needed before and after the procedure. It's such a busy time at the farm and we still have a small team, so we really couldn't have done this without them.

It's not all about the cats though, we've seen our goose team grow as well this week. With Pebbles arriving on Monday, BamBam on Friday and another surprise goose hatching yesterday, our goose team is stronger than ever. We can't believe the success with our goose eggs this year and I know I'm really excited to watch our new goose team grow and hopefully stay the very best of friends.

We can't forget about our ducklings and chicks, we've had a great year for them too. It's been so nice to see the little families popping up around the farm from time to time, especially with our most recent family joining Cuthbert the goose. With less time to check for eggs around the barn we do get the occasional surprise too, like the little chick Chris found on Wednesday. Having been hatched by a duck, who certainly wasn't expecting this one, we took the little one into the warm with Cadbury, Pebbles, Fruit and Nut and it's been settling in really well.

Not all of our new arrivals have been babies though and you might have seen, or remember reading about, some runner ducks that we've recently taken in after needing a new home. Emerson, Lake and Palmer are really happy with some new ladies to impress, honestly, they are always walking past hoping to catch their eye. The biggest group of ducks to arrive were let out to join the farm last Sunday, they've not managed to join rush hour just yet, but I really hope the breakfast bar will tempt them soon.

There you have it, another week at the farm. Don't forget that if you want more check out the Caenhill Countryside Centre YouTube channel, Caroline's blogs, or join one of the tiers on patreon to help look after your favourite animals and get some exclusive videos. Keep your shoutout messages coming in to me as well, I might be a little slower to reply now that I have a kitten and toddler to entertain, but I promise I'll get back to you. I'll update you a little more on how my kitten Teddy has settled in next week, but for now I'd best stop her from climbing the curtains.

Until next time, keep safe.

Kara, Casey and Teddy 

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Little lost chick hatched by a duck #bantamchick #rescuechick @StillKara1 pic.twitter.com/01lVMv8W1K

— caenhillcc (@caenhillcc) July 1, 2020