'Murial' is ready

'Murial' is finished -
and next we have to prepare all the parts for the collage including the wool which has been specially machine washed in a pillowcase for health and safety reasons.

The photos show how I gathered the wool from a self shedding Wiltshire Horn sheep earlier this year into a bag.

The sheep was shedding naturally and I just pulled it off into a sack.

Put into a pillowcase for machine washing.

Washed in a machine at 30' with modern detergent not once but TWICE to 'cleanse' the wool for small children to handle.

Then laid out in the garden to dry in the wind and the sun.

Hopefully, we will have lots of happy children on Sunday making woolly sheep for the collage

the preparation goes on

The brilliant thing about Open Farm Sunday is not only do we get to meet lots of people who want to learn about how their food is produced but also the farm has an annual clean and tidy up.

As I write this Darek is painting the inside of the educational buildings, now the next stage of renovations are almost done. I am off to the Cash n' Carry to get supplies for feeding and watering all the helpers on Sunday.

Tonight we will be continuing with the mural, and all sorts of fiddly jobs like printing and laminating notices such as car park, etc.

Phone calls are pouring in with questions about access and parking and it seems like a lot of people are already planning to come and enjoy themselves.

BBC Three Counties radio will also be coming on Sunday morning.