December
Festive greetings! It’s Christmas at Hill Top Farm. The fields look like a scene from a seasonal card, as heavy snowfall has left a crisp white blanket over the fields. But, this can only mean one thing for Jack – a Christmas crisis!
See Amid the Winter Snow
It was a cold and snowy Christmas at Hill Top Farm. I woke up early, excited to see what Santa had brought. Sal and my little brother were already up, tearing open presents, shouting “He’s been!”
"Look, a new sledge!" Sal squealed, holding up her shiny red new toy. I grinned and ran over to see. We have always used feed bags filled with hay. I wondered whether this fancy new sledge would be any faster. As we were opening our selection boxes, Dad came into the room, looking worried. "The water pipes to the cattle water tanks are frozen," he said. "We need to get them thawed out before breakfast.” I offered to help. I put on my coat and wellies ready to follow Dad down to the cow shed.
In the Bleak Midwinter
Mum put the kettle on the Aga and Dad and I found the old urn, put it on the back of the quad and started to fill it with hot water. It took several trips until we had enough to pour onto the frozen pipes. Everything just takes longer in the snow. The wind was biting cold as we trudged through the deep snow, and my fingers and toes were soon numb. But I didn’t want to leave Dad facing the work on his own on Christmas Day. The hot water did the trick. We could soon hear the water tanks starting to refill as the water began to thaw and give way. Dad decided it was time for a coffee, and maybe even a mince pie, before tackling the feeding.
All I Want for Christmas
As we trudged back to the house, I was tired and cold but also proud of myself for helping to solve a problem. I thought a mince pie sounded like a well-earned treat, but Sal had other ideas. She was waiting for me in the porch, new sledge in hand. “Come on!” she said. “Let’s go sledging!” As it was Christmas, I agreed. We headed out to the Pig Plot. We always do our best sledging there. Tommy insisted on coming but I knew he wouldn’t stick it for long. His gloves were wet after the first two attempts. I say attempts because he kept falling off the sledge. Mum took him back in the house to warm up, while Sal and I had a few more races. The new sledge was fast after all. Tommy was quite sad when we got back to the house he was left behind. To cheer him up we built a snowman in the garden. Mum couldn’t stop laughing. Proudly wearing a flat cap, our snowman looked just like Grandad. “Happy Christmas, Tommy!” we shouted. “We hope you like your present!”
Jack – Farmer in Training
Jack was born to farm. He just loves helping out his dad, and his trusty dog Meg is never far away. Farming is in his blood and bones. He has his own small flock of sheep, a few hens and some calves. He has great plans to expand his own enterprise (though Dad says he has to learn to walk before he can learn to run). He may be little but his ambitions are huge.
