Winter work and play - We work, and the ponies just mess around showing off.

As usual here at Flear, the are lots of big jobs to do in the day-to-day running of the Estate, (to keep it looking beautiful). And last week we took to pruning trees in the orchard to smarten them up for a good harvest next year - this means apple juice and cider for our guests, subject to age (and inclination). Most are old Devon varieties - not only are they delicious but also important to nuture. There are also over a hundred... so we needed help and education from fruit tree expert Tom Nancarrow, and also our wonderful resident gardeners Jane and Marilese.Abbey and Gemma the ponies stood around and pretended to listen to the lessons, but soon got bored and start rolling and frolicking around instead!Despite the distraction we got 57 trees pruned and happy!Only 45 more to go...