January With Hannah Russell, Little Alf & Friends

It’s a frosty morning on my small holding at Swinton Green. I’ve had a lot of thermal layers on the last few days as the temperature has dropped and each morning has been wintery feeding the animals.

It’s been a busy January so far; I welcomed back my work experience students at the start of the month and began teaching animal management to help further their careers. Last year I qualified as an animal instructor and during 2023 plan to host more courses and workshops. These will include animal husbandry days, Valais Black Nose workshops and animal based studies for students hoping to learn more.

Last weekend, I visited some alpacas which will be joining my team of animals here in the months ahead. I can’t wait to show everyone the new arrivals, as they are very cute and have huge personalities. I’ve planned on getting alpacas for a few years now and in 2022 qualified in my level 5 alpaca care. In the future, I hope to offer alpaca experiences such as alpaca walking and meeting them in person.

At Swinton Green everything seems to be developing. January is usually a time for planning the months ahead but with training Winston my flat coat retriever puppy, sheep breeding programmes starting, and heading up the moors with Elvis, most weeks it has been non-stop.

The hustle and bustle lifestyle is something I love. Being surrounded by my animals is my life and it wouldn’t be the same if I walked out the door not covered in dog hairs.

I started the month public speaking at a local ladies’ lunch group not far from home, which was a great way to get back into the swing of things. I usually have around 3-5 public speaking engagements a month throughout the year and the diary is already looking very busy!

On Wednesday I turned 26 and took the four dogs hiking in Nidderdale and it was nice to have a day away from the computer.