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This year, for the first time ever, I've had very little involvement in the lambing of mum's Willowbrook flock of Kerry Hill sheep.

This is mainly because I now live in a town away from home and also due to my lack of transport (see Back on the road to trialling). As well as staying up for the night shifts, checking on any imminent arrivals, I usually take a week's holiday from work to give mum a helping hand, and I feel I've really missed out this year.

Corrie always loves lambing time too. When we were both starting our training, lambing time gave me a real sense of achievement when we could both prove our working worth. Corrie particularly enjoys shedding off ewes and their newborns to bring them in at night to their cosy pens, out of harm's way from the many foxes and badgers we have on the prowl.

Last week, the final ewe gave birth to twins. Unfortunately one was born very weak. In spite of mum rigging up the heat lamp and tubing her, she didn't get any stronger. One morning she was very cold, so as a last resort she was put in a box and transferred to the bottom oven of the Rayburn.

Rayburns are wonderful things with an infinite amount of uses that go far beyond cooking the perfect Sunday roast.

Living in a town with mains gas and central heating, I often yearn for mum's solid fuel Rayburn in her Pembrokeshire cottage.

While it's much easier to have heat in every room at the flick of a switch and lots of people mutter about how much work solid fuel stoves are, or the amount of dust they create, I think they emanate a warm, comforting welcome to any home that has one.

One of my early childhood memories is of my younger brother and I coming in from a day playing in the snow, clothes drenched and freezing cold, and shoving our feet into the bottom oven to thaw.

It was always good for helping to produce winning conkers too.

A little warmth goes a long way, and it's not just lambs and feet that have been revived in the bottom oven. Injured birds have also been brought back to life. The trick is to take them out before they get too lively.

So, in the ewe lamb went, closely guarded by Corrie. So intent on her protective duties was she, that she wouldn't let anyone else near and sat glued to the spot until the lamb was taken back out.

In spite of mum's best efforts the lamb died a few days later.

Overall this year's lambing has been a success with the majority growing well and enjoying life. Nothing is standing out as a show prospect yet, but there's still time for them to develop and catch the eye.