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Dear {name}, it was truly heartwarming to receive numerous messages in reply to our newsletter last week. Thank you for all your heartfelt wishes and messages of hope and love. We can't wait to welcome you back at BK.

While all non-farming operations at BK ground to a screeching halt on 24 March, our farming operations cannot be locked down. New crops need to be planted and cared for, baby animals can't wait to be born, and ripe fruit must be picked and preserved, to name just a few. It's the way of the farm - we must dance to the rhythm of nature, not the other way round.

We hope you are still all right, and that you have by now found acceptance and sense in the chaos caused by the lockdown. The old Greek stoic philosophers may be particularly inspirational at this time. What they would advise is perfectly expressed by holocaust survivor, neurologist and author, Viktor Frankl: "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

FULL BOARD | B&B | HERON HOUSE | WILD OLIVE

[ LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN ] There is life after lockdown. In fact, there's a whole world to re-discover, re-appreciate and re-visit. Soon, we will be walking again. We will be back, walking in this most beautiful country that is South Africa. We will be smelling the fynbos, hearing the bird song, feeling the sun on our shoulders, breathing. We are hoping you will walk with us!

[ GEOMETRIC TORTOISE ] We are so excited to have found 24 newborn tortoises to date, with a haul of 11 hatchlings right after the 30mm of rain we got over the Easter Weekend.

[ GUAVA PRESERVE ] Hospitality manager Lesley, office manager Nicola and her 13-year-old son Connor all chipped in to harvest guavas from the abundant guava tree at Wild Olive House. Once picked and washed, chef Louise prepared the guavas and stacked them in large jars, to be shared and enjoyed after the lockdown.

[ RECIPE ] If you're lucky enough to have a guava tree at your home, or in case you want to start preserving other fruit from your garden, here's chef Louise's tried and tested recipe:

To make 2 x 1L jars, you'll need 2kg guavas and a syrup made from 300g sugar and 750ml water. Peel and halve the guavas.  Prepare the syrup by heating the sugar and water over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat and allow the pot to boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the guavas. Return the pot to the heat, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for about 8-10 minutes. You will see a white foam developing on the top of the guavas when they are ready. Have ready your jars and lids, washed and then sterilised by heating them in the oven at 180C for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the oven and arrange the guavas evenly in them, topping up with syrup. Keep adding the syrup until the jars are full. Seal and place in a cool area to preserve further. To eat, just add cream!

[ PLANTING ] If life at BK were a movie (an episode of the Netflix series The Crown was shot here, remember?), the seasons would provide the script. April - May is the season of lambing and planting. Barley planting started last week, with oats, wheat and other crops to follow in early May. You can find out more about annually recurring seasons at BK here.

[ LAA-AAMBS! ] About half of the lambs have now been born - that's 1 000 of the expected total of 2 500 lambs from 1 500 ewes. Some are finding shelter near the cosy bodies of their mothers, while others frolic frantically across the seasonally dusty and dry meadows ... until they shriek at the sight of an unexpectedly large rock, and then hurl themselves back to the warm welcoming shelter that is their mother ;-)    

[ PHOTOS ] While most of the photos last week were provided by reserve manager Bernard Wooding, this week's photos have kindly been provided by Lesley Gillett, Nicola Wooding and Mariette Gregor. You can follow Bernard at wildbuffalobull, Lesley at lezgillett, Nicola at nicolawooding  and Mariette at mariette.gregor

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