Leanne Barriball- The Devonshire Shepherdess

05/11/2025

This picture popped up on my memories today! This was myself and 3 college friends we went up to a farm business planning competition in my 3 year or my Agricultural Business Management degree.

That’s when my love of the soil and plant health started to be birthed, and my realisation that the way we were farming the land was doing more damage than good. (Yes I admit it)

Why?

Because the 2 previous generations before me had been led to believe that the governments way of doing things was the best way and followed the money that went with it.
Intensive farming of animals, Ploughing, artificial fertiliser then you needed sprays to kill the pests because the plants were weak from lack of soil health and chemical fertiliser, killing the soil microbiology. Sick animals because of lack of plant minerals.

Financially they were the best times some would say, but the decisions made then are having more far reaching consequences now and that is why small farming families are struggling to make it work.

I won’t lie the last 12 years has been a fight to bring about change on our farm because change is scary and we have taken some big risks ( no artificial fertiliser) being one of them but it’s paying off.

I can see why we have to change the business plan or rather create one in the first place because many generational farmers don’t have one!! They just keep doing what they have always done and it’s going to crush them, and the only ones who win?

The Governement when they buy the land😭

Today mum and I attended a soil biology course organised by it was fascinating and gave me some of the missing peace’s to our soil health problems, or rather than animal health problems we have faced in the past.

I got to be a geek for the day basically and can now make a new plan for the farm based on my findings watch this space!

Healthier meat= healthier people

Stronger business plan = healthier farming family. 💕

05/11/2025

I always think this, we were sucked in by the supermarkets. They were the Temu of their day, they got us all believing it was easier and cheaper and that us the farmers had a better deal but it was all a load of crap.

The real cost isnt to our pockets it’s to our health, as I have really found out this year, if you don’t have your health you don’t have a lot really!

And the encouragement of quick highly processed foods is literally destroying us from the inside out 😭

The cost to society of Tesco 3 Billion profit.

The Labour Party and yet you are about to tax the Public ?

Let’s rewind to a simpler time, 1985. You’re on the high street, the butcher’s selling proper sausages, the greengrocer’s got apples you could see your face in and the baker’s turning out loaves that smell like heaven. Fast-forward to now, and it’s tumbleweed, charity shops, and the occasional v**e cloud. Who’s the villain? The supermarket giants, that’s who.

In 1980, independent shops handled 58%of UK grocery sales. Today? A measly 5% The big four Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons hoover up 67%of the market.

Between 2000 and 2020, 30,000 independent food shops shut their doors. The Centre for Retail Research clocked 1,800 butchers, bakers, and greengrocers vanishing in just five years (2016–2021). No wonder the high street looks like a ghost town.

How did they do it ? Easy. They built mega-stores on the edge of town with car parks bigger than your average village. Free parking, endless aisles, and prices that made independents weep. In 1998 Competition Commission report found the big boys could undercut locals by 15–20% on everyday staples. Farmers got squeezed too, milk prices paid to them dropped from 28p a litre in 1995 to 18p in 2005, while the supermarkets still charged shoppers a tidy sum not to mention all of the other goods farmers supply. Farmers have been systematically squeezed relative to retail over the past 15 years: retail food prices rose (especially through 2020–2024) while farmgate returns were often flatter or volatile, so the gap between what consumers pay and what farmers get widened for many staples. 

But it’s not just the high street that’s taken a hit. Oh no, supermarkets have been dishing out a side order of health havoc with their ultra-processed foods (UPFs) think chicken nuggets that are more breadcrumb than bird, cereals sweeter than pudding, and ready meals that last longer than a nuclear winter.

UPFs now make up 57% of the UK diet the highest in Europe. For kids aged 4–10 64% of their calories come from this stuff. Result? The NHS is creaking. Heart disease admissions climbed from 245,000 in 2000/01 to 312,000 in 2022/23. Type 2 diabetes diagnoses? Tripled from 1.4 million to 4.3 million That’s £6.5 billion a year on heart disease and £10.9 billion on diabetes – nearly a fifth of the NHS budget.

And the kiddies’ teeth? Brace yourself. In 2022/23, 43,771 children aged 5–9 had multiple teeth yanked out under general anaesthetic – the highest ever, up 17% since 2016/17. Why? Sugar overload. Kids are scoffing 50g of free sugars a day, double the 25g limit. A bowl of supermarket cereal can pack 11g of sugar; a carton of flavoured milk, 20g. No wonder 23.4% of five-year-olds have decay, averaging 3.4rotten teeth each.

Supermarkets have tried a bit of window dressing cutting sugar in cereals by 13% since 2015 – but UPF sales still rose. And those checkout sweets? Still there, winking at toddlers in 78% of stores.

So, next time you’re wheeling a trolley the size of a small tank through the aisles, think about how we got here and how these retailing giants have changed our lives.

We would be very interested to hear your views.

03/11/2025

A slow day doesn’t mean you are failing It means your nervous system is whispering, “Let me breathe.”And I’m listening today.

03/11/2025

Quiet strength season over here, friends. 🍵

Taking life steady, one soft morning at a time. Sleep is still a journey, so if my body asks for a lie-in… I listen. Rest used to feel like weakness, now it feels like wisdom.

Steroids helped settle the flare and gave me a window to rebuild strength (hello glutes + core!). As I taper down before my appointment next week, the aches creep back, and wow pain is energy-hungry. But I’m trusting the process, honouring my body, and staying hopeful. 💚

Hydrotherapy, swimming, gentle training… and faith that I’ll be off crutches by Christmas. Peak slopes and stairs training incoming!

This year has humbled me. Survival mode for 13 years finally caught up, and my nervous system yelled “enough.” When your body has fought for you that long, you love it back by slowing down, nourishing it, and saying “no” without guilt.

I used to sprint through life like the sky was falling. Now I protect my peace like a precious seed. If my diary starts buzzing like a caffeinated chipmunk, I prune it. Simplicity is medicine.

Because survival mode ages us, drains us, steals joy from motherhood and life. And we deserve more than just pushing through.

I wrote The Life Reset to help women like us go from burnout to overflow. If even one woman avoids the year I’ve had, it’s worth it. ✨

Paperback + eBook in my shop.
Local collection available.
Link in bio.

If you feel like you’re stuck in survival mode, DM me. I’d love to help you find calm again. 💕

☕💚

03/11/2025

An update for me!

I am still taking one day at a time, knowing this is hibernation time I am choosing to keep life slow, slow mornings especially as I am still struggling with getting to sleep and staying asleep, so if a lie in is needed I do it.

I was given some steroids by the doctor a few weeks ago which have done the trick for literally getting rid of the pain and a lot of inflammation, it’s amazing how much energy pain takes! However as I reduce the dose as I was asked to for my appointment with the consultant next week I am in this limbo land of aching pain again which is the one that stops me being comfortable and able to sit, lie down or stand even.

The steroids have also been helping me sleep when at a stronger dose, and my personal training sessions are going from strength to strength which was the aim. I wanted to be able to rebuild leg, bum core strength as much as I could whilst the inflammation and pain was at bay. Steroids are not where I want to stay though and trust that my body is getting better everyday the more I honour it.

I am also swimming and doing hydrotherapy sessions every week as well, with the focus that I will be off crutches by Christmas! Just need some work done on walking down slopes and up and down stairs which is this months plan.

In the grand scheme of things this year has been a beast and I will be glad to see the back of it! The inflammatory arthritis thing came up because I’ve been in survival mode for to long and whilst my body had my attention (we were working on realigning my legs and pelvis) it decided right we will get rid of this problem as well.

I am all about whole body health from the inside out, I am not doing this half hearted I’ve been in survival mode for 13 years ( since I injured myself pregnant) my body including a lot of my organs were burnt out and trying to keep me going which I am grateful for. 🙏

I used to not know how to rest and reset, but now I do, I used to not be able to say No but now I do, I used to manage my diary like a chipmunk of steroids constantly rushing and going everywhere like the end of the world was imminent! But now I am peaceful and calm, and if I am making my diary too busy I cut some things out to protect my energy!

I’ve since found out these are all signs of survival mode and the central nervous system stuck on auto pilot!

This is what ages us quicker, what makes us sicker with long term illness, and what robs us of a healthy and settled life enjoy our families!

I’ve written about it in my book- The Life Reset Reclaim Your Time, Boost Your Energy and Rediscover Yourself.

In the hope that it can help even just one women in my age range 30-45 from burning out no one should have to feel like I’ve felt this year, it’s miserable and I am so grateful to my family especially mum for taking care of me and the friends who still love me even when I am really broken.

You can grab a copy of my book in my shop

Paper back or Ebook

https://www.thedevonshireshepherdess.co.uk/shop

Local collection available

If your struggling and think your in survival mode send me a DM I would love to help you get out of it!

31/10/2025

When life feels heavy and the world feels dim, God doesn’t ask us to shine like fireworks… just to not let our flame go out.

This year I walked through a valley I never expected Arthritis, chronic pain, not being able to walk without aids.
I’ve had to let my mum become my carer again which I am eternally grateful for.

It’s been a season where even small things felt impossible.

And behind it all has been years of holding my Hayley’s emotional storm while carrying my own.
Discovering she was borrowing my stressed nervous system. Realising the hard truth that sometimes love looks like sitting in the chaos with someone, even when it breaks you first.

Then her beautiful breakthrough came and my body collapsed in the release.

But in the darkness, God did what only He can do. He whispered hope, He breathed strength, He held me up until I could walk again, inside and out.

If you’re in the thick of it right now this is for you. You are not behind. You are not broken. You are being remade.

Even in the dark, you are still light.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

I’m cheering you on, friend. We rise, gently… and we rise together.

When life feels heavy and the world feels dim, God doesn’t ask us to shine like fireworks… just to not let our flame go out.This year I walked through a vall...

31/10/2025

Some seasons don’t feel like mountaintops and miracles they feel like valleys and grit-your-teeth faith.

This past year my body cracked under years of stress. Arthritis, Inflammation, Painful steps. Days where even walking felt like climbing a mountain. And having to let my own mum care for me again.

At the same time I was healing alongside my daughter, realising she was borrowing my nervous system my stress, my survival mode, my rushing, my fear.
And watching her blossom again after years of struggle is the most beautiful light in the middle of my storm.

As she healed, my body finally said,
“Now it’s your turn.”
And everything came undone so it could rebuild.

I didn’t glow through this season.
I didn’t leap out of bed with a worship playlist and a smile.
I whispered prayers.
I cried.
I rested when rest felt like failure.
And I clung to the tiniest flickers of hope like they were gold.

But God never left.
And the light did return.
Slowly. Softly. Steadily.
Like dawn, not fireworks.

If you’re in a hard chapter too,
you’re not behind.
You’re not weak.
You’re being rebuilt.
And light finds those who refuse to give up.

Even a small flame still defeats the dark. 🕯️✨
I am believing for your breakthrough too. 🫖🤍

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

30/10/2025

We gave dad an IPhone and now he sends us videos to the family what’s app!

Here is today’s Instalment he turned the cows out 😂! We have been burnt off all summer with the lack of rain so we are making the most of it now in the autumn.

27/10/2025

✨ Feeling burnt out and ready for a reset?

The Life Reset – Reclaim Your Time, Boost Your Energy & Rediscover Yourself is here to remind you that you’re not broken you’re just overloaded.

This book will help you understand your brain, calm your nervous system, and find your peace again from a mum who’s been there and come out stronger. 💛

📖 Available now in paperback and eBook — your permission slip to slow down and start fresh.

👉 Grab your copy here: https://www.thedevonshireshepherdess.co.uk/shop/p/the-life-reset-reclaim-your-time-boost-your-energy-and-rediscover-yourself

Are you exhausted from trying to do it all, yet still feeling stuck? What if the secret to a calmer, more fulfilling life wasn’t in doing more—but in thinking differently? In this book, you’ll discover how to harness the power of neuroscience to rewire your brain, break free from overwhelm, an...

27/10/2025

You don’t have to keep going at the same pace you did in the summer. This is your reminder your permission to slow down.

26/10/2025

Sometimes it’s fun to relieve your youth with painting cutting and sticking! Creating 5 giant bean stalks and a massive paper mache cake is bring out my inner child!

Many of us forget to just have some fun without it being all serious, it’s time to do fun stuff especially with our kids.

24/10/2025

Real life scenario of a mums ADHD brain stuck in survival mode! Consider how much more energy you would have if your brain wasn’t wasting time thinking things that you don’t need in that moment!

This is where brain rewiring through neuroscience comes in! Quieting the noisy thoughts can help us be more productive, and give us more energy!