Month: November 2016

Monday: What a bloody horrendous start to the week weather wise, got a good soaking this morning despite having my full length rain coat and wellies on, the wind was blowing and I managed to get wet knees, how is that possible? I had a hat on too, though I detest wearing hats I felt that it was preferable to having frizzy hair all day, the trouble with hats is the different dimensions they turn your head into, I forget I am wearing it and bash into every door frame we have, knocking it sideways then the rain that has collected in the rim goes down my neck! It’s wet, windy and muddy, just disgusting, I shall not be going out there again until it’s necessary. Made leek and potato soup and a fresh loaf of bread. 

Still raining in the afternoon so ordered a couple of Christmas presents online. Started raining even heavier so lit the Rayburn ate my soup and decided to sit down and a) do the crop rotation plan for next year and b) go through the seed catalogues and write down my order, I am hoping that they do Black Friday again this year as I got them half price last year a saving of around £60! It is easy to get carried away when ordering as there are so many varieties of each crop, I managed to control myself though and go for high yields or early cropping (I have impatient customers) I also decided to go with outdoor cucumbers and tomato this year as I find I have more success with the extra plants I plant out than I do with the ones that are carefully nurtured indoors. I like to try something new each year and have gone for banana squash this year, mostly because I listened to an interview with a squash farmer around Halloween, they were talking about pumpkins but when asked which squash you should try she replied with banana squash, as I had never heard of them they had to be the ones to go for 😀 I am also trying out purple mange touts 😜

We have a phenomenon going on here, flies, they keep appearing from god knows where indoors, my guess is they have hibernated somewhere and when we light the fire they warm up and crawl out. We attract flies, not because we are grubby 😋 but because of the nature of the place, horse, duck, chicken shit = flies, but these are doing my head in, not many of them but about 4/5 a day keep appearing, they are very dozy and therefore very annoying but also easy to swat, never had the problem before and hope it stops soon. 

The afternoon feed time came around quick and I got myself suited and booted, different coat though as this mornings one hasn’t dried out yet 😝

Smoked fish for tea and an apple pudding of some sort if I can be bothered to make it, depends how wet I get or if there is more to do outside than I planned for, i.e. clearing up after flooding, if not I will dig around in the freezer for fruit and crumble mix. 

In the end I got a small apple pie out the freezer for John and some left over bread and butter pudding for me. 

Tuesday: Not a bad morning to begin with, mild and not raining, I won’t say dry because it’s very soggy underfoot. Longer than usual routine this morning as I put in fresh bedding for some and cleaned out others, the trouble with the ducks is they just make a poo mat, put in fresh bedding, they flatten it with their webbed dirty feet then poo all over it, the chickens are a little more refined. noticed new rat holes under the front chicken hut, however the rain has also puddled up there so I am guessing they won’t stay under there very long. 

The eggs numbers have slowly started to declined, to be honest I had expected that long before now so we are doing quite well really. 

Came indoors to change the bed linen and do a bit of hoovering by which time it had started raining again, did the washing up and smiled at the activity of a large number of little garden birds all ferreting around in the gravel out the front, the rain must have washed up some tasty tit bits judging by the activity. 

Got an offer for coffee at the garden centre…..yes indeed 😀 so quickly put some washing on (the wash basket looks like an active volcano) and got the lamb shoulder ready for slow cooking, I will leave it on low while I go out and turn it up a little on my return. I won’t light the Rayburn yet as it is quite mild considering and with the oven on as well it would get too warm. 

On my return the afternoon slowly descends into chaos as often happens I find, not major stuff just a whirlwind of little things all rattling around and colliding such as the phone ringing, a delivery or the doorbell going all at the same time as I am trying to carry something heavy indoors or taking the eggs out or having a wee, this little scenario seemed to happen multiple times yesterday afternoon and I find myself swivelling on the spot not quite sure which to do first. Then a problem with one of the horses who had been bought in and rolled in his stable and got himself stuck on the ground, much banging and clattering before he manage to right himself again. Good job it’s my treat to myself night, a massage, bliss. 

Wednesday: A dry morning with a promising forecast of no rain ☔️ 

Did the morning stuff and also cleaned out my feed storage as the rain had driven in and there was a soggy, messy corner in need of attention before it goes mouldy. Its an old chest freezer, ideal for storing feed so the rats and mice can’t get in, not sure how the rain got in, it’s usually dry as a bone.

This morning it was the turn of the rabbits to be cleaned out, their pen is quite large and has a concrete path around the outer edges but dirt in the middle, this is fine except that they dig burrows and the dirt pile ends up blocking the opening of the door, so I scrapped off all the mud and put down some metal grid then covered with the dirt again so that they can’t dig anymore holes hopefully, they won’t thank me for it but it will make my life easier. There are five females and they lived quite happily for a few months then fighting began between the grey one and the brown one, this resulted in an eye injury for the grey one so I moved her out, it’s been a couple of months and her eye has healed so I tried her back in with the others but the minute she was in there fighting began again so I had to take her back out. If you have never seen rabbits fight, they are vicious towards each other, fur flying all over the place, no cuddly fluffy bunnies then 😝 I really must give them names, instead of the brown one or the grey one lol

The Sun made a great appearance in the afternoon much appreciated, although it does feel cold. 

Thursday: Crap nights sleep or rather lack of, dog began yapping at something during the evening and carried on well into the night, investigated but couldn’t see anything and he won’t be told to shut up! Rats scurrying across the tin roof most of the night, inspected poison this morning all eaten, need to refill, and topped off by Hubby grinding his teeth 😖 all in all not much decent sleep. Probably accounts for why I feel emosh this morning about Charlie moving out at the weekend 😭 

As well as the normal stuff this morning I scrapped off the mud from the POL hens floor, it is concrete and has a roof but the rain blows in the sides and then the hens walk in the mud and deposit it on the concrete, it soon builds up! Feel as though things are slightly out of control at the moment (rats) and the ducks not laying at all really need to get rid or cull the drakes so I am not feeding mouths that will not produce anything. Lists, that is the answer to get control back for me, make lists and tick the jobs off one by one. Cut the feed back a bit this morning as I don’t want extra lying around for rats and crows to devour. 

Made a list and it worked well, got me motivated, take pictures of the drakes and put up for sale ✅ burn rubbish ✅ put poison out under front chicken hut ✅ clean out quail ✅ put straw money out for delivery tomorrow ✅ get something out for dinner ✅ sort freezers ✅ muck up the bean bed and put down weed cover ✅ that last job was quite a big one, 5 barrowfuls of muck, shovelled up and moved from the back heap to the veg garden, by the fifth barrow I was sweating and had to take my coat off so……cardiovascular workout ✅ 

Had a quick look round the garden and delighted to see the tiny shoots of the broad beans beginning to emerge from the ground, they will be ready early next year, then water the veg in the poly tunnel, onions are sprouting and the other veg is doing fine. I noticed a fair few broccoli sproutings so went in the cage to pick them and the leaves on the sprouts that have been growing readily are starting to die back so a good time to pick them all off and harvest the sprout stalks, there are five in total, not bad at all. 

I did have some other things on the list that I didn’t get round to but there is always tomorrow besides I wanted to try out my new gadget, a wood burning pen/stick thingy. I had a spare chopping board lurking around and wanted to have a go and give it to Charlie and Macca for their new home, I was pleased with the results 😀

Friday: On inspection during my rounds this morning, all of the bait blocks have gone so I have put some more down. I was told a rat needs to eat his own weight in poison before it dies, hope there are not too many fat bastards down the holes otherwise it’s gonna cost me a fortune 😝

Off out to get my blood tests done then into town to do some shopping

Checked my e-mails and delighted to see one from Mr Fothergills for Black Friday, sat down and did my seed order, I got £75 worth of seeds for £45 plus free postage and packing, get in 😀

Saturday: A family orientated day today, moving day for Charlie and Macca, did the morning rounds while John went off to get the feed and then spent the morning moving Charlie’s stuff out of our house and into her new home, exciting times. John spent the morning cutting up yet more wood then we all spent a few hours round at the MIL as it would have been Johns Dads birthday so we raised a glass to him and ate some of his fav foods 😀

Back in time to light the fire and do the afternoon feed rounds and put the animals to bed an hour later.

Sunday: Feeling rough with a cold so John did all the outside jobs this morning and I stayed inside, did some cleaning and rearranging now that we have a spare room! Made some bread and a cake. I bet John a tenner last week he couldn’t get the eggs that the chicken in the duck pen had laid, she had managed to squeeze through a gap about 2 inches wide behind the duck house and laid about 8 eggs over the course of time, he came in with them this morning 😝 So I tested them and they were fine and I will use them up as quickly as I can, they have only been there a week so will be fine for at least another week. John did more cutting of branches and shredding etc then we went out for Sunday lunch at a local pub. Back in time to watch the last Grand Prix of the season, well actually I had a sleep 😴 and then feed the animals and get ready to go with the family to Blenheim Palace to see the Christmas lights which were absolutely beautiful, a ride on the carousel, mulled cider and hot chestnuts and now I am feeling festive 🎄

Monday: Temps are set to be quite warm for the first part of the week. Cleaned out the nest boxes in the chicken hut, dusted with louse powder and sprayed with thyme oil, smells lovely in there 😀Ducks in the stable haven’t laid any eggs I think they may be heading for the freezer 😝I went out to do some weeding in the polytunnel, turned into an interesting activity as I came across something I have never seen in all my years of gardening, a dried newt! 

After investigations were over on the newt I went back outside to do a bit of tidying in the garden, the bean plants were still on the canes although they were now dead so I pulled up the canes and untangled the plants to put on the compost heap. I decided that I will cover the bed in weed barrier but I need to order it first, it will save me time in the Spring, I will barrow some manure round to spread on it before I cover it up. Pulled up some of the dead asparagus foliage and cleared the now rotting squash plants. 
I was looking forward to the ‘Super Moon’ but sadly cloud cover meant it wasn’t visible 😔

Tuesday: An ok day weather wise, although the ground is now wet underfoot and probably will not dry out until spring with the only respite being frozen mornings! Did the usual morning routine, nothing untoward today, then on the clean the bathroom, well I left it long enough to see if anyone else was inclined to do it…………nope, clean the toilet and then try and sort out the office which has become a dumping ground for ‘stuff’ that has nowhere else to go. Looked after Mia while Sam went for some dentistry, made bread.

Since the clocks went back the afternoon and evening routine is my domain as well now, the birds need to be fed about an hour before sundown, they get wheat to keep them warm through the night, then they need to be all shut in as darkness descends, around 4.30 at the moment but it will be as early as 4pm in the depths of Winter. It does mean a longer evening to get stuff done, but in all honestly once we have had dinner and cleared up I just want to sit down lol

Wednesday: After the morning stuff, I decided to sort out the laptop, the one that crashed has been returned with the new hard drive which was still under guarantee but all the photos were on an old one so needed zipping and transferring. It would have been a whole lot better for me if they rest of the household had not used up all the milk in the morning leaving me with only enough for one cup of coffee and everyone knows you need at least four when waiting for files to transfer! I resorted to hot chocolate instead. As you can imagine this took up a large part of the day, I will be glad when technology is lighting fast! 

Thursday: I spent most of the day doing bits of paperwork that I had left too long and moving files from my back up drive to the repaired laptop, takes forever especially when putting software on there and having to restart it every time to install or uninstall something. 

We seemed to have been spared the horrendous downpours that were forecast and the horses spent the day doing the Hokey Cokey, in cos it was supposed to rain, out because it wasn’t gonna rain till after lunch, in again and out again when it was apparent the rain was not coming, this was even after checking with the met office site. We did get some pretty strong winds that blew everything around mind you but at least it wasn’t wet and soggy at the end of the day. 

Friday: Not a bad start to the day, not as frosty as I thought I was going to be, filling up the water bowls was easily done with the hose. The ducks are still not laying although the new POL hens have started to gift us with pullet eggs, they need to have a quiet word with the ducks I think 😉 Made bread including French baguettes and sorted out one of the crockery cupboards, you know how they get with items being put back in willy nilly. I dug out the gold Christmas platters from the back of the cupboard I will leave them out now as the season is fast approaching.

I made the most delicious beef cobbler for dinner, it tasted amazing though I do say so myself 😜

Saturday: I put my wellies and coat on at 8am and didn’t take them off again until 4.30pm, we worked outside all day clearing, burning, shredding, chain sawing and log splitting, the area is almost tidy now just a small pile to burn tomorrow. Hubby went off at one point to pick up a van load of logs that were going for free, they turned out to be already well seasoned and after splitting will be ready for the Rayburn. We left it a bit late to light the Rayburn and consequently it’s a tad cold in here this evening as it takes a while to heat the place up, I’m wrapped up in my blanket smelling of bonfire smoke and eating fish and chips 😀

I did manage to singe my hair a little today too, I bent down to pick up some debris and the wind whooshed the flames in my direction, I could hear and smell the singe then realised it was my hair 😜

Sunday: Much the same as Saturday really, more log splitting, more burning, apologies to the neighbours for the smoke! Although today it was much colder than yesterday, my toes and fingers were absolutely frozen, and I welcomed the chance to go in and warm up occasionally. We seemed to have missed the bad weather that was warned of again, it was a bit windy in the night but nothing too bad and it was a bit wet this morning but again nothing major. 

The dogs had to have a bath tonight, they were disgustingly dirty from charging around the farm, we have dug out their comfy beds too, now that the temps have dropped. 

Monday: Still a North wind but not as cold and at least it’s sunny, a decent day for November I reckon. On my morning rounds I found a beheaded goose in the large paddock, we were hoping that these three males would be able to fend off a fox attack but clearly that is not so. After picking up the body which was probably too heavy for the fox to drag over the wall, I found the head and then set about making the pig ark into a secure hut for the remaining two, these will have to be shut in from now on. While I was about it I decided to make the front goose hut more secure as well, it’s getting to the time of year when foxes get hungry and so the more I can deter them the better. I also put clean bedding in for everything and took a barrowful of hay for the bunnies.We were given some old tools and a workbench, which I immediately put to use putting new heads on broom handles, the simple things give so much pleasure lol, normally I would have to precariously balance the handle somewhere while trying to screw the head on, not anymore, and I can’t tell you how stupidly happy that made me 😁😁😁 

It was a bit of a rigmarole getting the geese to go into their new abode, after three attempts at herding them in I decided to wait for John to come home and help, three more attempts and numerous times running round the field in the dark and we finally caught one then the other and secured them inside for the night. Chilli for dinner tonight, mince and potatoes for John and left over apple pie for pudding. 

The evening topped off by two walkers in hi vis with a flashing walking stick coming up the drive at 9pm to buy eggs! The dog was going berserk, maybe I am going to have to close the gate so we don’t end up as a 24/7 😝

Tuesday: Another cold hard frost, last year I could count on one hand how many frosts we had all winter long, this year we have have three already, I prefer a cold hard winter to the wet, soggy, muddy one of last year. The geese survived the night in their new home, although we know the fox was around all night as the dog was continuously barking. It’s raining leaves this morning, after the frost the trees are shedding and they are falling in such numbers that you can actually hear them, lovely carpet of colours on the ground as well. 

Lit the Rayburn early today as it’s flipping freezing, made the most of it by getting dinner prepped, chunky roast chicken and veg soup, using left over roast chicken, I always freeze the carcass and remains to use in soups at a later date. I must admit we will eat a fair amount of stews, soups and casseroles in various guises over the colder months, you need something hearty and warming after a days work. 

As I had picked up some cranberries in the shopping last week ( I have a plant but as yet it has not produced anything) I thought I may as well make cranberry sauce and freeze it ready for the big day, it’s very easy to do, smells amazing.

300g cranberries

1cup sugar

1/2cup water

1/2cup orange juice, I used fresh squeezed orange 

Shake of cinnamon 

Simmer for 10/15 mins until it breaks down 

Cool and freeze, will keep for a week in the fridge if you want to make it in the run up, or freeze and get it out the day before you need it. 

The midwinter feast as I like to call it, is a serious affair in our house, it’s not just dinner it’s a celebration of good food, family and something to look forward to and brighten up the dark days of Winter. Most of what we will eat is home grown or homemade and the table setting is equally important, and as I have decided to slightly alter the table decoration this year, I have spent the evenings on Pinterest forming the look I am after, it will be exciting putting it all together on the day. 

Had to chase the geese around the paddock in the dark again tonight, and physically catch them to put them away, I won’t need a gym session for a while 😝and John got a whack on the nose from a wing 😜

Wednesday: So America has a new president this morning, makes no difference to the morning routine, except it was a little later as I watched the story unfold in breakfast tv. All was well in my little Kingdom overnight, the rainfall was more than I expected though at least an inch judging by the various buckets and bowls around the farm. Obviously it’s slightly warmer today if a little tacky underfoot. I checked the rat bait boxes on my way round, few signs of the bait being eaten in most boxes, one or two need a refill. 

Thursday: Sunny today but with the rain yesterday a little sticky underfoot. After the usual jobs, I set about burning a bit of rubbish and doing some tidying up, leaves blocking drains that kind of thing. Then I decided to harvest the Oca, unfortunately I read up about them after I dug them up and discovered I’d done it to early😝 I was under the impression that they were harvest as soon as the tops collapsed from frost but it seems they keep growing for a couple of weeks after that so I’ve done it too soon. Not to worry I still have a harvest of small tubers to use and will try better next year. Oca are a relatively new veg to the Uk but one that is growing in popularity, they are easy to grow and very versatile, boiling, roasting, mashing or raw in salads, they don’t need peeling which is just as well as they are nobbly. They are nutritionally similar to potato but higher in Vit c, when you dig them up there will be small ones left behind but that’s ok they will be ‘self setters’ for next year, they are not invasive and so fairly easy to contain in a designated patch. 

They come is various shades, the variety I grow are cream coloured. 

Friday: Another frosty morning, thick coat and gloves but the Sun is shining so it soon warmed up. Paperwork day so not much going on outside today. Visits from the grandchildren ( and their mothers) and a lovely friend, just as the friend arrive a fire engine went past in the lane with its blue lights and siren going, ooo a fire engine I said, yes there is a large plume of black smoke out the back of yours she said, so we went off up the back to investigate, I was most relived to see it wasn’t actually us on fire! The fire was in the next field, a bonfire I thought and I’m not even sure if that’s where the fire engine went but it was an interesting interlude to the afternoon. 
Saturday: It rained heavily, that’s all I have to say about that! 

Yet another late night customer for eggs 10.30pm!!!!!!!! Really gonna have to do something about it. 

Sunday: A lovely day, temperature is ok, not cold, did the morning stuff and noticed that I was a duck short in the back paddock, a quick look round confirmed it as a pile of white feathers were in the grass. The fox had done a daytime visit sometime yesterday, so we made a stable ready and herded the ducks down to the stable block, this will actually make life a bit easier as we can put the geese back in that paddock where they will readily go to bed without being caught each night. Cleaned out the main duck house and helped hubby split a big pile of logs with the splitter. Did a bit more clearing of the hedgerow and conifers and then decided we were hungry so got changed and went off to find a Sunday Carvery, (must do that more often) came back and time to light the fire, quick Hoover, feed the chickens and put out the eggs, John loaded up barrowfuls of logs to put away to season and tided up a bit out the back. All in all a good days work I would say and a good end to the week 😀

The weather has certainly changed over the course of a week and Winter has most definitely made itself known brrrrrrr. 

Monday: Foggy morning but it’s light early so crack on with the usual chores, then time out while I have my hair chopped off, it’s much shorter now as it was annoying me when it was so long. 

Halloween, I’d be very surprised if we got any trick or treaters up our dark drive with a very large dog growling and barking, you would need to be very brave indeed lol, however during the daylight hours I had two delightful treats in the form of grandchildren come to visit with their pumpkins and Halloween vests 😀🎃

Joshua was loving it

Mia was not! 

Tuesday: I darn well forgot that the electric was due to go off all day, until the moment that it did! I did the rounds in the morning then came in and had a coffee, looked through my e-mails and facebook, just decided to make another when click, it all went off, dang nabbit. Nothing much for it but to get outside and do a bit of clearing/tidying up, after about and hour I was beginning to hanker for a coffee so I got the fire pit out, lit it and dug out the old Rayburn kettle, sorted 😀

Sam rang a bit later and said she was going into Burford and did I want to go, the option sounded like a good one so off I went. 

We came back with still a couple of hours until the electric came back on, and by 3.45 with it due back on at 4 I was pacing up and down, it was beginning to get cold and the fire needed lighting but as it’s a pumped system I couldn’t do that either, then it came back on around five minutes early, fantastic, first things first, put the kettle on. 

Wednesday: A day out shopping, lol to start with this is all I wrote for my notes because we were out until 3.30pm partly by choice, partly because of roadworks holding up the traffic and an altercation between a school bus and a 4×4 down the narrowest of lanes and we were caught up in the back log. That meant by the time I got home it was all systems go, light the fire, feed the birds, collect and put out the eggs before the customers start coming, and get the dinner on. Day to day I mostly potter about on the farm, see the occasional customer, have the occasional visitor but needs must when Christmas approaches and a trip to town is necessary, there is only so much online shopping you can do, although I do quite a bit. The contrast is vastly different, busy, noisy, crowded, cramped, speedy, and I’m glad I only have to dip into it a few times a year 😝

Thursday: Hard frost this morning, that calls for a thicker coat and gloves, the hosepipe was frozen so had to bucket the water to the chooks instead. Will have to fill up the water properly on the afternoon run when it’s warmed up a little. Cleaned out the new ducks then clean the house, the dust is getting a bit too settled for my liking, made some bread, got dinner prepped and then caught up with The Walking Dead 😫

Light the fire before going out into the Sunshine to do the afternoon feed and collect the eggs. 

Friday: Today I had Josh for a couple of hours, then went to get my blood pressure checked ( came home with a machine to monitor it) and went for coffee and a sandwich with Sam and Shelley, for some reason I am very partial to goats cheese at the moment, if we ever get goats I would have to get a milking goat and make cheese, there is a thought for the future. 

Saturday: Bloody perishing North wind! After doing the animals in the morning we decided to do a bit of tidying the trees we cut down a few weekends ago, there was a big stack of branches to process and a lot of shredding to do, John was on the chainsaw and I did the shredding and barrowing. This took up the best part of the day and by the time we came indoors I was cold right through to my bones, it took hours to get warm again. Of course today is November 5th, Guy Fawkes and I am usually very keen to go and stand in the cold and watch the fireworks but not tonight, tonight I am staying in the warm instead and listening to the ‘bangs and booms’ Next year I must remember not to work outside all day so that I don’t mind getting wrapped up to go out and watch the fireworks. 

Sunday: That North wind is still here and after the morning routine I decided that I was going to work indoors, after yesterday I thought, I’m buggered if I am going to get that cold again today, there are after all plenty of things to do inside, in the warm 😀 John worked on the tractor, turning the muck heap completely, the dogs caught and killed another rat and I made apple pies, cake and bread in the cosiness of my kitchen. 

I lit the Rayburn around lunchtime which warmed up the whole house, Rosie seems to have settled right down after five years, normally you have to get the measure of her when re lighting her for the first time again but this year she does not seem so temperamental, we are back to lighting her every day now as the weather seems to have suddenly got a lot colder, still not having to keep her going 24hrs a day yet though. Today’s dinner will be cooked in her oven along with the apple pie, she will provide a nice tank of hot water and dry the washing overnight, fabulous when the wood is free 😀