Month: January 2017

Monday: Well the cold temperatures didn’t arrive at the weekend either, beginning to think the powers that be have no idea what they are talking about, they can’t predict elections and they can’t predict the weather accurately either 😝
Today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year apparently, one thing they get right. I certainly know that these next couple of weeks will be the hardest to get through, it’s grey and wet and you can’t get much done constructively without getting covered in mud. However, I just keep telling myself that Spring is on its way, the lilac buds are just beginning to form and there are signs of green shoots around the place so we are heading in the right direction. 

Did the feeding for the first time in three days and all looks fairly well, everything is still alive at any rate so that’s a bonus 😀 I also fed the not so welcome livestock, I noticed a couple of new rat holes so filled them with poison and covered them up, they are a continuous pain in the whatsit. I think the one in the house wall has met his maker, there is a slight odour of unpleasantness and we haven’t heard him for a while. 

I went out into the greenhouse and did a bit of tidying up, sweeping out trays etc and decided to take the plant markers in to give them a clean up and remove any writing, while waiting for the bread to prove and bake. As I was cleaning them I began to wonder why there is a hole in the bottom end, couldn’t find the answer on google so asked on a gardening forum, will wait and see what answers I get. I’m guessing it’s so that water doesn’t puddle around the end of it but not sure to be honest. 

We have Ostrich steaks for tea, they were on offer and so I thought why not give them a try. 

Well the holes turn out to be for putting string/wire through so you can tie them to a plant, and the Ostrich steaks were ok, not what I expected they are like beef steak rather than bird meat, taste was indifferent and there was no fat whatsoever on them. 

Tuesday: Beautiful Pink sky this morning, should have got a photo really but they never to it justice. Also had a huge buzzard on the ground in the paddock, it took off shortly after, magnificent sight. 

Did the morning rounds and it’s much the same 😜 although I’m a bit worried about the geese now, they are staring to lose condition due to lack of exercise, I can’t do much about that but I will probably have to order goose breeder pellets to keep them as well as possible. In the big stable block when I was filling up water buckets I noticed something moving in the banks of one of the stables 😝 I don’t know what is living in there but definitely something. Trying not to be too depressed but looking around everything is quite frankly a freaking mess, mud, mud, mud, yuk roll on dry days when we can start clearing up. Meanwhile keep on trudging through it and trying not to notice is the plan. Cleaned out the quail, they are easy to do now I have the cage back that I put them into, they are happy to be fully cleaned, and have started laying a couple of eggs every few days again now as well. 

I have a funeral to go to this afternoon, Uncle Horace, I hope it stays dry, it is being held at one of my childhood home villages, Swinbrook, Uncle Horace, Aunty Doll and Jayne lived next door, such a lovely village and one that I have very fond memories of. I should write them down really or they will be lost forever and it was a time when villages were full of local people who all knew each other’s families, the people in ‘the big house’ were landed gentry, Lords and Ladies, but they knew everyone as well. We lived in the Post Office (yep even villages had post offices) with what seemed like a very, very old Aunt, very Victorian in her manner and looks, she had a wooden leg if I remember rightly which is why we lived with her, my Mum looked after her for a while. When I was 5 I got on the school bus which stopped outside of our house, on my own, can you imagine, and went to Burford Primary School. I could go on for ages but I think I will definitely have to do a whole piece on that subject alone. Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing the village even though the occasion will be a sad one. 

I did extra feeding this morning and collected the eggs so that I didn’t have to do it in the afternoon as I was having Mia from 4pm, after she had gone home, I did the horse and fed the dogs, I decided to worm and flea them all as the stuff had all arrived. All went well except the wormer for Patch, despite the fact that I had put tinned meat in with his biscuits and a broken egg he still managed to lick off everything and leave the wormer tablets (even though they are yummy bone flavour). Next step try and do the flick it down the throat manoeuvre, nope, not happening, so I get a lump of cheese from the fridge and press the tablet into the cheese, eats cheese off and spits tablet on the floor, hmmm out of ideas but then he proceeds to play with it tossing it around and bit by bit he absorbed it, I did have to stand there for seemed like ages to make sure it was gone mind you.

Wednesday: Up early and had the dogs, quail, chickens, ducks, geese out in the stable and back pens and the horse all done by 7.30! It was quite nice wandering around in the dark and early morning light I must do it more often. In for coffee break before doing the front lot when it will be light enough to see what I’m doing. Doing the back lot in the POL pen was good though as it was still dark they stand still so I could get in easily without tripping all over them. 

Another Pink sky this morning.

Thursday: The sky was foggy and menacing this morning, I thought, lets see what this brings, then the Sun burst through and it’s a lovely day so far 😀 I have noticed more and more green shoots peeping through the soil, that makes me very happy 🌱

Had a bit to catch up on as I went out to get some country new boots yesterday ready for our trip to Scotland, then had Mia in the afternoon. I cleaned out the hens in the stable and put fresh bedding in and also put fresh bedding in with the ducks, will have to do a major clean out for them at the weekend I think, still not heard from the chap who is going to dispatch them will send him a text later to remind him. I feel the need to start a list of jobs as there are too many to keep in my head.

I thought I ought to do paperwork today but looking at the dates I can get away with leaving it until next week and as it’s sunny I will get on outside, but first the list.

Mucked out Jacks stable now stink of horse wee, hands are hurting this morning though, I feel quite tired but determined to press on. 

I went out to check the egg money and I knew exactly what was in there as I had not long put them out, someone is not paying the correct money for their eggs, they took 2 lg at 1.50 a box and left £2.52 ?????? 

Moved a pile of old straw from outside the goose hut from when we clean them out, it shouldn’t have been left there but you know how it is sometimes, then cut down a couple of willow whips to put in gaps in the hedgerow, some of the hawthorn is beginning to rot away and there are holes, the willow will hopefully take root and fill the gaps. 

Picked my job and spent a very pleasant couple of hours in the garden cutting down the two rows of Autumn Raspberry canes and tidying up, even took my coat off. I noticed a lovely patch of chickweed growing so I pulled it all up and took it to the chickens inside the stable block, greens 😀 they were very happy. Came in for something to eat and at this point I should have stayed in and made bread, wash up etc but it was soooooo nice that I went back out for another hour 😀 These are the days I’m glad I have some portions of stew ready in the freezer 😀 I don’t have to spend time making the dinner and can get outside. Came back in, lit the Rayburn, made bread and then sat down for a well earned cuppa till I have to go back out and do the afternoon feeding. Oh yes I caught the cat napping in the sun on top of the straw bale, no wonder we can’t get rid of the rats! The dead one in the wall proper stinks now when you walk past 😝 

Friday: Lovely crisp, frosty morning, cold but hopefully the sun will shine again today. 
Got routine blood tests this morning but first the morning rounds, after doing that and a quick coffee (decaf these days 😝) I went back to clean out the chickens in the rabbit pen and the chickens in the front pen, (they get their floor cleaned every day).

I used my new secret weapon after cleaning them, Neem Oil, it’s supposed to render red mite sterile and so I thought might as well give it a go, it’s much cheaper than the preparations you buy off the shelf and I’m not sure they work very well at all. I mixed up a 1:50 solution and sprayed everything with it, I had a fine mist sprayer and even the chickens didn’t mind being sprayed, mind you they are captive so can’t get far lol. I expected it to have a strong smell but it didn’t seem to, mildly garlicky I would say, in comparison the thyme oil, which I will also still use on alternative cleans, has a strong smell which I find pleasant. We will see over the warmer months if it really works or not, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Put a pile of fresh hay and some carrots in for the rabbits and back indoors to wash up and clean out and set the fire for lighting later.

Saturday: Another frozen morning, John cleaned out the geese in the back paddock and I got started with the feeding, the aim this morning is to clean out both sets of geese and the duck stable which we did. Then onto cleaning the flue and the Rayburn before it gets too sooty, having had two chimney fires before, one that we were seconds away from calling the fire brigade, we are much more careful and systematic about cleaning the flues now even in mid winter. Then I finished off cleaning the seed markers and John went off to fetch a new light fitting for the back toilet, before that he mended the back door which moves so much (wooden building) it has to be altered every couple of weeks, bought in some kindling, and burnt the cardboard/paper rubbish. 

Spent the afternoon getting everything ready for my big day at HQ 😀 the girls will be doing shifts on the farm as we leave about 6am for a 3 hr drive, I sure hope the cheese is worth it. 

Sunday: River Cottage day 😀 well what can I say, the day was fabulous, it totally lived up to my expectations, it was great to see the place for real and the cheese making course was superbly run, the food was excellent and plenty of it, I had a great time. Thank you to the girls for looking after the farm for the day and leaving dinner in the oven for when we got home, it was a long day, we left at 6am and got home at 9pm, knackered but happy. We made 3 cheeses, a Camembert, a Caerphilly and Ricotta from the whey, we also had Camembert left over which didn’t fit in the mould so we have that as well which can be eaten straight away like the ricotta, the other two have to be nurtured and ripened over two weeks before we can taste them, I hope I get it right. If you have ever thought about doing it then I recommend it highly. 

I had a little taste of the Camembert this morning before it goes into its two week process, it’s delicious, very fresh and pure tasting, can’t wait for them to ripen now. 

Monday again: This morning I spent a good couple of hours as I went round making sure the pens were cleaned out a bit and fresh bedding put down on the floors. I still haven’t heard back from the chap about the ducks and now we are coming into mating season they are trying to get into the buckets of water to do what comes naturally. Unfortunately that usually results in the bucket of water going over and soaking the floor, I’ve tried various ways of limiting the water spillage but ducks need to get there eyes under the water and so a wide top is necessary, catch 22. The chickens are not doing much better but for a different reason, they are scratching around in the bedding and dirt floors but they get a build up of mud balls on the ends of their claws, which if not removed can lead to the loss of a toe, I have put a pile of stones in there to try and give them something hard to scratch on and hopefully remove the dirt. I cleaned the quail out, sort of, because I usually put them into a holding carrier while I do it but at the moment I have a hen who is stressed in there, so I had to try cleaning their cage out with them still in situ, not easy, they are flighty birds and easily frightened into bashing themselves against the bars. Worn out trying to keep them all happy and healthy, and still there are new cases of AI being reported, the last two in back yard flocks whose owners have not housed them because they think it doesn’t apply to them 😤And on top of that we have reports of temps going down to -13 at the weekend, I will look forward to that one 😖

Just about missed the rain on the pm feed, took the eggs out to the shed and collected the money, I had made a mental note this morning of how much should be there depending on boxes sold, we are £1 short today. I will be monitoring this daily as I’m getting to the point where with all the extra work I’m am wondering if it’s even worth it, especially as the ducks haven’t even begun to lay and I’ve been feeding them all winter, will I ever get any return, need to be a bit more ruthless 😞

Tuesday: Had Mia for the day while Sam was at work so had to get a move on to everything done before she arrived, feed and water the birds, put the horse out and do his stable, feed the dogs, do the eggs, get the Rayburn ready for lighting, start the bread off and put some washing on, mission accomplished, then entertain and look after Mia for the day 😀 She had a good sleep at lunchtime which gave me time to read my monthly mag, Home Farmer, I love this publication it always has something relevant in there, new recipes to try and has thought provoking articles. The sun is shinning and so while I have a spare minute my thoughts turn to the coming growing season, it is at this time of year I start getting impatient about getting started. My seed order is sat waiting patiently, my crop rotation is all drawn up, I read an article on growing lemons successfully, I have a young lemon and an orange tree, I have managed to keep them alive over two winters now and am hoping that they might produce a least one fruit this year. The grapevine I moved into the polytunnel at the end of last year so also hoping it will produce this year and am ever hopeful that the kiwi will eventually produce something, last year it flowered but the frost got to them so need to be on my toes this year and cover it with fleece before that happens. We could do with a good spring and a not too hot summer, I’ll put my order in now 😉 it’s a waiting game. Very much looking forward to my cheese making course at River Cottage at the end of this month, I hope to learn a lot, I know there are books and the internet but nothing beats learning like actual hands on sessions. 

Ordered, wormer, flea treatments and shampoo for the 3 dogs and 2 cats, came to £70 nearly fell off the sofa! 

Wednesday: Not good today, I woke up with what I can only think is vertigo, related to this damn bug which has taken weeks to shake off. Staggering around the yard my first visit to the ducks led to banging my head and promptly bursting into tears, obviously not feeling well so I called for back up, now this is rare, on a table of 0-10 the amount of times I have actually said, I’m struggling and need help here is precisely 0. The main thing I felt I would not be able to do at all safely is the horse, Jack, there was no way I would be able to bend down and do up his tummy belts on his rug and remain in the standing position when I got back up, so help was needed. I did the rest as best I could, which is a shame as I intended to get a fair bit done today, but spent the day sat or lying down. I did manage to get the sofa covers off and washed to dry over night so all was not lost. 

Thursday: I feel a bit better today, not great but not like yesterday, just as well really as I have work to catch up on, trying to clean all the pens or make them a bit nicer for the hens, the ducks trash everything anyway but still got to try. I was on Horse duty this morning and so turned him out got his stable ready and kept an eye on the weather forecast, at the moment it says rain at 11am but it’s that now and no sign just yet, I don’t want to take my coat and wellies off only to have to rush back out when it does start so trying to find stuff to do outside until it starts. 

I had an escapee this morning from the front shed, ‘ginger Dave’ snuck out as I tried to get through the door 😝 managed to catch her with a net and deposit her back inside quickly. Trying to clean out the hens while they are all in there is difficult to say the least, mostly it’s a game of trying not to stand on them, they have a lovely game of pecking at the bottom of my wellies and they follow my feet everywhere I tread, it’s very irritating a bit like the drip, drip water torture method I imagine. Wherever you try to put a water bucket down, one of them is always underneath it then they go into ‘the stance’ and won’t move still its more annoying for them being in than it is for me I guess. I bought a big wheel of hay to use for the rabbits and also for bedding and ground cover in the hen pens, I found it’s better than straw because the straw doesn’t soak up any wet whereas the hay does also the hay being cut while has seed heads for the chickens to peck over while the straw has already had the seed harvested, just a small thing but hopefully a useful one. 

Well the rain came ☔️️☔️️☔️️ bucket loads of it, luckily I was indoors with the Rayburn lit by then, had a loaf of bread in the go and got the sofa covers back on and cleaned the bathroom. John came home early so we shot off to get a bit of shopping before the store runs out of milk pending the ‘big snow in’, bought junk food for tea today lol well a pizza anyhow, sometimes you just fancy processed carbs 😜 any today seemed like a good day for it. The temperature has dropped a fair bit but still no sign of snow yet. Came back and skipped the horse out and gave him his tea, fed and bathed the dogs, put the rubbish out, I always nearly forget to do that and have to do it in the dark, collected the eggs and topped up the water buckets, hung the washing on the lazy Shelia and ate pizza. 

Took a photo of two doves that have been hunkered down for about an hour in the tree outside the back door, I wonder if they know what the weather has in store? 

Friday: Well we had a smattering of snow, remains to be seen if we get any more but it wasn’t as bad as they had made it out to be lol. For some reason this year I’m not feeling the cold so much ( must be my age 😉) in previous years I felt reluctant to venture outside but this year I am quite enjoying it. I did the feed and water rounds, then fed the dogs and then went back to clean out the chickens in the stable and put new bedding in for them. If I do it mid rounds I generally forget something like feeding the dogs so it’s best to do the norm first then pick up any jobs after a coffee. After that I came in and had some flour to use up in the form of French bread flour and garlic tear and share mix so I made those, then the girls turned up with the grandchildren and we went out for a spot of lunch and a browse around the charity shops followed by a costa coffee stop. By the time I got home John had done the afternoon feed and put out all the eggs for sale, bonus 😀 The nights are definitely getting lighter nearly 5pm before the dark starts to descend. 

Saturday: We had Joshua our grandson for the day and overnight so I did precisely nothing outside, that was left entirely to John, who must have done an awful lot as he avoided coming indoors all day lol, just in case he got asked to change a bum or do a bit of feeding/playing. He spent the day on the tractor turning the muck heap and by the sounds of it as I haven’t looked yet, churning up the place with the tractor wheels.

Sunday: Josh went home at lunchtime so again I didn’t do the morning feed and John is still out here using the tractor, he did come in overnight 😝 it was raining this morning so I hate to think of the mess that has been made out there, roll on Spring. This time next week I will be nearly at the end of my cheesemaking course at none other than River Cottage, I’m so excited, not only to learn about cheese making but to go to HQ has been a long held dream, that thanks to the John the girls and their partners, is now a reality. It was watching the early days of River Cottage that set us off on the journey we have taken into smallholding, I can’t wait to have a look round and find some renewed enthusiasm. Most of the family are looking forward to me bringing home my spoils, except Macca he doesn’t like cheese and John will only be impressed if it’s cheddar! I will be adding a new skill to my small repertoire, and freshly baked home made bread with home made cheese has to rank among the top ten ‘good life’ moments, perhaps I should make butter as well 😀

Tuesday: Back to reality and doing it by myself, yesterday on the bank holiday John and I spent the morning cleaning out all of the pens the ducks and chickens are in, that was hard work, 6 barrowfulls out of the duck stable and it stunk, ducks slop water everywhere then it gets under the bedding and makes a stinky mess, today you wouldn’t even have realised we had done it! Still at least we know it was done and now I will keep topping it up each day with fresh stuff and we will do the same again at the weekend, hopefully the enforcement will have been lifted by then but you never know we may have to do another 30 days. The chickens are definitely getting fed up now, trying to escape through the door every time we go in and eating any green stuff like they haven’t eaten all year long. My aim to use everything is going quite well today, the roast beef we had yesterday was sliced up thinly with a slicer I was given a couple of years ago and with the adjustment of the blade I managed to slice up 6 packs of beef which John will use for sandwiches instead of buying ham from the shop, the sprouts got frozen and I used up leftovers and bits in the fridge for soup, I gave away a fruit cake that came in a hamper that John didn’t like and some fancy cheese biscuits that we won’t eat, they also came in the hamper. I got 2 loads of washing done and both are now drying on the lazy Shelia and an airer by the heat from the Rayburn and Johns dinner is also cooking nicely in the Rayburn. I went for a walk round the village with Sam and Shelley and the grandchildren, I wonder if I go on as I started, hopefully, all in all a satisfying day. 

Wednesday: Did the morning feed rounds and a bit of cleaning out water buckets etc as the weather is kinder today and no frozen taps or hoses. Took the chickens some kale I pulled up from the poly tunnel better that they have it as they are not getting much else in the way of grass and grubs etc. I looked around the veg garden, the cabbages I planted are still looking a bit pathetic I hope they pick up when the temps warm up, the broad beans however are doing really well so I am pleased about that, they will be one of the first crops available in early spring. 

I cleaned out Kai’s kennel, swooshed some disinfectant around and gave him a brush, he is moulting already, due to the warmer Winter I suppose. The bolts were rusted on his side door so I got the WD40 and a hammer out to loosen them, went to squat down and riiiipppp there go my trousers, dag nabbit, I put them clean on this morning, and they ripped in an unrepairable place 

I have choices now about the rest of the day, I need to phone HMRC about a glitch on my system but when I called before Christmas about it I was on hold for over an hour, do I sit for goodness knows how long again or because the weather is reasonable do I ignore that for another day and work outside? 

I decided to go outside for a bit, yesterday Hubby, who I usually accuse of not taking any notice of anything, reported to me that I had overlooked the road side egg board in regards to updating the new prices for the eggs, well spotted, so I went out armed with nail varnish remover and a waterproof chalk pen to quickly correct the matter.

Keeping up with the announcements about avian flu has been easy as every Tom, Dick and Harry has had their twopence worth on social media 😝 disappointed was easily the word to use when rumours began mid afternoon about the enforcement being extended to the end of February. No surprise really when the latest outbreak was only confirmed yesterday in Carmarthenshire, most of my pens and stables I am happy with its the outside run with the tarpaulin that will probably not hold up for another month 😖 we haven’t even had any very windy weather yet and it’s flapping about all over the place, so this weekends job will be to make it better than it is now, how I don’t know but needs must. A cull is looking very likely to ease congestion, the old birds, rather than living out their days in the paddock, which they are unable to do anyway, will be used to feed the dogs and the drakes will go in the freezer to feed us, waste not, want not. I will have to put myself into a different mindset to get the job done, it’s not easy at all but once we get underway it just becomes another task, generally speaking one I put off for as long as possible. 

Double fail on the bread making front today 😜 firstly, at some point in time long ago my timer melted at 45mins this is ok if you notice and nudge it on a bit, but today I came in from afternoon feeding and it had stopped, not to worry if the dough had doubled it should be ready, look in the bowl, flat dough, at that point I realise I had forgotten the yeast 😤

I am worried for the chickens now, another 2 months inside is not good, the shells are beginning to thin, they have extra calcium but it works hand in hand with Vit D provided mostly by daylight, going to have to do a bit of research and meanwhile I think I will be buying greens from the shop for them, not how it is supposed to be 😔It looks like I will be feeding them yoghurt or cereals fortified with vit d as there are hardly any foods suitable for chickens, I can’t feed them fish or liver! 

The bird flu situation is going from bad to worse, with reports of Slimbridge Wildfowl now having cases and over 1.2 million ducks and geese about to be culled in France 😔

Thursday: Woke up this morning feeling a bit like its Groundhog Day! 

-5 on the thermometer at 7.30am, probably went down to around -8 overnight brrrr, good job we have managed to keep the Rayburn going continuously for the past few days. Dug out some trousers from the back of the wardrobe to replace the ripped ones and found some thick socks to put on today. 

Determined for it not to be a Groundhog Day I decided to go for a walk around the paddocks then came back and as the sun was shining beautifully I made a cup of coffee and sat outside to drink it. I miss that more than anything during the cold months, sitting outside with a cuppa listening to the sounds of the locality, today the dog was yap, yap, yapping there were cars passing and I could hear rumbles from the stoneyard but just occasionally for a few seconds in between it was just birds tweeting, bliss. Did the morning feeding and put the horse out then decided to go around and do a bit of tidying up in the garden, it’s amazing what gets blown around, everything was still frozen and I made the mistake of trying to empty ice from the plastic trug by bashing it on the ground, result, the handle snapped off, then I tried to put the rotary washing line down and one of the arms snapped off, not doing too well so far lol, so I moved onto the front driveway and cleared stuff that had just been left for whatever reason. I was fairly pleased that I had at least achieved something on a cold January day 😀 

Friday: Yet another cold night and frozen morning, bucketing water up from the stable to the geese shut in their house in the back paddock is not much fun. Last night I went out and bought some fruit and veg to chop up for the chickens, they were glad of something different to peck at, normally it’s the bottom of my wellies, today they have cabbage and apples. After feeding I came in to get some paperwork done, HMRC have sorted out the glitch without me having to spend another hour on hold so that’s good and I can tick that off my list. I have a fair bit of sorting out to do as John and his business partner have decided to go their separate ways after 16 years in the bathroom business, John will go back to doing small plumbing jobs on his own and I’m hoping it will mean he has more time to help on the veg garden 😀 

By the time I finished paperwork, the temperatures had gone up and the rain had set in 😝 yuk it will be disgusting out there this afternoon, the only good thing is for a while I will be 5’5″ with a layer on mud on the bottom of my wellies, instead of 5’3″ so technically the right weight for my height 😝 gotta look for the positives. We have repeat offender on the escapee front in the form of a chicken that has become known as ‘Ginger Dave’ not because we know any famous escape artists called that but because she is very ginger and one of Johns favourite programmes is Mr Khan! She is obviously very clever as none of the others have worked out her method of getting out yet, or maybe not that clever as she clearly doesn’t know there is a flu epidemic going on, can’t blame a girl for trying though. 

Finally had a call re a message left before Christmas from a local chap that dispatches ducks and geese, messaged him with the details and waiting for him to get back with a price and date for 2 geese and 12 drakes, we would do them ourselves if we have to but this way they can all be done at once rather than over a few weekends, also we have not done a goose before so have banded about several ways to do it with the best results but happy to pass it over to someone with the right equipment. 

Saturday: Damp start to the day, John went off to get the feed, we do have 4 bags left but it’s not enough to get to next weekend so he will go to the feed merchant and get 12 bags and no doubt have a good chat and catch up. One of the things I love is the relationships you build with people when you use independents, the feed merchant, the local farmer that delivers hay and straw, the chaps at the wood yard where we buy our fencing, a delivery or pick up usually ends in a chat for nearly an hour! 

It’s still dark at 7.45am, and a quick look outside reveals that ‘Ginger Dave’ has escaped again overnight, damn chicken, may have to put her in a better lockdown pen than the one she is in now. 

As the tarp covered area has been breached numerous times we decided to split the up the hens in there and move them to the other pens, then take down the tarpaulin and the makeshift structure that was holding it up (sort of) I feel much happier now that they are all under cover and in secure pens, even though they are a little more crowded, it will be easier to clean them out etc. I renewed the DEFRA approved bio security footbaths and gave them some apples, pears and cabbage to peck at, trying to stop them from getting bored is a main concern, they will turn to egg eating and feather pecking if I don’t. One of the hens in the stable has been looking very unhappy, sitting as high up as she can get and all hunched up, a sure sign she is not liking the situation, I decided to move her to the outside pen where the rabbits are and she perked up quickly. The rabbits have now been moved out of their des res and into a smaller hutch away from the hens, hopefully they can now eat their dinner in peace.

Back indoors to get the fire lit, tidy up and make some bread, I remembered the yeast this time, I had to add it after on the one I messed up but it turned out ok in the end. Had a little sit down and a cuppa, darts season is upon us (although it never seems to go away, much like snooker and F1) so as I write this Hubby is giving me a much unwanted running commentary, apart from a 9 dart finish, I really am not interested, the best bit about the above sports being on is that I can usually get a power nap in if I need one 😜

Oh I must add that I had a dark moment or two this morning lol, frosty, frozen, sunny, dry mornings I can handle with ease, damp, rainy, muddy ones are my nemesis I’m afraid, I usually have a face like thunder and am known to swear a lot. If you ever watched The Good Life when they are trying to harvest veg in the rain and mud or thought that the lady that runs the farm in Last Tango in Halifax looks very down trodden, you can begin to understand how I feel. I have to give myself a stern talking to and pull myself together, it was helped enormously when I walked around the corner and saw a blackbird having a bath in a puddle which made me smile and then watched John desperately trying and failing to catch ‘Ginger Dave’ which gave me a giggle, she is quick and has her wits about her. 

Sunday: Foggy first thing but that soon wore off, was hoping to see some sunshine but it hasn’t materialise as yet. Did the morning rounds, nothing untoward today and then John set about cutting up wood, we were given a huge pile of old wood and pallets at the beginning of the Autumn and he never got round to cutting it up because we did some of the conifers instead, so today is a good day to get them done and cleared up. I came indoors and did some cleaning, the boot/utility/dog bedroom gets very mucky in a very short space of time and gets to the point when you can’t put it off any longer. Then I got some left over turkey out of the freezer to make turkey korma and a turkey casserole for tea, mines the korma, John is not that adventurous 😜 Lighting the Rayburn was a mission today, a combination of having no newspapers left so using the Viking direct catalogue and the kindling was a little bit damp from the condensation that drips from the metal roof, I managed to get it going in the end though. It’s surprising how many newspapers you use, we don’t have them so rely on folks we know giving them to us but of course it’s been the holidays and as people usually buy them on the way to work they are in short supply. 

Ooo as I type this, the sun is trying to come out, must have heard me 🌞

My frame of mind is altogether better than yesterday, I’m not sure what happened there, there are down days, and there are uplifting days and days in between, just have to take them as they come. 

I will try and get some photos for next week, to be honest it’s a mission just trying to keep on top of it without having to remember to take my camera out with me 😝

Well I hope you had a great time over the festivities and are ready to get back to ‘real life’ lol, for us, an element of real life never goes away, animals need attention 365 days a year regardless of wether or not too many sherbets were had the previous night 😝Famous last words, more about that later! 

Over the holidays we had two separate attempts to break for freedom from the horses, one went over the wall and off down the lane after getting a fright and the other went through the fence pulling it down and then the hedge to the horses next door as he didn’t want to spend the day alone, his companions were away for a day or two, on both occasions neighbours phoned to let me know and on both occasions my reaction was ‘for f**ks sake’! We now have a piece of fencing to repair and a fence to erect as the stone wall is clearly not high enough.

The birds are still on lockdown and some are looking decidedly fed up with the whole thing, we had intended to do some fencing but as Sod’s law often happens, the weather turned cold and the ground was frozen so the next best thing is to plan. We discussed the siting of the new duck shed and hubby went off to the merchant to price up roof sheets etc only to find them shut 😖 never mind because while he was away, in my head, I relocated the whole duck pen to a different area of the farm, luckily when I told him my idea he agreed it was a good one 😀 We will begin that as soon as a) the weather permits and b) we have the time. 

We received some wonderful presents from everyone including three activity/break days so I have been trying to sort out on the calendar when the best time to book them is, we seem to have something each month so far, from a night away, to clay pigeon shooting, concerts, afternoon tea, a mini break in Scotland, willow weaving and cheese making, and a cruise, going to be a good year I reckon 😀

New Years Eve was a ‘tipple tour’ round the village, stopping at various ‘pre ordained’ addresses and then stopping off at the church to pop champagne while the church bells are ringing in the New Year, great fun, rather too many sherbets on my part and by the time I dragged myself outside John had done everything and one of the girls had done the horse, I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping 😝 

The rat living in the wall is still there, I despair about how to get rid of it, honestly I have fed it that much poison, I guess I will just keep going until we don’t hear it anymore.

Back to normality today as everyone is back at the day job and I am here on my own again, I don’t mind as I feel an element of being in control and overseeing everything is the way I like it. Everything is frozen solid this morning including the tap inside the stable block, good job John filled up the water buckets yesterday afternoon, I will have to wait for the sun to warm everything up and do the same later on today, fingers crossed it does or I will be bucketing water from the house to every point of the paddocks. 

I don’t make resolutions as such (slight interruption to typing as a Robin has just flown in through the back door and into the kitchen) but I do resolve to do things better than I did last year. I am determined to make use of everything, we have little waste but sometimes things get overlooked such as the sprouts sat out in the back, as I don’t really like them I would probably overlook them until they are only fit for the chooks but today I will make an effort to open freeze them for using in Johns dinners, oranges going wrinkly in the fruit basket will be used in cake making etc. The hardest part is that John is quite a fussy eater but I have warned him of my intention so best not to ask what is in stuff I have made 😀 

Back to the Robin, ever since Johns dad died and one landed on his head at 10pm at night we have joked that it is his dad keeping an eye on us, he obviously just popped in for a New Year visit. Since the chickens and ducks have been forcibly housed, I have noticed the wild birds scratching around for food and judging by the amount of feed we are saving, we were feeding half the countryside population of wild birds, so I have been putting grain out for them now and again, not too much but just enough to keep them going, one even followed Sam into the feed room the other day and was eating the cat biscuits. 

Over the holidays I have had the chance to read other blogs with a similar theme to mine and I look forward to reading them throughout the year, I hope you continue to enjoy mine and that we have many adventures together over 2017.