Month: May 2018

Posted in Friesland Farm

Dandelion honey, more fox attacks and a toad 😀

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Sunday eve: Waiting to put the birds to bed as John is sleeping again, hope this illness passes soon 🤪it’s 8.30pm and still very light so might have a coffee outside while I’m waiting.

Bank Holiday Monday 7th May: Hot, hot, hot today phew. Got the birds done first thing, John was just well enough to help out a bit but then it wiped him out for a few hours. I did a few bits in the garden, picking asparagus, watering the tunnels etc, gave the rabbits some hay and did a bit of foraging for them. Meanwhile Charlie and Macca hoovered and tided the house oh and John changed the sheets on our bed, that is the first time in over thirty years he has done that! Then I finished making the dandelion honey, oh my days, that is some seriously good stuff, and going down a storm with everyone who tries it, obviously it’s not honey and it does have sugar in it, quite a lot, but it really does taste like honey, better in fact. Here is the link to the page and recipe http://tinandthyme.uk/2013/05/dandelion-honey/. Do have a go at making it if you are that way inclined, you won’t be disappointed, I will certainly be making some more at some point.

Had to laugh this morning, a local retired Doctor who is a customer of Johns phoned this morning, not on a plumbing matter but needed to borrow a metal detector as he has lost his wedding ring in the garden somewhere (that’s not what I laughed at just so you know 😝) but John told him his symptoms and asked him what he thought was wrong with him lol, he suggested taking aspirin instead of paracetamol and it seems to have done the trick to an extent, either that or he was getting better anyway 😝

Then Sam came over and we went to Cogges Farm craft fayre, I had planned to go with John but he wasn’t up to it, it was incredibly hot and as with most of these things there was not much shade so we only stayed a couple of hours before coming home again. When I got back Shelley and Martin were here and had done some of the jobs that John usually does like cleaning out the front hens, thank you everyone today for helping out and taking me out x x Martin showed me how to use the chop saw safely and I had a go so I should be able to start making stuff 😀

Charlie and Macca did a bbq in the evening, we had meat already in the freezer to use up but the salad leaves, chives, mange tout and asparagus all freshly picked 😀 from the garden to the plate.

Sitting here are 8.30 typing up and Charlie comes running in the back way with a hen , she was sat outside with Macca when the horse started making a racket the dogs shot off and they ran up the back to see foxy with a chicken in its mouth, the dogs chased the fox who dropped the hen minus a load of feathers! The hen has a puncture wound which I have purple sprayed and hopefully she will survive the shock, I have now shut her away with the rescue ducks in the stable, we caught up all the other hens out the back and shut them away and also shut the ducks in their compound. Last night we lost a hen at around the same time of night, we are suffering attacks daily now and the problem is that it’s still light and the hens are still out, they will be confined for the next few days until the fox either moves on elsewhere or stops visiting because there are no birds about.

I candled the goose eggs in the Incy and all but one are viable so hopefully we will have eight goslings 😀

A farmer in the village has lost his cows! Eight of them are missing and a Facebook appeal has been put out for any sightings, we haven’t seen anything hope he finds them soon 🙁

Tuesday: Wall to wall sunshine again this morning although showers are possible later which would be just perfect, save me watering the veg plants 😜

Got on quite early this morning as it is so pleasant working in the cooler morning air than the hotter parts of the day. As I said yesterday the birds at the back of the farm are being confined in their runs much to their disgust but I am not going to risk any more attacks from the fox. After feeding, straight into the garden to pick, this mornings offerings are asparagus, rhubarb, mangetout and some radish, mostly all put out for sale in the shed, some saved for dinner later. Forage for the rabbits, mostly dandelion and thistle today, I planted some more broccoli plants out in the cage and sowed some more seeds, mini corn, courgette (as the other seeds just rotted away) beetroot and coriander, I am trying to do them fortnightly so I get a succession this year instead of gluts! I picked some herbs for drying, sage, thyme, lovage and oregano, I intend to dry quite a lot this year to keep me going through the Winter months (though I don’t want to think about that too much just yet it still has to be prepared for) Watered the poly tunnels, I have moved a few things from the greenhouse into the tunnels as the greenhouse does not seem to be performing well this year. I have been pondering about rebuilding it or getting a new one or another tunnel, though the tunnels are really good nothings beat the feeling of being in a greenhouse in the spring, seems like a heart or head decision 🤔

Then Mia arrived had a bit of lunch then went for a sleep as she was quite tired, while she was sleeping I picked some of the thinner sticks of rhubarb to make a pudding for later, rhubarb pudding cake, easy, quick and hopefully delicious. I did a double take at the ingredients as there are no eggs in this pudding mix but I thought, ok, we will see how it turns out? The rhubarb retains its sharpness as the mix is sat on top of the fruit but there is plenty of sugar in it it counterbalance that, then it is soft and almost custard like with a chewy sweet topping, it’s fab, I love it and a dollop of creme fresh would top it off nicely 😀

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pudding Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb

• 1 3/4 cup sugar, divided

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 cup sifted flour

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 2/3 cup boiling water

Directions

Cover the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch square pan with fruit. (I prefer an 8 inch or 9 inch square glass baking dish. You could also use a deep dish glass pie plate.)

Mix 3/4 cup sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, extracts, milk and flour together (add a little more milk if it is too thick to pour); pour over fruit. Mix remaining sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over mixture in pan. Pour boiling water over the top. ( I know this sounds strange, but trust me, it works to create a pudding around the rhubarb in the bottom of the pan.)

Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

https://commonsensehome.com/rhubarb-pudding-cake/

I am having chicken left from the bbq last night with salad leaves from the tunnel, asparagus, mangetout and some avocado I need to use up, John will have his with beans and chips probably, some people don’t know when they are well off, I keep telling him he needs to change his diet but it’s like trying to drag a kicking and screaming bear out of the woods, not worth the bother 🤪

I ordered some silicone callipo style lolly moulds, we grow a lot of soft fruit and sometimes you can only eat so much of it so I thought the grandchildren would appreciate real fruit ice lollies if the weather stays on the same course it’s on now and I ordered biodegradable paper straws for smoothies 😀

The egg sales were extraordinary at the weekend which resulted in selling every available egg on the place, I thought today would see a slow down but nope, everything I put out this morning was gone by 2pm and I have just put out what is left of todays laying, great for us not so good for customers who turn up when they are all gone 😝

The farmer has found his cows, they had gone along the downs quite a long way away, I know the farmer was very upset at losing them so all has ended well 😀

Wednesday: Not much happening today, did the morning rounds, still keeping some birds confined to pens, we will be moving the pullets to the front house tonight to live with the older hens as we have secured 40 new POL for delivery on Friday, partly for demand in sales of hens and partly for the high demand in eggs. I did a bit of pottering in the garden then Mum called over so we sat and had coffee and chatted, then Sam and Mia arrived, Sam went off to work and so it was just Mia and I for the afternoon. We had good fun playing in the pirate ship, land ahoy lol.

After tea, which was beef stew today with frozen veg I am still using up from last year and some left over rhubarb pudding, I was looking at the stats for my blog site and I couldn’t believe that I have been blogging for seven years!! Oh my days lol, at some point when I get time I will have to have a random read of some of the posts 😝 no idea where that time has gone.

Covert operation completed at dusk and all pullets moved swiftly and without incident 😜 we had taken down the poultry netting across the big side paddock when we dragged it so we put that back up again to hopefully contain the hens or at least to put the fox off or give the hens a chance if it comes in the daytime.

Thursday: Another nice day forecast, a little cooler than of late but still pleasant enough. Before I did the morning round I spent an hour cleaning out the POL pen then onto feeding and watering the animals, nothing untoward in my rounds. After that I cut asparagus to put out for sale and went foraging for the rabbits, today they had ribwort, grass, dandelions, lilac, they love it, I love watching them love it 😊 Then Shelley, Josh and Florence came and it was time to play with Josh, we fed the rabbits, went for a wander across the paddocks, went up the back to take some treats to Jack, ran off some steam in the ménage, cuddled the baby quail and it was time for lunch 😀 In the afternoon I did a few bits then popped next door for a chat and a cuppa, came home and did some hoeing and watering. I realised I had put the hose from the rainwater tanks to the duck bath and forgotten to turn it off, all day 😝, I did think for a moment that I had lost all 15,000 litres but luckily there was still enough in there to water the plants, I’m not sure how much of it was lost but I will be glad when it rains again to fill them back up to maximum! Tonight’s jobs will be to round up the hens we moved last night some of whom have made their way to the back again which is all shut up so they can’t get in 😜

I have started meditating 😜 to focus mainly and to be honest I’ve only done two days at 5 mins each session so I’m not sure there is much to report but I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained 😀

I also want to tell you about an app called what3words, every single 3m x 3m square in the world has been allocated three random words, what’s the point I hear you ask, because that’s exactly what I first said but if you read up about it it’s actually brilliantly simple and useful. Words are easier to remember than co ordinates and the UN can use it to give people in refugee camps an ‘address’, the car manufacturers are beginning to use it in their sat navs so watch this space, just when you think there is nothing left to invent 🙂 and do download the app and see what yours are, then have fun typing in three random words and seeing where it takes you, it’s a free app.

Friday: An ok day weather wise. My first job was to spend a bit of time organising the duck compound, I needed to get the ducks that were in the stable into the compound so they have some outside space, then partition off the smaller duck house so that there are now three available areas for them to choose from. The problem at this time of year is the drakes, they are very amorous and competitive and it causes all kinds of racket, probably why a small group chose to go up to the back paddock each day out of the way. All ducks are now in the same compound and they have a choice of sleeping quarters so hopefully all will be well. Then onto finishing the rest of the rounds. After that it’s gardening, though I did put a couple of loads of washing on inbetween times and with the wind as it is today it should dry quickly. I have planted some of the leek seedlings, they may be a bit small but fingers crossed they will carry on growing, cut the grass, weed some of the beds, plant some dwarf beans straight into the beds, normally I would get them going in the greenhouse but with this years weather it’s getting late, they will hopefully be stronger plants for it. Sam and Mia called in and Sam gave Jack a good brush to get his winter coat out.

New batch of POL hens arrived this afternoon.

John is feeling much better thank goodness so we went out for steak 😁

Put the birds to bed, had to catch a few of them up and we put them in the stable, as it had rained a little I spread a bit of grass seed in the small back paddock then watered it in.

Saturday: realised I had left the hose on all night after watering in the seed 😆 Had a very busy day today and only just taken a break (3.30pm) Found a dead quail hen on my rounds, don’t know what happened to her they are only a year old ☹️ John spent most of the day cutting up wood, it’s getting there and we will definitely have enough to keep us warm next winter 😀 I spent all the rest of the time in the garden, I have put in the hazel poles for the runner beans and sowed the beans seeds straight into the ground, planted some tomato plants in the poly tunnel and some little gem lettuce seed tapes. Potted on some of the seedlings in the greenhouse, cabbage, tomatoes, doesn’t sound very much now I’ve written it down lol there must be something else I’m missing can’t remember now though 🤪

There is always something else to do but it can wait for another day as it will be feeding time soon, though we won’t be egg collecting as we have sold out again, bumper week this week selling out every day. I need to have a go with my chop saw, I need to tidy the kitchen, I really need to do some baking as I have not done anything all week!

I found a friend when I pulled back the weed membrane to put the bean poles in, I’m not sure if it’s a frog or a toad, I’m leaning towards toad anyway he let me pick him up and put him under some other membrane, I have no idea where he has come from as we don’t usually see them here.

Sunday: Had a lovely day today, did the morning rounds, had 4 lots of egg customers by 8am! Did a little bit in the garden before finally getting to play with my new toy which occupied me until well I to the afternoon 😀 I made two more bird boxes and a herb box whoop whoop. I had the best fun making them, I need to gen up on some carpentry skills really so that I’m not so ham fisted, there are obviously tricks of the trade that I’m not very au fait with, yet 😜 John spent most of the day cutting up wood and we now have a cleared space, still plenty of wood to cut yet but it’s getting there. His Mum is back in hospital so he went to visit her this afternoon, my sister and brother in law popped in for a cuppa, I dug deep into the depths of the freezer and found some smoked fish for dinner, I really need to make bread either tonight or tomorrow and a bit of baking would probably be appreciated 😝

Posted in Friesland Farm

Bad start, got better, life is good.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 30th April: A woeful morning right from the off, early morning call to John, his Mum is being admitted to hospital after an incident, I do the morning rounds, and we have had a fox massacre in the back paddock. It has gone in through the window on the roof and massacred the hens that sleep in there overnight ☹️ The window was broken but it’s up high on what you would think was an impossible incline, I’m thinking that the strong winds overnight have shaken the rest of the glass and it has broken and any opportunity is all the Fox needs.

It’s bitterly cold out there this morning, I’m hanging on to the fact that this is the last day of the cold weather 😜 It is fricking perishing out there, the wind is blowing a hoolie down from the North, less than half an hour out there and my hands are like ice blocks, I don’t think I will bother outside, the farm behind has a bonfire and there is smoke blowing straight down the yard, don’t get me wrong I love the smell of a bonfire but I can even smell it indoors too 🙁 Ever wish you had a rewind button for the day 😝

It warmed up in the afternoon, typical after I had lit the Rayburn, when John got back from the hospital he cleaned out the front hens which was overdue, while I cleaned out the quail, then he spent the rest of the evening cutting up wood from the mountain 😝 I did a bit of gardening, weeding etc and we didn’t finish until it was dark.

Tuesday: May Day 😄 Today didn’t start off much better lol, I cleaned and filled up a drinker for the hens in the orchard, turned it over and whoosh the bottom came off and a couple of litres of water went everywhere, all over the side and down the back of the cupboards in the boot room 😜While I was outside I took a little time to inhale the perfume of the apple blossom on this glorious May Day morning. I collected fodder for the rabbits, hazel, lemon balm, fennel, dandelions, plantain, grass tufts, I love watching them pick out their favourites first, usually the dandelion closely followed by grass and raspberry runners.

Then we did some tree work in the front paddock, two trees that died a couple of years ago after a pony got in and ate the bark from them, bits of branches keep falling off and they needed taking down properly. We have left about 4ft of stump on both of them, I saw this on a programme about an arboretum, they leave the stump to rot naturally and provide a home for the insects, great idea I thought so that’s what we have done. There is an apple tree that I planted a couple of years ago that should now get lots of light and put on some good growth, the dead wood has been cut up and put in the firewood store (smaller stuff is set aside for use in the fire pit later in the year)

After that John cut the front driveway grass and the lawn while I tidied up the orchard and burnt some dead stuff and twigs, a great mornings work 😀 John went off to the hospital at lunchtime and Mia arrived for her afternoon with Nana while Mummy goes to work, looking every inch the gardener in her hat today 😍

John came back and we had a load of wood chip delivered into the ménage so he got the tractor out and spread it, meanwhile Mia and I made daisy chains, had rides in the wheelbarrow and watched Grampy on the tractor.

I did a bit of baking while I was getting dinner ready, biscuits and a rhubarb loaf, mostly to stop John moaning that there is nothing to eat when he is home.

Wednesday: Raining and cold again ☹️ Did the morning rounds with John then he set about tidying up the wood mountain area and various bits while I went into the greenhouse to work. I feel disheartened at the amount of time and effort I am putting into growing seeds when the temperatures make it a struggle this year, a few of the seedlings have suffered damping off because the compost (that was watered when the sun was hot and shinning) is now cold and wet. I have relented and taken the power out there to turn on the propagators that I have available to warm it up a bit, hopefully it will only be a couple of days at most but this yo-yo-ing of the weather is making things difficult. I have just been watching a video of how to make a hot bench with soil warming cables which I think is what I am going to have to do for next year, I have earmarked a piece of celotex for the job and we have plenty of wood to make a bench 😝 I planted up the pea seeds I have had sprouting on the windowsill, I hope they grow, I never had such a bad year with peas as this year has been. I also planted the sweet pea seeds which I also had sprouting, we can only hope they continue to grow. I’m beginning to wonder what the heck I do wrong, some people are naturally green fingered and can grow something from a dead twig, I am not one of those, if the chance is there for it to die, it does 🤔

After being outside I came in to finish off the loaf of bread I had proving before I went out and got all the ingredients ready for dinner tonight, John has chicken casserole and I am having a Lean in 15 chicken carbonara. I put some sausage rolls in the oven at the same time as the bread, something warm and tasty for John to have with his coffee after being out in the rain.

I ordered myself a chop saw, as a girl does lol, there are things I want to make and waiting for John to be here with his circular saw (which doesn’t cut very straight or so he tells me) is a pain so I will have my own and I can get on when I want to. Bird boxes and herb boxes are on the list but I got carried away looking at benches with storage in, who knows I may achieve this yet 😀 My son in law Martin has offered to give me a lesson on the saw and I am taking him up on the offer better to be safe than sorry and if I know how to use it properly there will be no end to the kinds of things I can ‘knock up’.

Thursday: Lovely weather this morning and after doing the morning rounds, John came back from sorting his Mum out, she was discharged yesterday, we had the arduous task of taking down the fence in the back paddock, it took till lunchtime to cut off the stock fencing and then take down and clear up all the post and rail, we now have one huge paddock at the back 😀 easier for dragging and maintaining and Jack thinks it’s Christmas 😀

After some lunch and forty winks 😉 we started the afternoon jobs, John on cutting up wood as the mountain he was clearing is now full of old rail from the paddock 😝 and I did some veg gardening, to be honest, sitting here now I can’t think what I have done but I did do something 🤪 Mum called round with my niece Zeri and we spent a bit of time looking at the rabbits, guinea pigs and baby chicks 😀 then John did the afternoon feeding and egg collecting while I transported compost from the sack in the front to the beds that needed filling. It’s a shame I can’t get the tonne bag any closer to the garden but it’s in the front driveway until it’s empty enough to be able to drag it! John went off to get his Mums dinner and I planted some runner beans in the poly tunnel and some ying yang beans outside, hopefully they won’t get eaten by slugs and mice, always something attacking the veg.

I cleaned the oscillating sprayer and looked for the hand held trigger type sprayer which I can’t find, I have a feeling it didn’t work and water just spat out the end so I must have thrown it away, I will order a new one, I am going for the Karcher brand as their oscillating sprayer is so good much better than the hozelock one which gets stuck all the time.

A family birthday means we are out for the evening for nibbles, or scoffs which is more like it 😄

Friday: Another good day weather wise, temps look to be warm and no rain 😀 John went off to get some bits of feed and sort his Mum out so he won’t be back until gone midday today. After the morning feeding I did some weeding collecting four buckets of forage for the rabbits who were very happy about that, I sowed some sunflower seeds into pots and then some carrots into one of the smaller raised beds, I have to get everything ready to cover before even starting as the chickens can smell disturbed Earth from miles away and are there scratching as soon as your back is turned. I weed killed the bindweed as it is such a pain to try and dig it all out and I don’t want it taking hold this year like it did last year. When John came back he moved the tonne bag of multi purpose compost with the tractor so that it is nearer to the garden, makes life a bit easier. I have dedicated a small section of one of the beds to flowers this year, I am planting it up with anything and everything I have, it will be a totally random selection and randomly planted, no order to it whatsoever, we will see how it turns out, the main aim is to have a riot of colour to look at and a nectar patch for the insects to feed on. My chop saw arrived………watch this space 😜

Saturday: Well we are on a roll with the weather ☀️ of course with it this hot it means I have to get started early and then chase the shade 😂 which runs out around 2pm at this time of year. I have got plenty done though, I finally planted the potatoes, I looked round for a place but there is not enough soil depth on the beds to grow them so I have used the two long raised beds that used to have flowers in them, I had dug up and potted everything in order to empty them out and put them back together but it never got done and so it’s perfect for growing spuds in, the rest are in pots and potato growing sacks anywhere I can place them I have, I told you the garden was all a bit random this year 😜 First thing this morning I took clematis cuttings after seeing something on Facebook that reminded me it was the right time, I have Montana, Neiobe and Dawn, the Dawn was bought by a friend for my 40th birthday many, many years ago now, it’s a small clematis that is ideal for a shady corner, hopefully the cuttings strike but I won’t hold my breath lol. I potted on the runner beans and put some more seeds into trays, the sprayer I ordered arrived and I have sorted out and connected up all of the hose pipes and various heads for them, I think I will be watering sooner rather than later with this heat. I fixed a little wooden cold frame that I have had for years, the glass fell out and I have finally put it back in and secured it, it now has sweet pea, poppies and cosmos seedlings growing under it. I have filled up some old recycling boxes with compost ready for the cucumbers in the small tunnel and repotted a grapevine that was in the wrong place and struggling, it’s now in full sun so hopefully will romp away nicely. John has not felt well today but despite that has fixed the top rails on one of the paddock fences before deciding to have a sleep.

Cleaned the boot room up a bit, it gets so dusty very quickly that it’s a thankless task but has to be done, then gave the dogs a groom, patch is moulting like crazy, hardly anything came off of Mia!

John took to his bed, he has a high temperature and is pretty unwell 🤒 so it’s up to me to put the birds to bed tonight, it’s very pleasant out there this evening.

I noticed on my way round how much the asparagus has shot up just today, I have been picking a bundle of 10 nearly every day but in the morning I am going to have to cut it early or some will be too long, it does not stay in the egg shed very long it sells pretty quickly, mind you the rhubarb is the same and it looks like I will be picking mange tout as well, the over wintered broad beans in the greenhouse have just started to form, I love it when the veg starts coming in thick and fast.

Sunday: Cracking day again and even at 7am there is no ‘cool’ feel to the air so it’s gonna be hot! The animals are flipping annoying this morning, the cats have taken to following me everywhere and now diesel is sat on the shed roof right next to the bird feeder and all the little birds are giving the alarm call. The chickens are pesky this morning pecking at my boots while I’m sat drinking coffee outside and trying to wander into the kitchen, the dogs bark at fresh air and take off chasing fresh air also every 2 minutes, while I’m typing a chicken flies onto my knee, what’s wrong with them all today?

Did the morning rounds, John is poorly in bed though better than he was last night, then I did a bit in the greenhouse and moved some stuff to the poly tunnel and then I thought bugger this I’m going to have a few hours off lol. You may have noticed that we work 7 days a week usually but today as John is not up to it and it’s a lovely day I decided to read in the shade, bliss, inbetween I took a walk around one of the fields and thought why go anywhere when you have all this to enjoy 😊. I had an egg customer that was Spanish and out for the day call in and bought some eggs and asparagus, ‘you have a lovely Farm’ he said in a Spanish accent, ‘thank you’ I said and thought, yes we really do even though I spend all winter moaning about it, days like today give it back tenfold 😄

As I was having a few hours off and I can’t really sit still very long I decided to pick dandelions and have a go at making dandelion honey or ‘poor mans honey’ I was going to make dandelion jelly but I thought the honey seemed more interesting. I sat in the paddock for a good half hour picking the heads then another half hour or more pulling or cutting the yellow petals away from the green bits and then simmered them with a sliced lemon for 20 mins, they now need to soak overnight so the next instalment will be on next weeks blog 🤪

The petals once they are picked are incredibly fluffy and tactile to put your hands in and if anyone fancies a go themselves we have millions of dandelions all growing in untreated paddocks so come and help yourself 😀