Monday 27th August, Bank Holiday Monday 😀 only thing is for us it is just another day lol, John has actually gone to work today to catch up with all the plumbing before he has the week off next week when his phoned will be switched off for a fortnight 😜
Dry this morning after yesterday’s downpours, the temps are still fairly low though, it’s all or nothing in a temperate climate like ours, I said to John yesterday wouldn’t it be nice to have steady weather lol.
I must just show you a picture of these, I bought them home from the picnic yesterday, Home made scotch eggs made by my Auntie Louie, I can tell you they are delish, which is why I didn’t hesitate to have the leftovers 😀 One day I will get round to making some and hope they taste this good.
I fed the orchard birds and the rabbits have had hay, apples, pears and plums today, we have started a week of worming the birds in order to get them in top top condition going into the Winter, a fair few of them are in a moult so I need to get a spice mix made up as well to help with recovery. I make my own it’s cheaper than buy special tubs of it, I just buy the ingredients wholesale and mix it all, smells the same and a bit of a treat for them when the weather changes.
Just sat down for a coffee, it’s 11.30, I have been picking and prepping and processing 😀
John has got a one pot chicken dinner for tonight, basically everything goes in the pot at once and cooks in the oven, that’s it very easy and he likes it 😀 veg in there that I picked this morning, carrots, beans, broccoli, potatoes, some leftover chicken from yesterday, stock and cornflour, simple and tasty with all the fresh veg packing in the flavour. Then a jumble crumble, I just invented that, for pudding, which is a mix of blackberry, apples and plums, I was going to have scotch egg and salad but Macca and I ate them this morning 😝 thinking about it they make a very good breakfast on the go, egg, sausage and bread, I really need to get on and make some of these, I want to try them with the quail eggs as a small snack, maybe in the winter when I have more time. It’s surprising how much time everything takes to do, picking, prepping, blanching, freezing, no wonder we love Birds Eye (other frozen brands of veg are available 😆) really they are a working woman’s/mans saving grace and I have watched the process they really are very fresh when frozen, I see no shame in using them.
Tuesday: Dry again, did the orchard lot and a bit of tidying then I thought I better take a look at the mobile coop John is repairing. I did say to him last night that he needed to get it creosoted as time was ticking away and it needs at least a week or so to dry before the hens move in there. Personally I would have creosoted first then done the repairs as time is of the essence but it’s still sat there so I got the brush out and started the job especially in the nest box area. Then Mia arrived and that was the end of that job or any other for that matter lol.
When John came home we spent a couple of hours creosoting the chicken coop, him on the inside and me on the outside 😋
Tonight for dinner we had sea trout with a breadcrumb & pine nut crust which was delish and I take no credit for because Samatha made it before she went home, I need to get the exact ingredients off her so I can make it again.
Wednesday: Small amount of rain over night by the looks of it. Like a lot of people I sit and check my phone first thing in the morning, mostly to make sure there are no urgent messages and the to catch up with any goings on. This morning I had notification through from the neighbourhood watch scheme that another vehicle that was involved in poaching and ramming a game keeper just up the road has been caught and crushed, they caught one last week and they have crushed 5 in 3 weeks linked to rural crimes 😀 That’s a great result because rural crime is endemic round here and most rural areas feel the same I suspect. We are in a particularly affluent area and so it attracts those of a dubious nature from far and wide, and we are always on the alert for ‘strange or unusual’ behaviour. It’s funny how your senses become honed after a while and you can definitely get a feel for something that isn’t quite what it seems, you know instantly when a vehicle pulls in if it is a legitimate customer or not. Sometimes they are lost and that’s fine we can help them with that but sometimes they are up to no good and I have had to deal with this on a few occasions, mostly when you march out there and ask what they are doing they back off quickly, like the time they were rifling though our skip, and sometimes they are more persistent, luckily I had two egg customers with me when one lot were very shifty and not taking no for an answer, eventually we got rid of them, took the number plate and reported it to the police. So remember if you ever pull into a farm/rural gateway/driveway, to use the phone, have a smoke break, change the baby’s nappy (yep we have had that one too) that somebody will be clocking you and taking down your reg number 😋 of course if you are genuine that’s as far as it goes unless it’s a regular occurrence, and if you are not genuine you are probably not reading this anyway 🤪
Did the orchard lot and got a bale of straw from the hay barn to top up all the nest/housing boxes, filled up the rabbit ‘burrow’ etc as the night are getting a little chiller, now I have tiny bits of prickly straw all stuck in my clothing 😝
We have had notification of an increase in feed prices in September then another increase in October 😏 this means we will be putting up the price of the eggs. Demand for feed is going to be high, the yield was lower than usual and most farmers have used their Winter feed already due to the lack of rain and the heatwave over Summer, it is going to have a real knock on effect for food prices, the news said approx £7.50 per month for each household but I think it’s likely to be higher than that in the long run.
When Sam came back from work yesterday we set about taking down the fence at the side of the building and starting to clear the wood that is there. A couple of years ago we started taking down the huge conifers that are just inside the boundary fence, unfortunately we didn’t get round to doing all of them as the ground in front built up with felled limbs, then the grass grew over it all and it was just a mess which is really annoying. So we have begun to clear it, we have someone coming in next week to help John cut up and tidy it up so hopefully we will eventually reach our aim of getting all the trees down and opening up that side of the property to use as the main entrance to the yard at the back. At the moment we use the other driveway which goes right past the back door and curves around the building making it a bit difficult for deliveries such as hay and straw trailers, only taken us about 5 years so far 😝
Thursday: Dry but noticeably fresher, the past few mornings have been slightly warmer than this one however the Sun is already up and doing its thing. Shelley, Josh and Flo are coming over this morning to help with some jobs and I have the ideal one in mind for Josh as he loves to use the broom, the stones all need sweeping back from the drive onto the hardstanding area 😀
A friend dropped off a jar of honey that is produced in the village, so food miles are minimal, well for us not sure how far the bees fly 😜 I couldn’t resist dipping my finger in the jar, oh my, totally delicious 😋
Had a busy day all in all with the hoeing and sweeping and raking and tidying, Shelley picked and processed some runner beans as well and then it was time to go to yet another family birthday 😜 The only thing is at this time of year we always have to leave early (before the cake, much to Johns annoyance) because the chickens have to be shut in before foxy sniffs them out!
Friday: Another lovely early Autumnal morning which turned out to be very warm. Mum came over and set about clearing one side of the poly tunnel, the tomatoes have not been ripening properly and the leaves have gone funny, now I would say it’s blight but these have only ever been watered with mains water so I’m puzzled by that. Anyhow they might as well come out as I have plenty more growing in other places, not least the ‘extra’ plants I shoved in the ground outside which have done better than all the rest! Just goes to show that mollycoddling them isn’t necessary. Meanwhile I did some picking and also cutting back the herbs on the herb bed, later Mum dug up and divided the bee balm, Monarda, and replanted, potting up the other divisions to be planted elsewhere later in the year or maybe in the spring depending on how far I get with things.
Sam and Mia came over in the afternoon and I rested with Mia while Sam did some jobs, then we collected the eggs and did the feeding in the afternoon.
In the evening John and I went to babysit Josh and Florence while Mummy and Daddy went out for a couple of hours.
Saturday: Fresh and sunny this morning, I think it will be another very warm day, did the animals then John went off to sort his Mum out, I need to start getting sorted for our holiday next week as in between that Dad and Sue are coming to stay, they will be staying in Charlie’s room as her and Macca are away in Cyprus for a wedding 😀
I am really looking forward to getting away, more than most holidays in recent years, as soon as we get there it will be ‘and relax’ 🤪
Cut the grass in the driveway and had to wait to cut the lawn as it was pretty sunny out there, when I could do it, it was hard going because the bottom end had got long and thick, it’s the only grass in the place that has grown 😝 John carried on fixing the hen coop ready for delivery of hens next week, had to do some watering as it has got amazingly dry again. I have a resident frog in the big poly tunnel, goodness knows why he has set up in there but he has been there a couple of weeks now. In light of the fact that Mum cleared it yesterday and most of his cover has gone, I filled up a bowl of rain water, put a brick in it and another on the outside, found a piece of slate to cover it put it under the melon foliage and hopefully he will be very happy 😃 great slug eaters so I’m glad he is in there.
I strained the pear and spices in the vodka and now I just have infused alcohol, so I have added sugar and this will now go into a dark cupboard for a couple,e of months, the colour is wonderful, a bit like sherry, can’t wait to try it on a cold night.
Sunday: Another fresh but sunny morning no doubt temps will climb again today, after doing the morning bits and some bits round the house, I am going out for the day 😀 Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire has a Catherine Parr day and I am going with my Mum, Sister and Niece, a rare day off, Johns in charge 😝
We had a lovely very day and I thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the area. I made a good discovery though as I was beginning to think that all the work here was what was causing problems with my feet and hands but nope, even on a day out without any work my feet/ankles swelled and hurt and my hand, not really sure where that gets me but at least I know and can report this to the consultant next week.
frieslandfarm (flowers) 