bye bye pigs

Well its all done and dusted.
The pigs were collected the Wednesday after taking them in to slaughter, and we started to butcher them ourselves on that morning, we collected the three pigs on the Wednesday as all three were ready, and so three of us had the a lot of work to do!

I was surprised how therapeutic it was! In fact i found it so therapeutic, that i wanted to do them all and not let my partner or friend have a go, but of course i didn't tell them that hahah

We collected the three pig carcass' in the morning, and started to do the job at about 11.30 ish, I had (with the help of my partner) butchered one half before my friend turned up at 1.30pm, we then decided that it was silly her taking her pig home to butcher, especially when we had all the tools and equipment out and sterilised ready ... so she did hers here at our home(with our help) and made sure everything was not only clean, but also not mixed up.

Afterwards, when my friend had gone home, with a very large box of joints, chops, rolls, sausages, bacon etc...we got down to doing the second half of the first pig!
First we cut off the hind leg(to be our Christmas ham), then the next cut was was horizontally up the belly, separating the belly from the ribs, we then cut the hock away, and separated the gammon, a few chops later and a few slices in my own hand, and the second half of the pig was done!

we decided to do the last pig the next morning, but as we didn't have a fridge big enough, we left it in the boot of the car, it was going to be a cold night anyway, so it would act like a large fridge!
The following morning, my partner had butchered the first half of the second pig, before i had even opened my eyes! he was just so keen!
I finished the second half later that morning, we had 4 hams, several bags of chops and bacon, we flavoured the sausages, my favourite one is the honey and sage! hmmm yummy! And we now have a freezer full of various joints and rolls.
The ham's are now in the spare room, one in salt(drying to make our version of Palma ham), one in the freezer(later to be smoked), one in a brine with a beer and molasses mix, and one in a brine and mulled wine mix(our Christmas ham).

Also this week...I have managed to get my web site up and running, and although at the moment people can only buy items with Pay pal...(I hope to add cards very soon)... they can still buy, which is the main thing...I only hope customers do now though, its been hard work...and with my partner being threatened with redundancy as there is no work at present...i really need this to work!
The website for those who wish to look, is www.thegleefulgoat.co.uk i do hope you all enjoy the site.

What a time of it!

Well my feelings were OK...Twice a day i have been feeding these pigs, scratching their backs, giving them a rub...chasing them out of next doors fields etc....it was like have two black Labradors running amok around the place, and yes i can see how people get very attached to them.
So I was surprised on my feelings this morning....or should i say the lack of them...but then that could of been the early morning feeling too, we were up at 5am, and left for the abattoir at 6am...too tired and busy to feel any remorse.

I have to say, it wasn't that easy though!
Firstly, my partners car, it got us there, or rather it struggled to get us there, doing 10 miles an hour up the slightest hill....the emissions warning light came on last week, so the car had lost its power...i think pulling the trailer for an hour just pushed it over the edge!

Anyway, we struggled on, and got to the abattoir with little problem. The pigs were sleeping in the trailer, so they seemed happy enough.
We pulled into the car park, and I went into the reception to get the relevant paperwork, and was told that once i had filled in the forms, we were to drive the trailer through the gates round the back....so I filled in the form and returned to the car, where my partner was waiting...he turned the key, and....nothing! the car had finally died...right when we didn't want it to, and with only yards to go! how frustrating!

So, a few phone calls...and lots of left messages(no one answering, for one reason or another), and were had gotten no where!
We walked round to where we were suppose to drive the trailer round, and spoke to a girl, who, in turn took us to another nice girl...who took us to a man, who lent us a van with a tow bar, to get the pigs in!
We got the pigs in to find that the pigs were happy in the trailer, so much so, that one of them just rolled over and went back to sleep!, My poor partner had to get in there with them to push them out!
then we left the van and the trailer where it was and walked back to the car, we rang a friend who came out and towed the car back home...and then we rang yet another friend with a tow bar and asked if she would drive back with us to collect the trailer! thankfully she agreed and we managed to get it back OK
But, we have one more pig to get to the abattoir, and as we ran out of time(which wouldn't of happened if the car had been working fine), we have asked the same friend to go again tomorrow, but this time with a pig on tow!
Thank goodness for great friends!!!

Fun on the small-holding!

Well it started good.

It was my partners birthday Yesterday, so we did what he wanted to...like go to B&Q for some hooks and spend the day out doing things...anyway, we got back home about 2.30-ish...and as we parked, I said to him

"that looks like our pig in next doors field!?"

And sure enough...Pepper had gotten out of her new fenced area into next doors field! So my partner, grabbed the bucket of feed and rattled it while i took apart the fencing yet again( you may remember me doing so last time for Salt), and he guided Pepper back in, with me fixing the fencing again behind them!

While he was fixing the pen, I took the shopping in and made a late lunch...he came in and sat down telling me that's them sorted.

About an hour later...I saw a chicken out...so i herded her back in, turned around to see Pepper was in the Barn with her head in the bucket of pig feed!

So out we put her back in the pen and as my partner fixed the fencing higher, she disappeared again! This time she was in a different field that belonged to the neighbour!

She had yet another hole she had made in a different part of the fence! Grr


So while my partner herded her back again, I put the goats away, so we could put the pigs into the goat paddock (goats being escape artists, cant get out, so neither should the pigs be able to), then he had to put the pig pen in there....well that was a farce!


Firstly my partner got in, and lifted the sty onto his back so he was like a turtle...he then staggered across the boggy mud and pig muck...only to step out of his welly and straight in the middle of it all!...the air turned blue, and i .... well i laughed to be honest....he then walked through the rest of the area to the paddock with only one welly!
After everything was finally sorted(including putting the chicken away again), I couldn't help but giggle again, when i watched my partner walk to the house, with one welly on...one muddy sock on and carrying his other welly in his hand...i really should of taken a picture at that point! Hahaha.

Today we are dispatching some ducks!...we have 6 to dispatch, we bred them for meat, so we didn't get attached to them....hmmm roast duck for dinner tonight!! although it would be a little tough...so maybe we will wait till after they have been hung for a day or two!

chat soon xxx

Pigs in Muck?

Well what a time we have had!

My parents have recently been up, and I made sure they have mucked in....literally!!

We decided that as the pig area was so boggy after all the rain we have had, that we would move them to an area behind the barn!
So firstly we had to move them into the goat paddock so we could dismantle their fencing, they loved it in there, but unfortunately, the Billy didn't like them being in there, he battered his pen down to be free and ran straight to the paddock!
Great! we now had to find somewhere to put him! So while my partner held on tight to the billy, my dad kept the dogs at bay, mum and I herded the pigs into the Billie's pen and put a temporary door on till we sorted the billy out. But he didn't want to be in there alone, so we put the nannies in with him, then moved the pigs into one of the nannies pens with a secure door! Phew! Talk about hard work! and this was just the start of it!

We then dismantled the pigs fencing and while my partner rebuilt it, my mother shovelled goat muck into the now vacant mud quagmire, while my dad and I spread ed it out, for it to do two jobs...absorb the access water and fertilise the area ready for next year!
Unfortunately, walking in this stuff was like walking in glue! when i wasn't stuck, i fell in! The first time I fell backwards and sat in the goat muck while my feet, in their wellies, were stuck in the mud!
After a cuppa, it was back to work! which saw me fall face first into the same area! Grrr I was not a happy bunny especially as the rain that was now coming down, made the mud stickier!
By late afternoon, I was sore and mucky, we were all tired, dad and my partner tried to fix the Billie's pen, while we put the kettle on.
The final straw for us all was when i got stuck yet again, fell forward onto my mother and put two large hand prints on her white T-shirt! but while i was struggling to get back up, mum had the fits of giggles(glad she saw the funny side).
We decided enough was enough...the pig area was complete and while i cleaned up, the other herded the pigs into their new area....unfortunatly...dad stood on a rake that promptly smacked him in the nose!....all i could picture while he was telling me was the cartoon Tom and Jerry, and of course i giggled.

So a week after the pigs being in their new area, they seemed to have settled in nicely....until today! Salt climbed the fence trying to get at the bucket of feed that i was about to throw in for them! Grrr
So I took down the fencing, and I then had to herd Salt back in...which would of been fine if Pepper hadn't of came out!
Finally after putting Pepper back in and keeping Salt in...i quickly re fixed the fencing!
All this stress and hassle will end soon....the both go to the abattoir, around the 16th of next month....Ham for christmas i think!

Mating season!

Well its well and truly started!

Sunny is not looking his best..........He is however spraying like mad, mainly over himself which he seems to love...but also mainly over his beard and face, so he can rub the scent on the girls!

He did mate with Rita last Monday(21st)....in fact the poor girl got it 8 times before 12pm (men take note), but she wont let him near her now....one of the twins came into season today, she has not been quite so obliging as Rita was last Monday, he is really having to work his socks off!
He also make the most strange noise at the moment, not heard a billy make it before....its almost like he is whispering in their ears...and a pleading looking on his face with it(oh go on, you know you want to, don't worry about the kid, I'll take care of her), but they are not falling for it!
Although saying that, he managed to mount Penny, think it must of been her first time, as she wont let him again!! hahah
We have stopped milking Rita, so she will be nice and dry when it comes to giving birth next year(assuming that she took ok)

He is being a bit of a bully to Alice though! Alice and Sunny usually cuddle up together, but today he wont even let her near the food, i may have to take her out of there!.

Ducks have go off lay and chickens are not laying as many as before either, but still getting 5 eggs a day, enough for us!
We did hatch six duckings for the pot, they will be dealt with very soon, so more meat for the freezer!

Pigs are fattening up nicely! We have decided to take them to the abattoir in November, they will be just over 6 months then and it means Christmas dinner will be sorted!
Mouth is watering at the thought of all that ham! We have decided to do the butchering at home, making four large hams....one palma style, two in brine and one cold smoked....we also will do various cuts and joints, and possibly making pork pies out of the head meat....along with all that we will make out own lard as well....think me may need a bigger freezer!

other news: my partner sold his house! that's great news, means we can move on with our lives and pay some of our bills and pay for our wedding next year!
My walking is improving more and more, I have been trying to walk 2 miles twice a week...will try and up that very soon...really need to loose this weight before the wedding!
I am also trying to set up my own website, need to get some money in, and i have always wanted my own business, especially after i have run businesses for others in the past.

Nights are a lot darker here now, usually dark by 6.45 ish hard to see your way to the poly tunnel sometimes, talking of which, we had some lovely melons(behave please, no sniggering) and some wonderful cucumbers out of it, we are still getting chilli's, tomatoes and peppers.
Onions are all drying nicely in the barn, will have to plait them soon! And we have Marrows coming out of our ears(not literally). will have to dice some and freeze it, like we did with the Kale.

Well better go...animals to feed, veg to collect.....etc
Will try not to be too long next time....but i did have a lot to say this time Hahaha

The craft Fayre

The craft Fayre was not a success, it was more geared towards children than anything else, when i spoke to other stall holders, they had the same result as me, but it wasn't totally wasted, i sold some peg faeries and made some new ones, and the end of the day i sold a laptop bag and some candles to a woman who had a stall next to me...and a couple of other bits and bobs, so i came out in the plus which is better than a kick in the teeth!
Also sold some items to my partners sister when she came up last week...so that also helped.

When we got back the pigs were squealing for their supper and the goats were bleating like there was no tomorrow!
Funny how much noise they make when they all get going, the neighbouring farmers must think we are torturing them! But i promise we are not....funny how livestock can be so demanding at times!

Sunny has been playing up a little too, We know what the cause is, as he is spraying a lot! but it doesn't help that he decided to break down his door from his pen!
My partner and I were having a cuppa and through the window i saw Sunny looking at me,that was a surprise in itself but not only that he was quite happy eating from our veg patch!, so we both shot outside, and he was in his cantankerous mood and went straight for my partner, lifting him off his feet, thankfully not hurting anymore than my partners pride.
When we finally got him in the barn, which looked like a hurricane had been through it thanks to Sunny, we saw the door to his pen was clean off the hinges and about 20 feet away from where it should of been!! So a bucket of feed distracted him(along with some veg), while my partner fixed the door I cleaned tha barn back up, my partner then said" a Rhino wont get through that door now"....I bleeding hope not! I am having enough trouble with the billy let alone a Rhino!!
He has also been having another go at the shed! Although its still up right! but now it has two entrances and exits! I will be glad when mating season is over!

Rita is also being a pain, she has started screaming for a billy, even though there is one beside her!
Although she is getting better with letting me milk her, think she has just resigned to the fact she is going to be milked whether she likes it or not!


We have two hens going broody now even though we have stuffed ice under them, i am sure the daft hens are trying to hatch the ice, either that or they like cold bums! The ducks are on strike in laying eggs too! but that could be that we have now introduced the ducklings to them...will have to wait and see, not that we need any eggs at the moment!


Not sure whats up with Mollie the cat at the moment, twice recently she has bought us a mouse! this is very unlike her...she normally goes outside during the day to sleep and then comes in at night.......to sleep! think there must be something in the air!


Well i must go and make wedding invites.....oh didnt i tell you? ... i am getting married next August, trying to do most of the prep and planning myself, so i am making all the invites and cake etc....begining to wonder why though...its hard work ontop of everything else!

Which reminds me i will have to start making christmas cards soon! oh what a scarey thought!!

By for now xx

quiet week!

You remember Sunny knocking down the shed, and my son re-building it with his girl friend...well it still stands!

Sunny has tried in vain to knock it down....but its held up nicely! .... phew!

The veg is looking good. we have frozen some curl kale ready for winter, hung the garlic, and will do the same to the onions when they are ready, Strawberries are over now, although we do have one or two hanging on!

Onions are swelling nicely, wont be long before we are drying them out, and we have been and will continue to harvest peas for a while!

You just cant beat your own home grown veg!

The birds seem happy enough, they are scratching and pecking in the garden and havnt escaped or even tried to, apart from Ruffles that is,but then she likes to be awkward!

Mollie the cat has been a little worried though, she sat on the table in the garden and was suddenly surrounded by birds...bless her, she look scared, but also had that look as if to say "all these birds and not one small enough for me to kill!"

We do, however, have a glut of eggs, so i have put tons in the freezer for winter, also been baking and putting that in the freezer too, hopefully, a lot of all this will carry us through the winter this year! There are only so many things you can make with eggs.... and i am rapidly running out of ideas!!

But the poly tunnel has been a great success this year! we have melons, sweetcorn, tomatoes, chillies, cucumber, fennel bulbs, lots of herbs, gogi berries and grapes to name but a few!

So you can guess we are as pleased as punch with it....pity the poly tunnel is not bigger though.

Other than that i have been crafting like mad, in order to get some pennies in! I am making flower peg faeries galore:

And a fair few cards! Here are just some of them:

and hoping to sell my things at the Fetterangus craft fayre this sunday so fingers crossed.

Other than that theres not much to tell this week....i may be late with next weeks blog as my sister in law to be is comming to stay for a week with her partner and their four year old! so it will be a busy week i hope!

another day!

Well my son and his girlfriend are up at the moment, and they have been great help while they have been here so far, the shed that took a huge battering is now upright and solid, Sunny had a go at it and it still stands, thanks to the two of them for fixing it!

They have also built a trap for the rooks to stop them getting at the hen eggs, although unsuccessfully so far, this trap is a humane one, but at the moment the rooks seem to know what its about, and haven't fallen yet!
Although I bought an air rifle yesterday, and my partner managed to shoot one! the smell of death must of scared the others away, as we haven't had any eggs nicked today..........yet!

So far while they have been up, We have baked bread, foraged for blaeberry's....bilberry's to some of you, walked on beaches...and built things around the house and garden! as well as the usual jobs and practicing with the air rifle!

We have also harvested some Peas, Potatoes, Strawberry's(although we are battling with the slugs with them) Marrow, curly Kale and Onions! so all in all a busy wee while.

weather has not been horrendous, a couple of days of sunshine this week....even managed five minutes in my hammock!! Although saying that, its a beautiful, warm sunny day today, and that hammock is calling me....oh what to do...oh what to do ;-)


Yesterday the animal welfare came round to check on my paperwork, which i am pleased to say was all in order, and he went away a happy man! But when i Rang to register the pigs, they said they would send another one to check the feed etc...you would of thought that they did all that in one hit! Oh well....we are tidy, the feed bins labeled and ready for anything they chuck at us, so now we have to wait and see.

Today my son and his girlfriend have done a fantastic job of clearing the barn! as well as clearing all the rubbish that the pigs have dug up!
Its really surprising, not only how much they dig up...but how much was buried as well, I wonder if they ever dig and say " another piece of inedible rubbish"
I must admit, I do sometimes wonder if all the livestock 'plot' together.....I am sure i have seen them all gathering in a little meeting in the barn now and then......nahhh they can't be............can they???

The Piglets arrive!

There has been upheaval in the small holding recently............the goats have been stirring and trying to work out what is going on next door to them..........

and the commotion that went on when the piglets arrived!........ well .... see for yourselves........

You can almost hear the goats saying....

"oh no! we have pigs for neighbours!"

But the piglets have settled down nicely....they don't seem bothered by our goats....or the fact the the daft dog keeps touching the electric fence with his nose....thought spaniels and collies were intelligent....but poor ghillie must of been in the back of the cue for brains....four times in one day he touched the electric fence, then yelped, and once the following day, as well as yelping in his sleep(could of been reliving his day i think!), the piglets don't even look bothered by next doors cows that have also had a shock from the fencing...oh well!..

Already we have named them Salt and Pepper, I know, I know, you shouldn't name something your going to eat!

Which is why we named them salt and pepper, so we wouldn't forget we were going to eat them and so we wouldn't get too attached to them, besides it wouldn't of been fair to name all the livestock so far and not these two would it!?!

Salt is the closest and bravest of the two....she also looks the biggest, but they are the same size, i just that's my bad photography at work!

Picked some lovely red strawberries today...put them with the other fruit to see if my partner will spot them...yeah i know they are bright red....but he is colour blind, and rarely sees them against green, guess what i put them with? ...... hehehe yep green apples hahaha

Guessing i will be in trouble when he reads this next hahaha

He now has his house up for sale, so we are hoping it will sell quickly, then we can put the money into expanding the farm.....well that's the theory anyway.....so anyone want to buy an investment? 120k set price....in a quiet village not far from a sandy beach(about 5 miles ish)....two bedroom with large back garden.....only an hour(just under actually...well more like 40 mins haha) from the city of Aberdeen....oh well worth a try..... we have a viewing tonight....so fingers crossed.

The money has been spent already, want to buy the field next door and get some boer goats as well as the livestock we have already....but its like everything you dream of doing....your finger tips just cant quite reach your goal....still one day.......one day (sigh)

heatwave!!

How hot has it been! Bit cooler today...but phew!!

Wasn't sure at first whether to keep the goats in in this temperature, but when i felt the heat in the barn at 10am...decided they were better off outside!

So out they went, Sunny has his usual routine, the first thing he does is to go straight over to the shelter in the paddock...this is the result!...........how can one goat do so much damage!?

Its struggling to stay up...and i don't think it will be long before we loose the 4Th shelter....back to the drawing board i think!
After demolishing the shed they all join in to eat the bark off the trees! Again this is the result...about a quarter of my trees look like this at the moment..not a pretty sight :(

Although the goats have a definite look of "it wasn't me, honest gov!" ... but they all have this lovely stain of bark around their mouths, which gives them away slightly!

Alice is coming on leaps and bounds, still suckling now and then, but I must admit its not been that often

The piglets arrive this Sunday! my partner is really looking forward to it! all i see is roast pork, pork chops, and a side of ham! Its suppose to be easy-ish to make a parma style ham...will let you know at a later date if it is or not.

I do keep thinking that I should get the chalk ready to mark out the joints, But my partner said i am not allowed to! I guess he is right really, after all the chalk would wash off in the rain!

still the sty is finished, just the pen to do really...and that wont take that long, its more of a case of making a gate to fit on and put the electric wire up...job done!....if only it was that easy, things will go wrong , especially as we don't have a lot to do to it! Or am i being too pessimistic?

We are chuffed to bits with the veg this year....its looking great

the veg are going great guns...although the chickens desecrated the carrots so we had all of 8 of them! but we don't eat many anyway...so no great loss really.

We did do an experimental bed...My partner built a coldframe, put a layer of straw down, followed by the contents of the compost heap....he then planted some pumpkin seeds.....and left it to its own devices....the result?

Well........ see for your self!!

what grew was Pumpkin, perpetual spinach, sunflowers, tomatoes, potatoes, marrow/courgette and feverfew...i dont think i missed anything out, but not bad seeing as we only planted the pumpkin hahaha.

Well i am off to hose all the animals down now...most dont mind it, although Ghillie and the chickens dont seen to like it much ....never mind it will cool them down a bit.

Bye for now xx

as life goes on!

Well not a huge amount to report this week.

Weather has been very hot, and poor Ghillie and Mollie don't know what to do with themselves in this heat...keep hosing Ghillie down, but he doesn't seem to like that either....no pleasing some dogs is there!

We have two more hens that have gone broody!....Bertha and Kiev...am surprised Bertha has...she is an old girl and usually chuffed to bits at laying the tiny est of eggs!!

But it also means that egg production is down a bit...but we don't mind that as we have so many at the moment...even a few in the freezer!

Darren the drake will be dinner soon!...he keeps attacking the cockerel and hens as well as the two new ducklings!....duck in orange sauce! crispy fried duck!....ooh what about roast duck and a few steamed veg!! yummy....feel like i should be drooling like homer Simpson hahaha

My partner has nearly finished the pig pen and their shelter, which is good, as they are due to arrive very soon!,

already have chosen one of them...not sure which to choose out of the rest of the litter yet....although i didn't choose her i should say she chose me hahaha...went for my crocks that were on my feet so had to have her didn't i haha.

Alice is looking like a devil that butter wouldn't melt in the mouth of hahah...she has these perfect little horns and an angelic face! my partner tried to milk her mum again the other night as usual...Alice decided that while he was she would clamber up his back and sit on his shoulder!! she really did look like an imp then! hahaha you could almost hear her whispering in his ear! hahaha

We put them out all together for the first time last week...and they all got along fine, we were worried about Sunny's horns more than anything...

but we regularly find Sunny and Alice cuddled up together, or laying next to each other...don't know what we were worried about now. But i guess as its a small holding, we tend to be a bit over protective of the livestock now and then...must relax more with them.

The hay in next doors field is looking yummy! would love to let the goats loose in there and then pretend i didn't know how they got out!! ....hm mm maybe a bit of Alice is in me too!! hehehe.

The fruit and veg in the poly tunnel is looking fabulous! as is the veg in the raised beds!!...wont be long before the strawberries turn red and are ready for harvesting!! We will be in undated with black currants again this year, already having to look for new things to do with them....worse comes to worse, we can let the chickens loose on them, but knowing our luck, they wont want them!

we are having roast cockerel for Sunday dinner this week....no not Beaky...but a friend of ours has a vicious cockerel, said she was happy to shoot it but couldn't eat someone she knows!...couldn't help but laugh...still we will still have to pluck and gut it...must find something to return the favour with.

Its a wonderful day though today, sun is shinning, birds singing, a gentle breeze, and not a huge amount to do on the farm.....everything is so quiet....although it wasn't earlier when i stood on a rusty screw that went through my shoe and into my foot! the air was incredibly blue then!!

Well the day has been good, and the sun has shone! had a visit from a friend this morning...and i am off to make something now to take to a friends this evening......we are learning how to weave baskets tonight...should be fun! :)

harvesting

Not much has changed since the last blog to be honest.

Alice is a little bigger and growing a lovely set of horns! Rita is getting a little frustrated with her, you can see in her face, she has that "now what can i get her to do" look... i wonder if goats ever suffer from baby blues after giving birth?
well they are both outside in the paddock at the moment, then its the turn of Sunny and the twins to go out....have notice that Tuppence has some udder development, i this she has come out in sympathy for Rita.
Getting two pints of Rita daily( we only milk her once a day at present), and a little under 500 ml from tuppence.

The ducklings turn out to be Runner Ducks...but yet to see if they are full runners or a cross breed...still yet to find out if they are male or female! i guess its one of those "we have to wait and see!" moments again.

Piglets arrive in a couple of weeks!! really looking forward to their antics!, my partner is busy trying to build a sty, and pen for them as well as housing for the runner ducks!

Any way... eggs ... lets not go there with eggs... we have far too many... enough said i think!

We are harvesting a lot more now...had some lovely lettuce out of the poly tunnel last night, and radish's are still as nice as ever!
Tomatoes are growing nicely, as are the peas, onions, leeks and curly Kale.

Had a lovely salad from the garden the other day, which included our very own goats cheese(thank you again Rita), and our own lamb salami (which was the very last of prudence, and was what my partner had so loving made)it was very nice.... but it was also a real "feel good" factor....knowing you had produced all these items yourself, and they had no hidden rubbish in them!

We were looking for elderflower again this year, to make more elderflower champagne ... but so far there has not been that many out ... or maybe they are a little late? who knows! i only know there are an awful lot of Rowan flowers out....i wonder can you make rowan flower champagne??

I am currently making honey mead and maple syrup mead, they seem to be doing very nicely...although i am a little confused...most recipes now days call for a Camden tablet in the wine!? why? years ago they didn't even hear of Camden tablets!...i must admit i will only use them for sterilizing the demi johns and will not put them in the wine!

Plenty to forage out there at the moment...sweet Cicely, comfrey, nettles ... wild garlic is nearly over though.....although if you know where they are, you can still eat the bulbs...just don't take too many!
Weather is all over the place, which doesn't help you when you are trying to get things sorted!, but that seems to be happening everywhere doesn't it.

well time to rest my back for 20 Min's before i start egg collecting ...pity there isn't a smiley section on here ....i need one for rolling eyes!

chat soon xx

A delay in blogging.

Sorry about the delay in my latest blog, I have been in hospital having Major surgery on my lower back, and although i am now home, I am still on lots of painkillers, so my keyboard suddenly swims right in front of my eyes, life becomes a happier place...and i fly away with the fairies...I am due to take these pills in 10 Min's so thought i had better write my blog while i can!

My parents arrived on the 15th to stay for a week, I felt a little bad for them, as i went into hospital on the 19th and before i left said "by the way Rita is due in two days and there are some chicks as well as the other livestock for you to look after while i am gone"... I don't think they were impressed, but they didn't show it if they weren't.

Well before i went in, we had received a couple of ducklings that were left abandoned at Thainstone, well actually there were three of them but we gave one to a friend who had hatch a single goose and her other eggs hadn't taken, so we gave her one so it had company.... but we still had two...they have grown a lot since my week away, and have gone from a fluffy yellow to a fluffy white...and are not looking their best at the moment

But are cute all the same.

Also the rescue hens that looked a bit worse for wear in their last photos...well they are looking a lot happier and laying extremely large eggs on a daily basis...when i say extremely large...i mean EXTREMELY large...they are bigger than the duck eggs!...its a small miracle in its self that they lay these oval, delicate, items...but to lay them so large must be down right painful for the hen...it would be the equivalent of a human laying a large rugby ball....i mean...ouch!!

Any way the hens are looking much better for their freedom...don't you think??

Well the biggest news is....the Friday 22nd may...while i was in hospital....about 4.30pm ...Rita gave birth to a lovely female kid which we have named Alice....she looks just like her mum, although she doesn't have the toggles that her mum has, and it already looks like she will have horns...she is lovely and lively even though she is only a few days old....so all together now... meet Alice...

Aaaaawwwwwwwwwwww!

And i am pleased to report that mum and baby are doing brilliantly!

Finally its good to enjoy the sunshine and the fruits of our labour, we have made cheese from Rita's milk, and had a lovely meal this evening that was all from the small holding...a quiche made with our own eggs, milk, cheese and onion, and lettuce and radishes from our garden....this is truly what a small holding is all about isn't it? ... enjoying the fruits of your own labour makes it all worth while!

Talking of enjoying the sunshine....will leave you with a photo of Penny, Tuppence and Sunny...enjoying the sunshine....while i go off to take my happy pills!....I may be gone for sometime ;-)

What a week.

What a week its been...

Saturday, we went to Thainstone rare breeds sale at the weekend...talk about disappointing.

We went to look at the four Anglo Nubian goats that were advertised in the catalogue and were up for auction.....when we got there though, there were only two, both billies and both castrated also they were in a sorry state...their feet had been clipped too sharply and so they were on tippy toes, their fur was falling out, either due to mange, worms or stress....probably all three. And they were hunched probably due to the fact they had to stand on tippy toes!

One thing you should know about goats are that they are very inquisitive and nosey...they like to know whats going on and who's doing it....these two in the market were at the far end of their pen and had their backs to people....if i had had the space i would of taken them on to bring them back to how they should be, but unfortunately...i don't have the space for animals that wont produce anything in return.

So we carried on past them and went to look at the pigs, there were loads of highland cows up for market, and one in particular was very stressed and bucking a lot....we walked passed the pen when we heard a voice shout..."clear the aisle please now" so we and about 20 other people were trying to get out of that aisle....bearing in mind that i had a walking stick and couldn't walk as fast as some of the others, it was then that i had realised they had let the bull that was going mad in the pen, loose!

it came charging past and the back end of it caught me and knocked me for six, was in agony, but didn't have time to think about it as the bull had taken an elderly man down, and he had hit his head on the curb, blood everywhere! the bull continued on down the passage knocking children and others out of its way...then it was silent....the elderly man was laying still, there was a man who was a first aider looking after him...and i gave up my coat to put under his head.

Once there was calm and order and the guy had been taken to hospital, we decided to go home...i spent a bit of the journey crying, without my partners knowledge(he worries enough about me as it is, didn't want him to worry more).

Well Sunday we went my partners house, the tenant has now left and we have decided to put the property up for sale, so it was a case of checking the place. I must admit i was a bit surprised in how much of the place was in a mess! So we spent the morning digging up the plants we wanted to keep, hiring a carpet cleaner to clean the stains and generally giving the place a good clean out.

Then it was on to a neeps meeting (north east Eco-friendly people's site, the link is at the top of this page), It was held at one of the neeps house, and no we didn't just sit and talk about how we were going to change the world on our own, its more of a social gathering, we all take something to swap, that can be anything, from plants to homemade jams etc. chat drink tea,coffee and its also a chance to buy from the coo-op...bulk orders and share it out...so for instance i order 6 large jars of honey, and only want 4 of them...someone else will usually buy the spares...its a good way of saving money. Anyway, we met some new neeps and had some homemade wine....which went well with the painkillers and i promptly went to sleep for a short while in the car back.

When we got home it was a nice surprise to see we have another hen laying eggs! so now that's seven eggs a day! My partner did some planting in the poly tunnel...and replanted the ones that we brought back from his house. we did seed watch(well checked the seedlings haven't been eaten by the chickens) and watered them in.....then it was off to check the animals, goats were happy enough, and Rita is as always screaming her head off because she is pregnant and she can !lol but it was lovely day in all.

Tuesday the nurse from the hospital came out to check the measurements of my furniture ready for when i come out of hospital, and my cousin came over from Inverness...i sent her back with 30 hen eggs and 6 duck eggs, she will give them to her sister who runs a Fraser house B&B in Inverness(again the link is above), so they wont go to waste.

Yes you probably gathered we now have a glut of eggs that are growing rapidly! You can only make so many things with eggs, curds, cakes, omelette's etc then you get stuck for ideas, but never mind...i can always freeze some for the winter time.

We had put eight duck eggs in the incubator...well two didn't take so we thought well six ducklings cant be bad, then yesterday one became bloody, so that one is out as well so now down to five.

My partner though is bringing three ducklings home with him, we don't know what breed they are, but they were left behind at Thainstone and the guy who works there has a daughter that works with my partner, so he was offered them(confused?? I am! lol), they were believed to of been dumped there after they were found under a table....so we have gained three on the three we lost.

Well its now Wednesday, and I am feeling the pain from overdoing it at the weekend so once i have made a cake and bread, i am going to sit on the firm sponge that the nurse gave me to raise the sofa up, and have a go at knitting my very first jumper...something i have never done before, and although i can knit the odd scarf or water bottle cover, i have never followed a pattern properly.

Must admit though, its really is a nice feeling to make your own things, whether its bread, rugs or knitting... you get a sense of achievement and you save pennies too...recently i made some homemade cards....

..

....and i am really pleased with them, they didn't cost a lot to make and there are no others like them....and i feel like i have achieved something this week having made them...i hope all that makes sense lol

Well i am off to put washing out and make that cake and loaf....chat soon xx

End of April

Well its been a hectic couple of weeks here, so a bit late in posting. We have had some friends staying up here for a long weekend, it was lovely to see them, but it also make you realise how much you miss seeing them, so was a bit down when they went back down to Sussex.

We did, however, re-fenced the paddock, after finding out that Penny is an escapologist and that she seemed to enjoy the farmers field more than her own, although it could of been just her telling the others that she could get out but they couldn't! Anyway, thankfully she hasn't found her way out of the new fencing yet!

The Poly tunnel is now up properly and my partner is chuffed to bits, Ahh yes, friends come up for a break, don't always realise they have to work when they get up here! My Partner on the other hand, is so pleased to have the tunnel up again that he has already got some seeds in there!

We have eggs galore! and a broody hen! not necessary in that order hahahha......we don't want any more hens just yet, so we will make use of our eggs in some way i am sure, as for the Broody hen........well she is sitting on half a dozen Cochin eggs, given to us from another friend of ours, who wanted to hatch some eggs without having to use the incubator this year, so it works out both ways.
The rescue hens have also started laying, so among the lovely white eggs we get the odd dark brown egg too, its nice to see that they have finally settled in.
I have also fixed the fencing for them this week...so hopefully we will be able to grow some vegetable seeds that wont be eaten before they have a chance to grow...blooming hens though....they realised they couldn't get out the side i altered...but found a new way to escape ..... back to the drawing board i guess!

Now i seem to remember i left you all hanging as to whether Rita is Pregnant or not....the out come is...YES Rita is pregnant and has about three and a half weeks to go...But... we are not sure if there is a kid in her or not.
I know that sounds daft, but goats can have "fluid babies"....which means, she will have all the fluid in the sack, but no kid....bit like a phantom pregnancy...I thought i felt a kick, when i held her side, but at the time she was barking at the dogs,(my friend brought her dog with her) so it could of been that i felt...but later on...I am sure i felt a couple of kicks, and Rita wasn't barking at that time...will just have to wait and see i guess
Which brings me on to the next frustrating bit!....the chicks, the ducklings(that we have in an incubator) and the kid are all due the week i am in hospital for surgery on my back...its also the week my parents arrive, typical! i will miss it all!
Mum and dad are coming up for two weeks in all, although the second week they are up to Thurso, so the week they are with me, is the week i am in hospital, and my partner will be at work! so if the birds hatch and the goat kids, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be when no-one is around to help them! so just in case i will have to leave them a list of things to do as well as a list of numbers to ring....in case they need help. I am sure they will be ok though.

well off to make a cuppa...anyone want me to make them one at the same time?? ..... no? Ok well i offered!

Life after easter

Well Easter came...along with my sister, 21yr old nephew, and two nieces 13 and 15ish i think.
We only have a two bedroom ed house, so it was full to the brim, and a whole weekend of chaos...but it was lovely as a lot of jobs got done.

My nephew helped my partner with cleaning the goat pens out, he surprised me as he really enjoyed it! but hey everyone one has strange tastes hahaha, the dog Ghillie really took to my nephew, so much so that he wanted to 'love' his arm, leg etc...yes you know what i mean ;-)

One day Penny had got into next doors field...had my partner one side of her, nephew other side, and me holding the barbed fence up to get her back in....was entertaining i can tell you, that goat ran rings round the two men ..... my sister nearly fell over in the paddock because she though the billy was going to butt her, when all he was doing was lowering his head to nibble the grass hahaha again i did chuckle, but not till they were all out of ear shot.
but now they have gone and the house seems empty and very quiet.

Its overcast today, so i should put the goats out, but I am keeping them inside, I can get the girls out no problem, but Sunny...well he is a different matter....and i cant put them out with out him, it just wouldn't be fair.
We did find Penny out of her pen in the barn yesterday, eating as much hay as she could....i think i am going to have fun with Penny, she seems to like escapology!

We have 8 duck eggs in the incubator at the moment, this will be our first time hatching ducks, so will be interesting to see if they hatch and how we cope with them...they are from our own flock of ducks so will be good to see if they are indeed fertile!

Well the Onions and peas are growing nicely along with the garlic and strawberries. not sure about how the carrots will do, as the bleeding cockerel and one of his hens keep escaping and i always find them scratching the carrot bed! sure he does it to wind me up!
But on a good note we have Rhubarb, and now the melon,corn on cob, and pumpkin shoots have started to grow....the poly tunnel looks nice and sturdy, just needs the covering on it now.
The duck pond will then need fixing, and so will the gate and fencing....but otherwise we seem to be on top of everything so far this year.

Only thing left is one question, still to be answered, Rita....is she or isn't she pregnant??

well the answer is...................watch this space ! that will keep you all guessing for now anyway hahaha

whos idea was it!?

Who's idea was it to have goats!
Had a terrible couple of days with them....yesterday it was sunny, who for some reason didn't was to go into the paddock with the girls. He decided to go to where the chickens are kept....so i went to guide him to where he belongs and he promptly butted me in the stomach and lifted me clean off my feet.....it all then happened in slow motion....i saw myself, flying through the air....then landing on my back on a pile of stones, which is painful enough, but even more so when you are waiting for a back operation....i think they probably heard me scream 10 miles away, the pain shot down my legs, and the tears did roll.
But he wasn't getting away with that no matter how much pain i was in....isn't it funny how much strength suddenly appears when you are stressed, hurt or angry....
Anyway he was going into the paddock, whether he wanted to or not... i grabbed his collar and his horns and promptly dragged him in the pen, shut the gate a walked away.....as i limped back to the house, i took a look back at the goats and at sunny....who promptly raised his top lip and did a raspberry at me! the Sod was laughing at me! I could see then, that i was going to have trouble with him after all!

Well that was all yesterday....today was a different day...or so i thought....
Do you wonder if animals chat and plot against humans during the night? I believe they do now as i am sure that's what happened last night, i am sure that Sunny plotted with the other goats on how they would wind me up today!

Today's events.

I put Rita in the paddock, as i always do and looked back to see sunny standing in the veg bed and the twins not out...normally they all follow Rita into the paddock without a problem.
So I shut the gate and and went to collected tuppence, as I put tuppence in the paddock, Rita shot out!
So I got Rita back in and tuppence shot out! Grrrr
So i tried a different tactic....if I got penny in then tuppence usually follows her....so after much chasing I got Penny in....not only did tuppence not follow her in but Rita got out!....still only one goat in the bleeding paddock....the air at this point was getting a little blue....especially when i looked over to see Sunny standing in the raised beds eating the veg seedlings!
So i ignored him for the time being...wanted to get the girls sorted first .... so on we go
...I got penny and Rita in and chased tuppence for what seemed an age, before catching her
opened gate to get tuppence in and yes you guessed it.....penny shot out....followed by Rita....now i was back to square one!
meanwhile sunny was eating all the plants he could find....grrrrrrr
I finally got Rita back in, tuppence to stay in and went to get a little feed in a bucket....this is what i should of done at the start! ... but you don't think of things like that when you haven't had this bother before!
This also was a bit of an escapade though!
As I dropped bucket on the barn floor and lost most of the feed!...I wasn't going back for more so I scooped back up what i could, back into the bucket...left the barn shaking the bucket to make a noise......while penny and sunny were eating what ever they could, the noise of the bucket which had very little in it attracted them both but i still only managed to get sunny in ... and still had to chase penny!
When i eventually caught penny I couldn't open gate with all the goats pressing against it...trying to get at the very nearly empty bucket.......eventually I got her in and put the feed on the floor for them to scuffle over!
and again as i walked away .... I got that same Raspberry as I got yesterday from Sunny!! I am sure he planned the whole thing!
He has been warned that he will be castrated if he plays up again!....although i cant do that as we need his seed....but don't tell him that eh...he is bad enough as it is!

and now i am off for a cuppa, a sit down maybe i should have a shot of something strong in my cuppa...for medicinal purposes only ....of course ;-)

New Live stock arrives!

We have some new live stock arrive on the farm this weekend, it all started with the arrival on Friday of four new hens that were rescued and suppose to be free range birds...so you expect healthy fully feathered birds, don't you?

well meet our four new hens....



they look a little worse for wear, and when they first arrived they ate like there was no tomorrow!!
This is how they will end up looking like after a little TLC

meet Kiev....

Although Kiev is from a friend and not a rescue hen...she has all the colourings and markings that the others should have!

They all seem to be settling in nicely ... although they don't mingle much yet.But i am sure they will eventually.

Then on Sunday we collected Sunny... a lovely but incredibly smelly billy goat...
he is very friendly, fell head over heels for Rita...but she is not interested at the moment

Meet Sunny....

huge motorbike style horns, although the previous owner said he can be a bit vicious at times...we have yet to see that side of him, I am sure we will at some point though.

I knew he smelt bad, due to being un castrated, but this morning i nearly fell over with the smell that had hit me as i opened the barn door! it was seriously strong!
To be honest though, i really don't mind the smell.....its just as well really....no the only thing that worried me is ..... how bad will i smell of billy when i go into somewhere like a city for shopping(not that i do that very often, last time was Christmas, i think), or going for a meal in some posh restaurant for instance(not that i do much of that either these days).... I am sure it wont be as noticeable as i think it will be, but to be sure...we are planning on getting a couple of boiler suits so any smell can go on that more than our clothes.

The other thing i have noticed is, the goats seem to love eating my daffodils this year, all the flower heads are strewn in a corner of the paddock, although i have yet to catch them doing this.

Was thinking of putting them outside today, but the wind has got up and there is one huge black cloud looming over head...so they have to stay in for now.

Well i have hay to dish out to the animals....so bye for now

A quiet time

Not too much has happened this last week or two.

Thanks to the lighter mornings, egg production has gone up to four hen and four duck, a day, and with four new hens arriving and two hens still to start laying....we have a glut of eggs! You can only make so many things with eggs, and only have so many cakes for the freezer, my partners sells some at work, which covers the cost of the bird feed nicely.



Goats have bonded well outside,
although they are back in now as the weather has turned, and with the forecast of snow for today....they wont be out for a couple of days by the sound of it.

Hoping the weather will be good on Sunday as we have another goat to collect, this one is called Sunny, he is an un castrated billy goat, so we will start to stink of billy no matter how hard we try not too!
Yes they really do smell, but only when un castrated. they are also less friendly that castrated billies too....so this will be interesting wont it?

The new poly tunnel cover arrived today....means yet another job to do! we had moved the frame for is fairly recently, and had the bent bars straighted, but putting the cover on is another matter....1st you have to dig a trench all the way round...then the cover goes on and you bury the access at the sides in the ditch.... then its down to origami and getting the folds right at the entrance and the back, before you, again bury the access to weight it all down....you got all that?...good....then you can help put it up!
Once its sorted of course, it will be a godsend, especially as its so windy here most of the time, it will mean some veg will have less wind damage.

My partner has been working hard at converting a small damp room in to a wonderful damp free art room, and i have to say he has done a wonderful job.....just don't tell him or his head will swell....anyway....that is were i am off to now....I have lots of crafts that need finishing....and one is a rug made from old towels!

bye for now xx

this last week

Well the last week was a bit quieter I have to say.

We moved some blackcurrant bushes, and split them...so now we have 20ish of them and not just twelve of them!
bought some red currant, gooseberry and blackberry plants .... so hope we will get a nice crop from them too!
Poly tunnels bars were straightened, thanks to a black smith friend, and put into place where they belong, just need to replace the plastic for it now.... didn't realise we were going to get so much wind living up here, with the loss of two goat shelters and a tunnel, we have had to re think where everything will go...hence the move around.

The three goats have sorted out who's in charge(no guesses who it is again)...and are happy in the paddock together.
But we now have this question over our heads....is she? or isn't she? Rita that is, is Rita pregnant or not? we had originally thought not, but she is making a lot of noise and has put on some weight...I think not, just access winter fat that now needs to burn off...my partner however thinks she could be.....my theory is, if i think not then i wont be disappointed if it turns out she isn't, and if she is, then it will be a nice surprise!
Either way, we will just have to wait and see, but if she is, then it will be a May birth!

Well its another beautiful day outside, just done 'seed watch' and pleased to see the Garlic are doing well, there are also a couple of onions poking through, and the rhubarb is also doing well.
We planted the potatoes and peas and now just have to wait a little while.

We are also clearing an area so we can make another pen....this time to house a couple of wieners(piglets to you)...which will arrive later in the year...and eventually we will invite the two pigs for dinner ;-)

Had a phone call from my son down in Sussex recently...love hearing from him....anyway he and his girlfriend are planning a visit in July ish...i am really looking forward to it...but it does mean i will also have to sort some jobs out on the farm for him...they were brilliant at sorting the barn last time....but this time i have a cunning plan...something i know he will love to help with ....am going to get him to build a clay oven! something we have been looking at doing for some time....along with a thousand other jobs....but have put on the back boiler as it was not a priority, but with him up here...then i can move it forward and my partner can concentrate of the farming side while i concentrate on the livestock side!

well i must dash, will chat soon x

Strange days

Funny, I thought that it was going to be a quiet week this week, thought it would be easier to post a blog note about once a week maybe.
But I was very wrong...it's only Tuesday and its been chaos already....or at least it feels like it.

We had trouble in the garden....the problem was, last year we hatched our first chicks, only 6 of them, but for us it was lovely to see, one died, it was squashed by its mother....the other 5 (3 boys and 2 girls)however, thrived and still are thriving...
but the problem came to light when the hens all came into lay, the two brothers fought, and it got bad, blood every where!
We had no choice, we had to split them up! My partner built a new penned area for the black cockerel(known as BB, short for Bargain Bucket), and we gave him 3 hens to keep him company, the other 3 hens stayed with Beaky, the Orange Cockerel.....first all was well but the hens were restless, they didn't like the change or being separated.... Beaky led them over the wall to the Veg patch, where they kept scratching to theirs hearts content....well till i spotted them and chased them back, this became a game i am sure of it for the birds...i would chase them in at least 4 times a day! it was bad enough keeping them out of the veg beds and stopping them eating the seeds we had planted (thankfully only onion sets garlic and peas, although the rhubarb had also come up, and they had damaged a couple of them)but when they found out where BB was...I was out there even more often keeping the cockerels apart .....again!

Then I heard Rita making one hell of a racket...I remember thinking at the time...whats upset her now....when i went to the sitting room window(the best view of the barn and its open door), i came face to face to face with the twin goats!!
Oh hell they have escaped!
So out i go again...trying to get them into the barn ...which is no mean feat on your own i can tell you....then once in the barn, it was getting them into the pens...Ghillie didn't help! daft dog thought it was a game and herded them back out again Grrr....as i go out to the veg patch to get the goats back in i spy the the chickens in the bed! More grrr!
Goats eventually got the hint, and went to their pen! phew! Chickens, well they carried on for a few days more...until today.
BB went today, no not that way...he has a lovely home with a friend of mine, her cockerel died recently, so BB will be boss of his own flock!

So you would think that would put everything back to normal.....well sort of, I had to get the girls that were with BB back to Beaky....tipsy was fine....i just picked her up and threw her over the wall....Martha was also not too bad..... i had to chase her for about 5 Min's...then finally used the crook of my walking stick to stop her in her tracks and again just picked her up.
No the problem was Bertha...in and out of the trees, in the paddock, out the paddock...all about the houses grrrr after nearly half an hour and a very sore back....i finally got her in!!
All is now quiet and the birds seem a lot happier...but tomorrow is another day!
and of course we will have to plant some more peas!!

All this and there is still the rest of the week to go!! ho hum!

New arrivals!

Well the two angoras went to a new home yesterday, it was someone we know and so we also know they will be well looked after.


My friend arrived about 11am ish with her trailer, and we lined it up with the barn, i had geared myself up for a real fight with getting Daisy into the trailer, and was expecting to chase Banjo around the farm before we got him in, but to my surprise, it went very smoothly, especially as earlier that morning things were not looking too good for me. I had already fallen over and landed in the goat muck while trying to feed the chickens, and had also had to chase the same chickens when they had gotten into the veg patch, unfortunately they managed to break some of the rhubarb spears that had just poked through the ground! Grrrr


Anyway, I was really surprised that as i took Daisy into the trailer, without too much of a fight, that Banjo had followed quite happily!


We drove up the lane and took it easy as we went till we arrive at my friends place, where we unloaded the two new arrivals into their pen, much to the amusement to the other nosey animals.





After a few Min's of getting paper work sorted etc, we were off again, and again with trailer in tow, to the next stop, the new (to us) Saanen goats.
met with another friend who i was getting them from and after a bit of a struggle, we got them safely loaded into the trailer, it was hard work getting them in, so i was dreading getting them out again!
but again i was worrying over nothing, and they came out very easily , and it was quite hassle free.


So meet .........
Penny and Tuppence!

Tuppence is on the right of this picture.

both the goats are lovely, although a little skittish at the moment, Penny more so than Tuppence...Tuppence will come to see who you are, but Penny is the first to look over the fence at you.
Poor Rita looks totally confused with it all...especially as they look like her but a lot smaller! she is constantly just standing...staring at them lol maybe she thinks she is loosing the plot lol
I just hope they all get along ok.

Our neighbour came over yesterday evening too, he needed the OH help in delivering a calf...I had rang him earlier telling him that on of the cows seem to be struggling to give birth, about an hour later he turned up and asked for my partners help, he was over joyed to help too, it gave him some idea in what to expect when we have kids from the goats.
so about an hour after he had gone to help, he was back with a big grin on his face...the result was a black calf with a white dot on his forehead!


Today seems a bit uneventful in comparison to yesterday, although i have topped up the pond for the ducks, chased the chickens again, spotted a fox for the first time in this area(will keep and eye out for that one again)....watched the deer play, put the washing on, and out.
Chatted to the neighbour about his calf...and now doing this ...

am off now to do dishes, cut some hedging, chase the chickens...and all before lunch...

We start again!

So we have now started again!

The Poly tunnel is now moved into the walled garden area...and when the support beam is straightened...will hopefully be complete in time to start planting..we are hoping that the tunnel will be more sheltered now....fingers crossed.

One of the hen houses is now in the Paddock thanks to the two cockerels tearing each others faces off!, and poor hens don't know if they are Arther or Martha!

The ducks don't seem very fussed about all this movement and change...although one of the female duck does like to give another female duck a piggy back now and then.....if you know what i mean ;-)

We are also moving all the fruit bushes and trees into the walled garden too....this in theory will mean that we will be able to plant more fruits and there will be less chance of the goats eating them before we do!, It also means that we can have a couple of bee hives in there too, Ideal for the bees as there will be plenty of flowers to pollinate for them...although we will have to fence that area away from the chickens!

If this all works well...we will hopefully put a nice little seating area in there too...so we can sit and enjoy....although that may be a long way off yet, especially as we are making this walled garden area sound huge! when its actually very small! But again its all trial and error isn't it.

The area where the tunnel and the currant bushes were, will be cleared and fenced off...hopefully before June!...then his nibs will build a shelter big enough for two....pigs! yep we are getting just a couple for fattening up for Christmas!

We did the same last year with a sheep called prudence,

she thought she was one of the goats for a while, she was a lovely sheep, and was very tempted to keep her and breed from her, but i put my foot down on that one.... we want to be goat farmers ...so must stick to what we want and not wavier too far off the path.

when we took her to the abattoir, it was hard...we were sad, but by a few days later when we were tucking into lamb chops...we had forgotten about the sadness...and looked at the money we had saved.

We also turned her skin into a lovely sheepskin rug...so she will always be with us!

As well as a pair of slippers for my son!

There is also a new Goat shelter up in the paddock....well it was a garden shed given to us by a friend who decided that it was no longer of use to them...so perfect for our goats, although the goats were straight into it(mainly as we put hay in it), and they learnt to shelter from the wind in it...the minute it rained they screamed blue murder to go in the Barn! Still they are in for a shock too, soon.

Daisy has been sheared and Banjo half sheared....then its the dusting of Louse powder...which smells like liquorice...Banjo is only half sheared as he is so fidgets so much...we still have to do his tummy area, around the delicate bits down to his legs...also the top of his head...so at the moment he looks more like a poodle than a goat!...but we will win this battle with him, whether he likes it or not!

Thursday coming, Daisy and Banjo are off to their new home, the reason we are getting rid of them is because Daisy was just to keep Rita company...Banjo was a surprise...but neither are of use to us...I don't use their wool, but a friend of ours will and that's where they are off to.

Rita wont be alone though, we are collecting two new goats the same day, they are twin Saanen's, so a smaller version of Rita...Also we will be getting a Billy goat too, but he arrives later when we get the pen ready for him...

Why are we getting a Billy instead of borrowing one?.....well... we did borrow one from our vet...Puck his name was and a real gentleman towards Rita...she was with him 4 times in all, then he died...... we hunted for another one, and found one with a friend of ours....her Billy wasn't so friendly ..in fact he didn't even want Rita to go!...but she didn't take...and we rang to re arrange...that's when we found out he too had died! Poor Rita, she was given the nickname "the black widow!"...none of it was her fault...it turns out that Billy goats go sterile about a month or two before they die...and it had just been bad luck.

It was too late to find another billy now, the season was over, and we couldn't find one we could borrow, but then we were given a tip...the Gamrie goat soap lady had a billy, he was no use as he was related to all her goats now, and he was only two!... so no chance of him dropping anytime soon....we went out to meet her and the billy(sunny), and fell in love with him...so we just have to get the pens strong enough to hold him...then we can collect him anytime we are ready....which also means Rita gets a reprieve.....for now at least...