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