Porkers.

As you may have seen in the new pics the porkers have arrived. 8 weeks old (and counting!) They arrived in a dog cage in the back of the Volvo and most indignantly were pulled out by DH by their hind legs squealing all the way! Having celebrated Spot & Stripe's arrival by having a joint of roast pork with apple sauce, almost a week has now passed successfully. Most importantly, they haven't escaped. Always a bonus but when you appreciate that you can stand on an adult pigs snout (not recommended BTW - seriously, why would you?) then these fellas can dig. I wonder why John Fowler went to all that trouble inventing the plough when all he needed was a handful of pigs AND get lunch afterwards from them? Within an hour a quarter of their pen was dug over! Well pigs happiest in sh*...mud so they say... certainly true so far. They love apples and I'm very happy to feed them our misshapes off the trees. I wonder if we'll get that subtle taste of apple running through them....? Thankfully, so far DD hasn't bonded in a girly 'need to baby this pig' type way. I've explained to her that S&S are here to grow then we'll get the meat from them which is lovely and fresh and homegrown and were so lucky. At 4 years old she had the bluntness to state 'so we're going to eat them are we?' 'Errr, yes darling.' was my reply!


Having picked the last few raspberries off the canes this week (fresh raspberries in October!) I hacked them down and gave one to the sheep - it seems to be a hit! So, waste solution for the canes!! Speaking of the sheep they remain as disgusting as ever, poo in their wool, poo everywhere in fact. They smell vile  and most of the time have half a hedge or bramble tangled in their fleece but are as tame as a pet dog and Ollie and Bonnie go wild at not being allowed through the gate with Horsley. They chase H like another dog would do and H is so dappy he just plays along and wonders why the jealous Dolly and Dors then come over to butt him! Anyway, I am still astonished by Hiltz's lack of any sort of brain cell (this week she stood in the feed trough as the food was poured in, then climbed out and tried to eat underneath the trough...) and also bloomin annoyed at her. As she tried racing me to get around the gate (the boot on her head restraining her making no difference whatsoever) I caught my best Diesel jeans on the barbed wire and yep, almost 5 years of these great jeans shredded by that bloomin' sheep!


The ducks are as loopy as ever. Still no sign of eggs or of Pongo becoming a man but he has developed his drake curl in his tail now. I don't know, maybe that will get some testosterone flowing through him? Come the spring I'm going to be mightily unimpressed if the eggs (when they finally start appearing) aren't fertilised and I can't incubate them! This lot are also so much more messier than the last lot - they need a lot more fresh bedding, they dig and get filthy and stink! However, they are soft as a duvet (now there's an idea!) and I do give them a wash every now and again. Well, the girls wouldn't want a smelly drake no matter how handsome Pongo might be (a little bit TOO handsome methinks) and Pongo, I'm sure would like his girls well presented. No excuse for letting yourself go as you get older you know!


Aside from duck and pig house cleaning over the weekend I'm going to try and lay off any heavy work, my back is crying out for a good rub (oh where is my lovely Thai man from New York's Greenwich Hotel who crawled on my back on all fours and clicked and cracked my body back into place?) having carted a full wheelbarrow of apples a mile to the barn from the house then tipped them into a rat/squirrel/fox/owl/rabbit proof container and then decided to swap the sackloads of pig, sheep and duck food around. My bones are City bones and I'm in awe of true 'country people' who just lift these sacks and bales around like it contains just a new pair of boots from Selfridges and maybe a bottle of Lanson Rose as 'extra weight.'


Have a great weekend
Mx



Weather: Been dry all week, gloriously sunny and very mild. Beautiful autumn walking weather. Clarity superb. Bit chillier today 18 degrees.

Fresh from the sun

Well, having enjoyed the highs of 29 degrees here in Sussex at the weekend I'm now back to the usual Autumn paraphernalia - gilets and boot socks (Hunter lilacs to match naturally - DD too!) So resembling a slightly pastel coloured Michelin Man I have now resigned myself to the fact my hands will never feel warm again till May and that my gilet will catch on every Hawthorn prickle, bramble and barbed wire spike going! Still I have an autumn tan.


The raspberries are at an end - doubt any will be good after the weekend and the apples are on the turn (those left on the trees anyway) Not many blackberries left either. Just waiting for some more sloe berries to ripen then there'll be more gin to be made. Looks like if we get snowed in again it'll be gin and sackfuls of frozen raspberries and apple pies! 


Nature wise, the owls are going nuts, the rabbits full of mixi (ask my dog!) the stoats come out in broad daylight and interestingly the swallows are still here - I think this is the latest I have seen them here. Foxy Loxy (as DD calls them) is out with vengeance and I fear for my ducks at night. Thankfully he/she seems interested in the many rabbit, wood pigeon and cat - yes CAT! Not a pleasant sight at 7 in the morning and not an easy conversation with a 4 year old wondering what Foxy Loxy had had for supper last night that was black and white fur!!


Anyway, pig ark arrived yesterday and fencing getting done tomorrow with the logging of the felled tree hopefully. All things being equal Spot and Stripe arrive Sunday! Watch this space for pics! The sheep have been moved onto a field with better pasture as their nutrient needs become greater at this time of year. This means it's like some Gladiator gauntlet run through the field so as not to get butted and mobbed by the now very hefty sheep! Have to have a think about doing the dreaded toe clipping on them too before winter sets in. The ducks are as loopy as ever with Pongo still unsure about the whole leadership gig in life being overwhelmed by Jemima mostly. No eggs yet but they are maturing - they don't freak out when I'm within 20 metres of them, they are nesting in their pond areas but they are becoming mature sadly right at the time they would stop laying! Oh well, spring duck eggs to look forward to. 


More soon!


Mx

Weather: Cold, cloudy but none of the gales and battering my hometown's been receiving!