I thought I'd title this post in sort of honour to DD who managed to sit on a wasp at tennis camp the other week AND in true dramatic 6 year old fashion can STILL complain now of it! Still. The event heralded the next of our 'great plagues' and just as the apples begin to swell so the wasps have decided it's holiday time. This means 2 things - firstly the traps have to be dug out of the garage and hung up and secondly Horsley will still, try to lick them and be stung on various occasions on his nose resulting in allegro sneezing and licking of said nose.
The biggest concern of this past week has been managing the land. Huge cracks have appeared and a new gate we had erected is coming loose thanks to the arid conditions. Even the recent thunderstorms and deluges haven't touched the surfaces and not only is the condition a worry but the refusal of grass to grow is a real threat to our livestock. The thistles are seeding and need hacking out else the fields will just be overrun with them next year. As a self confessed semi-lizard and lover of all things bright, yellow and smiley from the sky I've never really enjoyed the wet - mostly as it dulls the complexion say nothing of the tan. But actually, guys, this is getting a bit serious - a bit like the never ending rain of winter and spring (and most of last summer for that matter) got a bit serious, so the land situation is becoming now. We have lush, grazing pasture that has been maintained from 1600's for this but it's not lush, green or anything other than straw like at the minute. So. Yep. St Tropez bottle as insurance for 'top up' I begin my rain dances... I apologise now to fellow lizards.
The conditions have also meant the red mites are mega this year for chicken keepers, the sheep are lying low to keep the flies away and I never got any highlights put in at my recent hair appointment as the sun has already turned them a tad 'Katie Price in July.' Looks like glossy brunette is heading back into my life then! DH's credit card sleeps a little easier... Going back to the red mite thing though - I learned through the accidental smallholder forum that these things can live ON ME. As if I don't already live in fear of going to the hairdressers and being told I have the big N.I.T.S (don't forget I work in a school) I swanned into Trevor Sorbie on Saturday expecting them to tell me I had red mite! Seriously, too many bugs about! Mind you, used to say that on an average Saturday girls night out in Liverpool...
So there's the weekly update. I've had so many lovely comments and tweets sent to me about the restyle of the blog, keep them coming! For those who have enquired about the new addition Blaze - he continues to settle in well. A little too well....now he can eat an egg whole (better than a hen I suppose) thus removing any evidence and managed to steal, eat then leave most of my treat - eat which was a wholemeal pastry med veg pasty. Cheers Blaze. We had Chester's ashes back this week also and scattered them in what is now 'Chester's Field' which we had a little oak plaque made up for him. Of course, as we made the sentimental gesture so the packed number 29 went past (nosy aren't yer?), Horsley ran off and DD fell off a pile of logs. Ah well, the choccie one would have known he was well and truly 'home' then!
Weather: Bit nippy - only 23 degrees and partly sunny today. No rain though despite the forecast for overnight stuff last night.
Scouse in the South
Monday, 12 August 2013
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Promises and Pie Crusts...
...are there to be broken. Or so Jonathan Swift once quoted. It's been a long time but whilst DD is 'busy' (being 6 means you have, 'like, so little time for like, really hanging around') and my sanity and patience are once again being tested by Mother Nature I thought I'd better bring this blog 'Stateside and dope' Ok, Will i Am I am not and it's more 'Sussex-side' but the blog has at least been redesigned and brought up date.
Where do I start? Probably the beginning is a good place. I'll synopsis it all and then if any of you want more info and detail you can comment or contact me. How's that? Blog this is. War and Peace it aint. Well...I've discovered orange is a fab colour for setting off the tan and that turquoise is a wearable colour now I'm in my 30's. The Dior Jelly Pen is lipgloss in a pen and talking of age, the use of an eye corrector has become necessary thanks to the 5:45am starts. Joules are the latest word in wellies (currently sporting the fox prints) and my love of 'the tank' aka the Volvo has subsided slightly due to the damn fine Jag F type. Oh a girl can dream...and have some Tiffany shades (thank you DH) to look good in it... Oh wait...this is the smallholding blog isn't it? The fashion and beauty blog comes when I look as good as Liz Hurley does at her age Ahem! That'll be never then (I can hear your sighs of relief btw.)
Well Horsley is still with us. A depressive during winter but full on OCD with rabbits over summer. He's lost a shed load of weight and is really fit and well at the mo given his leg condition. Our newest addition Blaze has contributed to that mind you. Nothing like a bit of competition! Glory Blaze is a part trained lab, 18 months old and (read carefully now) replaced the ill fated Chester. Chester we bought in Feb this year as a companion and successor for Horsley. Funny how life works out isn't it? Chester was diagnosed with Canine EPI and we had to have him put to sleep at 14 months old. Many a tale to tell and blog to write on our experiences of that one but maybe later hey?
Floss, Misty, Roxy and Penny have Jack for company thesedays but given his size and demands 'Jack The Lad' might have to find himself a new abode. However. Floss is currently broody (I discovered this when I was pecked off the nest box) and the chicks due mid August so watch this space... Our first (and her first) attempts at all this. Naturally, as regular readers will know, things rarely go to plan here and the day after we moved Floss into a brooder area we discovered a red mite problem (google it and enjoy the itching people) so have had double the work cleaning continuously 2 areas...
The sheep. Well, all long term Mums are with us. Hiltz, our sheep with needs, didn't acknowledge her lamb (McQueen naturally) and so we bottle fed him. Hiltz was a complete drama queen over labour and created another 'stupid city girl' moment in having to ask our local farmer for assistance convinced she was dying in front of us only to be told 'she's just being lazy drag her up.' Now, I was going to answer back thinking back to how I would have responded to that instruction after a long winded delivery but figured I'd just do as he suggested. I did and immediately felt the squelch of maggot soaked wool. Yep, new Mum, lamb rejected, caked in flystrike. Lovely. Oh and this happened in the mozzie infested area of the fields. Oh the glamour! All other Mums did brilliantly producing twins each, all unaided so we have 11 lambs - split evenly between ram and ewe. We have selected 3 for keeps to add to the breeding stock - Faye, Lily and Saturn (I know. DD was doing a Space topic though and she named the last set of twins Jupiter and Saturn. Better than Uranus mind....) They will add to Dolly & Dors (my 'double D's with udders to match), Minty, Rosemary and Bonnie. Hiltz will be retiring from active service and Ollie, my lovely Ollie was barren this year. I'm going to give her another year though as she'd make a wonderful Mum.
We have no pigs at the moment, leaving the land to recover. Many of you know we take our pork production seriously so we have reseeded the piggery to allow the new piglets fresh grass to churn over and eat. It's only fair... We haven't replaced the ducks either as quite frankly there's enough poo in my life with the present menagerie. In other wildlife news the annual swallows have returned but drama has lay there too. The first hatchlings fell out the nest and of the current 2nd lot, only 2 remain as 2 fell out the nest. My theory for this (and no, I'm not like that annoying all-knowing bloke off Springwatch) is it's been so dry and hot the nests have lacked moisture in their structures and so have crumbled away. The annual flying ant and grasshopper infestations have appeared and despite the dire winter and spring there are more butterflies around this year than last but not as many and not as varied as the year before that. The bats still house in our eves and one even decided to appear in the lounge last month entirely freaking me out to the point I spilt my prosecco down me.
Well it's not as efficient and perfectly maintained and organised as Adam and his farm (Countryfile - yep, I'm well in my 30's now aren't I?) but I couldn't imagine life without the land and it continues to bond the family together, provide us with new experiences and learning and give us reason to get up each morning and greet the day. Nature is cruel but magnificent and it continues to inspire me and provide with my inspiration for literary writing, thoughts and poetry. It's why I'm back. AND, I will wholeheartedly endeavour to stay back. It all went a bit Pete Tong when DH was kicked out the City last Nov and was driving me mad being around the house and land. But. As each new season appears so does opportunity and the Boden catalogue along with my needs in clothes and make up and so DH found his mojo again (my nagging is quite spectacular at times as was the 'to do' list), the family team move onwards again and DH is back doing his stuff in a big way. Me? Well, I'm going to give teaching a crack as clearly I don't have enough to fill my days. It'll be a long road to train and work but I decided the world of education needed an ex-private sector ethic in it and it's going to need a bit of scouse glamour too. Given it's current state of affairs I'm going to need the infamous scouse humour too!
Updates a plenty soon. Any thoughts or comments on the new look just tweet or get in touch!
Love to all x
Weather: Hot Hot Hot! Tan rating: teabag brown! 26 degrees, sunny, utterly delightful. Downs are clear and soul is lifted!
Where do I start? Probably the beginning is a good place. I'll synopsis it all and then if any of you want more info and detail you can comment or contact me. How's that? Blog this is. War and Peace it aint. Well...I've discovered orange is a fab colour for setting off the tan and that turquoise is a wearable colour now I'm in my 30's. The Dior Jelly Pen is lipgloss in a pen and talking of age, the use of an eye corrector has become necessary thanks to the 5:45am starts. Joules are the latest word in wellies (currently sporting the fox prints) and my love of 'the tank' aka the Volvo has subsided slightly due to the damn fine Jag F type. Oh a girl can dream...and have some Tiffany shades (thank you DH) to look good in it... Oh wait...this is the smallholding blog isn't it? The fashion and beauty blog comes when I look as good as Liz Hurley does at her age Ahem! That'll be never then (I can hear your sighs of relief btw.)
Well Horsley is still with us. A depressive during winter but full on OCD with rabbits over summer. He's lost a shed load of weight and is really fit and well at the mo given his leg condition. Our newest addition Blaze has contributed to that mind you. Nothing like a bit of competition! Glory Blaze is a part trained lab, 18 months old and (read carefully now) replaced the ill fated Chester. Chester we bought in Feb this year as a companion and successor for Horsley. Funny how life works out isn't it? Chester was diagnosed with Canine EPI and we had to have him put to sleep at 14 months old. Many a tale to tell and blog to write on our experiences of that one but maybe later hey?
Floss, Misty, Roxy and Penny have Jack for company thesedays but given his size and demands 'Jack The Lad' might have to find himself a new abode. However. Floss is currently broody (I discovered this when I was pecked off the nest box) and the chicks due mid August so watch this space... Our first (and her first) attempts at all this. Naturally, as regular readers will know, things rarely go to plan here and the day after we moved Floss into a brooder area we discovered a red mite problem (google it and enjoy the itching people) so have had double the work cleaning continuously 2 areas...
The sheep. Well, all long term Mums are with us. Hiltz, our sheep with needs, didn't acknowledge her lamb (McQueen naturally) and so we bottle fed him. Hiltz was a complete drama queen over labour and created another 'stupid city girl' moment in having to ask our local farmer for assistance convinced she was dying in front of us only to be told 'she's just being lazy drag her up.' Now, I was going to answer back thinking back to how I would have responded to that instruction after a long winded delivery but figured I'd just do as he suggested. I did and immediately felt the squelch of maggot soaked wool. Yep, new Mum, lamb rejected, caked in flystrike. Lovely. Oh and this happened in the mozzie infested area of the fields. Oh the glamour! All other Mums did brilliantly producing twins each, all unaided so we have 11 lambs - split evenly between ram and ewe. We have selected 3 for keeps to add to the breeding stock - Faye, Lily and Saturn (I know. DD was doing a Space topic though and she named the last set of twins Jupiter and Saturn. Better than Uranus mind....) They will add to Dolly & Dors (my 'double D's with udders to match), Minty, Rosemary and Bonnie. Hiltz will be retiring from active service and Ollie, my lovely Ollie was barren this year. I'm going to give her another year though as she'd make a wonderful Mum.
We have no pigs at the moment, leaving the land to recover. Many of you know we take our pork production seriously so we have reseeded the piggery to allow the new piglets fresh grass to churn over and eat. It's only fair... We haven't replaced the ducks either as quite frankly there's enough poo in my life with the present menagerie. In other wildlife news the annual swallows have returned but drama has lay there too. The first hatchlings fell out the nest and of the current 2nd lot, only 2 remain as 2 fell out the nest. My theory for this (and no, I'm not like that annoying all-knowing bloke off Springwatch) is it's been so dry and hot the nests have lacked moisture in their structures and so have crumbled away. The annual flying ant and grasshopper infestations have appeared and despite the dire winter and spring there are more butterflies around this year than last but not as many and not as varied as the year before that. The bats still house in our eves and one even decided to appear in the lounge last month entirely freaking me out to the point I spilt my prosecco down me.
Well it's not as efficient and perfectly maintained and organised as Adam and his farm (Countryfile - yep, I'm well in my 30's now aren't I?) but I couldn't imagine life without the land and it continues to bond the family together, provide us with new experiences and learning and give us reason to get up each morning and greet the day. Nature is cruel but magnificent and it continues to inspire me and provide with my inspiration for literary writing, thoughts and poetry. It's why I'm back. AND, I will wholeheartedly endeavour to stay back. It all went a bit Pete Tong when DH was kicked out the City last Nov and was driving me mad being around the house and land. But. As each new season appears so does opportunity and the Boden catalogue along with my needs in clothes and make up and so DH found his mojo again (my nagging is quite spectacular at times as was the 'to do' list), the family team move onwards again and DH is back doing his stuff in a big way. Me? Well, I'm going to give teaching a crack as clearly I don't have enough to fill my days. It'll be a long road to train and work but I decided the world of education needed an ex-private sector ethic in it and it's going to need a bit of scouse glamour too. Given it's current state of affairs I'm going to need the infamous scouse humour too!
Updates a plenty soon. Any thoughts or comments on the new look just tweet or get in touch!
Love to all x
Weather: Hot Hot Hot! Tan rating: teabag brown! 26 degrees, sunny, utterly delightful. Downs are clear and soul is lifted!
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