Nearly at the end of the long haul now, wishing you a very Happy Christmas, and warmest wishes for a peaceful and fulfilling new year.
We've made a little slideshow of our year, somewhat tongue-in-cheek ! Please have the speakers turned on for full effect. The second link works better on mobile devices (it may download the slideshow to your phone first)
We've filled the glazed end of the greenhouse with tomato plants, using a trick we've seen elsewhere planting bottomless pots into grow bags, giving the toms deeper soil, easier watering, and something to place the stake in. Really hope we can dodge the blight this year.
The fruit bush cutting we were given last autumn have taken and are starting to fruit so we had to protect them so we knocked up a frame with 2 x 1 and covered it with netting.
Cowley out Large Black gilt gave birth last night. We had 9 beautiful little black pigs delivered between 7pm and 10pm. Number 8 was hard to deliver and Mary had to help get him out 9 has white feet and 10 came as a surprise after we thought it had all stopped.
Sorry for the lack of pics but the camera stopped working on the night
For a flightless bird the crog loft above the garage is not an easy place to access. Well our white hen chose up here to lay 12 eggs and start nesting
So to then choose a slippery old bath as a nesting spot seems ridiculous. I think the chicks would never get out, at least saving them from the fall to the floor
So she and her eggs have been re-located to a straw lined nesting box
Our lady turkey has been sitting on a mixture of turkey and guinea fowl eggs I just saw her out this afternoon with 8 poults and 3 keets. She and the boys are being very protective
On Tuesday night Doyle was restless and had built herself a nest with the straw in the house and it looked like her time was due. After sitting with her until midnight, I went back at 2.00am and saw no progress. I went back again at 4.00am to see a little spotty piglet by her nose - the clearest sigh that delivery was in progress! The piglet wouldn't suckle and a few moment later a black package popped out. It was wet and wriggly. I wiped its nose with straw and it was breathing. I texted Mary with the news and she came over with tea. I tried to get the babies to suckle but if they squeaked Doyle reacted and moved around and I thought they might be squashed. I put them in a straw filled box under the heat lamp.
Shortly after another spotty one arrived shortly followed by another black one.
Then we waited, around 6.00 we had another spotty one and I went to wake the boys. When I was gone another black one came which Mary delivered. We were now at 6.
The boys were thrilled and cuddled and played with them took pictures which they printed off and took to school. But I could still not get Doyle to stay still and allow them to feed. I called Derek a local experienced pig keeping friend who came over to look. 2 more arrived, spotty then black (keeping the pattern) but we still could not get Doyle to settle with them.
Derek then had to pop out so I kept retrying to reintroduce them one by one with her occasionally getting up and scattering piglets and keeper. eventually by stroking her belly continuously and putting a pig board between her belly and head so the babies could not bother her, and she started to accept them. Derek returned and was happy with her position.
She was still straining and so probably had one or more in her. She kept this up until around 10.30 when a really big spotty one came out, this one did not look good with an enlarged tongue hanging out but it did start breathing when we wiped it down. Derek then had to go and a few minutes later another spotty one popped out. Now we had 10. This one was well and started suckling quickly. We had more tea and, the afterbirth came and eventually after much watching Mary and I went for lunch.
Later that day Mary and I had a disagreement about how many black piglets we had. I said 4 Mary said 5 as that is what she had counted when she sneaked back for a look at them. After much counting we discovered that it was 5 and the total was now 11 - one had been born while we were having lunch and they had just got on with it.
The greenhouse frame is up, I just need to sort out runners for the doors. We have enough glass for 2 sections so they ca go in when the wind drops, the rest will wait until the autumn.
After losing the whole of a lovely bed of lettuce and beetroot seedlings to our pesky scratching hens we've enclosed the allotment area. So far, so good (just don't tell then there's a back way in via the bluebells)
I've been training since January and I'm running 5km this weekend to raise money for Cancer Research, in memory of Mum. If you would like to sponsor me, I'd be very grateful, its very easy, please see below.
Sine we got 2 girls ducks last weekend we had too many boys, who were showing very little interest in the girls. Now we only have 1 boy (the other is in the fridge) he is showing some adolescent interest in the girls and they are bonding.
Last autumn we were lucky enough to be given some fruit canes; raspberries, blackcurrents, redcurrents and tayberries, and we knocked up some raised beds for them. Imagine our joy when we found them all in bud last week. Further advise from Monty Don was that wood ash is very good for increasing soft fruit yield, so we've weeded the beds, and topped them up with ash from the fire, and soil from last years leek beds.
