Lovely weather for ducks

The last few days have been very wet. I missed most of it  as I was stuck in the car travelling. However, it is, as they say, lovely weather for ducks and it is thus apposite that they arrived today. Six ducklings have joined or small poultry enterprise. There may soon be more as we met a man at the farmers' cooperative who may be able to supply is with turkeys. This would leave us enough time to get them ready for christmas and might solve all our present problems.

In addition we have now got an incubator working and hopefully in three weeks or so we may expand our flock of chickens. This is the most basic version where you have to manually turn the eggs but the cost sis very reasonable. We'll soon know if Geoff is firing blanks or not.

Mae hi'n braf, yn y diwedd

The day started off wet and grey, We spent the morning inside low-lying  cloud, there was no colour and no visibility past a few hundred yards. This prompted me to create a shelter where I could work on the timber store without getting completely soaked. Fortunately we had an old tarpaulin, from the days of The Dolphin, and this was pressed into service. This should also help next winter's fuel dry faster.

In the afternoon the sun did come out and the temperature rose to the giddy height of 21 degrees Centigrade. While working near the back of the house I noticed that we had small lizards. Probably two of them (but they are fast and difficult to count) about 4 inches long.  They looked like common lizards (lacerta vivipara or zootoca vivipara), brown with lined markings and scaly skin. They were impossible to photograph as I could not keep track of them and this speed itself make it more likely that they were lizards (as opposed to newts)

In the late morning we had a new bird visit us. A Blackcap,  a male , was in the small field foraging between there and the feeder at the front door. This had quite a clear and identifiable call and one can see why it was sometimes called the northern nightingale. It is straneg to think that this small bird, about the size of a robin, has probably travelled all the way from Germany to visit us.

Our own birds remain productive with a further 8 eggs this morning. We will have to find out which one is not pulling her weight and giver her her cards. We will also have to find a lot more egg based recipes as we are starting to fall behind.

Outside the office window the tree has just burst into flower. It is heavy with large, white flowers and really brightens that area of the garden. It is unfortunately yet another plant I can not identify, hopefully the gardening club members will be able to help when the meeting is in our house next month. I wonder if it is a type of Hibiscus or cotton rose, though the centre of the flower is not of this type.

Today was also the day to change the water filter. We had changed the UV light filter, which hopefully kills all the bugs, previously but guessed it must be time to change the mechanical filter, which gets rid of all the gunk. There is no good way of telling by looking at them when they are past their best. I think we will just change this 5 micron filter every three to six months. Another task for country living.

Rain stopped play

Sheep

The sheep might be regretting the loss of their fleece as it has been cold and damp. However, they don't seem to be distressed and have spent their day in the big field eating and ruminating.

Poultry

Eggs Today :6

The hens have looked bedraggled all day. The girl with the prolapse seems better with no scouring and a less of a prolapse.

Bees

A quiet day for the bees, we will need to check sooner (if this rain persists) if they need further feeding.

Weather

A pleasant start to the day, warm and dry with a light breeze and cloudy skies. Unfortunately this was a false start and by mid-morning the skies were grey and there was constant drizzle. This grey, wet theme continued for the rest of the day

This was perhaps the wrong setting to receive the letter saying our Solar Panels were now set up to receive the Feed-In-Tariff. When opening the letter we were generating only 368 watts under the weak and insipid sky. (However, since they have been installed we have generated a total of  1134kWh in about three months)

There was a temporary break in the rain, not exactly stopped but no longer annoying, when we were able to get the birch tree further logged. It has contributed well to the winter's fuel

Vegetables

The cold drink make from sticky willy tasted exactly as one might have imagined water infused with weed extract might taste. It tasted slightly of pea (The legume, that is).
It is no surprise there is no large scale commercial enterprise using this recipe.

Hedgerows

The main flowers in the hedgerows just now are wild honeysuckle, foxgloves and dog roses of various colours.

25th June 2012

Weather

This has been a very pleasant day. Mostly sunny with reasonable cloud and a gentle breeze. It never rained and was warm throughout.

Vegetables

The biggest problem we have had with weeds has been Galium Aparine or sticky willy. The onion and garlic beds were awash with it. This grows so well it covers the other plants blocking their light and throttling their growth. However, I have discovered that it may have uses. In addition to being able to be made into tea or coffee (as can anything; as long as you don't want a pleasant refreshing beverage) it is also edible - not in the raw state as the hairs, or velcro, are mechanically unpleasant in the mouth. The leaves, not the stalks, are cooked like spinach. We will try this tomorrow.

It can also be used to make a soft drink which is meant to be good for the skin. I have started an infusion and will report how it works (If I haven't got a job as a model with my beautiful skin).

The first earlies are ready and we have taken enough potatoes for tonight's tea. The peas and beans have come on well and will be ready to pick soon.

It seems that the strawberries were ready in our absence, our grandson informs us that they were nice.

Poultry

All the hens remain well barring the one with a prolapse. This seems less prominent and the others have not paid her any attention. We tried reducing it again and they have already been wormed with Flubivet.




8 eggs today, all quite large.




Ducklings will probably be ready this week.

Sheep

All seem well and continue to look better in their short coats. It is harder to tell the ram from the ewes at a distance, anything over 15 yards and we find that moving testicles are hard to discern.

Bees

The bees had wolfed down their syrup. The litre of syrup they had last week was completely gone. I have given them a layer of supers and will check them again at the weekend to see how they are getting on.

Visitors

There were no new birds to report this week, the same old tits, woodpeckers, heron and siskins. Wood wasps are around and quite large and vicious looking, however, what appears as a sting is the ovipositor and these are in fact harmless horntails.

Back from the holidays

A week away and the lanes and grounds have become seriously overgrown. Proof, if we needed any, that the area is fertile and well washed with rain. Over the last week the grass seems to have grown at least 6 inches and possibly more, there is a serious weeding challenge in the vegetable garden.

Bald sheep fleeing unknown predator

The animals seemed happy that we were back. The sheep had been shorn during our absence which was a pleasant surprise. We will need to check whether they were given pour on at the same time. If not, then we will get some and have a go ourselves. They certainly look a lot happier, and younger, in their short coats.

The hens and bees seem safe and productive. We will have to search out egg recipes as we have quite a backlog that needs eaten. The bees were fed last week because of the rain but this week looks better and we will check the hives later.

The holiday itself was fun but watching sun-slapped holiday-makers greased-up and sautéing their beached bodies was not always pleasant. The sight of proud men strutting, mistaking their 'moobs' for pectorals, lingers in the mind, unfortunately. As the holiday was all-inclusive, with very good restaurants,  there is a risk that I too have started down that road, so vigorous exercise is required.

One of the hughlights of the holiday was a visit to a turkish barber. This was an exciting 20 minutes as it is quite an edgy experience having someone stick scissors into all the orifices in your head in search of small hairs to be snipped. It was then followed by an equally anxious period when any small hairs which had survived the first sweep were eliminated by a brush over with a burning cloth on a stick. I may now need to change my avatar to reflect my hirsuit-challenged appearance.