Saturday 14 March 2015

The Other Day.......



The other day......................tunnelled out, that is what the juvenile pigs did. Well, it was a surprise that they hadn't escaped before, but the other day they did. Nothing for it but to put them out into the veg paddocks for a couple of days while the problem was sorted out. We were going to get one of the youngsters into the freezer this weekend, but we have gone into a bout of wet weather again, so we can't.
Lessons to be learnt: not to over winter youngsters but to organize our two adult pigs so that we have a litter in early spring, grow the piglets on over the summer and autumn, and then into the freezer in November / December. One of these years we shall get organised!



The other day........ little Ditsy got stuck under the chair in the kitchen. She has a twisted foot so can't move about very easily. There were a couple of piles of chicken poo about her person which suggested she had been there a while. Not to worry, Boolie moved in quickly to clean up the poo, but she didn't seem worried about him barging in on her, just chatted to me about this and that as I carried her outside. Unfortunately she was not entirely poo-ed out, and this one Boolie could not clean up because it was all down my skirt.




The other day........... off up into the Pyrenees I was taken, to learn how to make sushi. It was a fund raising day, and that is why I went. I also thought it would be good for me to have a few hours away from the farm. 

The day was lovely, the surroundings superb, the company fantastic. Shame that I found out that sushi is not something that I shall be partaking of in the future, although I did like some aspects of it, in particular the  Japanese seasonings. 

It was the toilet seat though, that is what intrigued me the most. It was heated. Having sat on an ice cold toilet seat during the last few months, it was a treat for my rear end to be embraced by such warmth. 

There was a row of buttons attached to the side of the loo, six in all. I didn't have my glasses with me so could not see what they were for. Fortunately I erred on the side of caution and searched for the flush button, which looked the same as the one at home, and that was on top of the cistern. This I used. Good job that I had not dabbed at the other buttons. Apparently they were for having a wash underneath. 
"You can even get bidet loos which have warm air to dry you off with " said the owner of the house.
Oooohhhhh! Now that would be a treat on a cold winter's day. 



The other day.........Lester got stuck. Out in the woods, unloading some old hay, ground very soft, and.... squelch, down into the ground the tractor sank. Couldn't go back, couldn't go forwards.
"Go sideways" I said. It worked. 

Meanwhile, the dogs romped out on the river beach, which has started appearing again as the  water level has dropped. Not sure how long they will stay dropped for because we have another bout of wet weather ahead. Not to worry, it is the mixture of sun and heavy showers which pull the grass up and gets everything growing. 

The other day........ band practice started again, because we have been booked to play at a village fete in early June, but this time we are going to have a go at singing traditional French songs, which is going to be quite a learning curve for us all. And thank goodness I can use YouTube to search for the songs, then learn how to sing them. 

And today... have just put the electric box for the pig fencing in the dehydrator. It needs to dry off because its protective covering blew off during the night and it got soaked. 

Have also put the sheep and cows out because it is getting on everyone's nerves having to stay indoors.......the sheep and cows because they get bored, and us because of the continual complaints from the sheep, and the occasional heavy moaning from the cows. There is not much to eat out on the field, but everyone seems happier with the arrangement and we are hearing no  more complaints. All is quiet.

Things to catch up with.........
- there is a bowl of pig fat in the fridge needing to be made into lard
- there is a bowl of uncooked pork in the fridge waiting to be put through the mincer and then frozen
- there is a chunk of belly pork  in the fridge to be made into bacon
- the fridge is full of jars of milk which needs de-creaming and then put to butter.
- also need to make some yoghurt, but not cheese because I keep forgetting to order a new pot from Amazon specifically for the making of cheese.
- there are huge heaps of hay out front which need getting round to the compost heap out back. 
- .......and so on........

Life on a farm / smallholding requires endless lists of work to get through. However, one thing I did learn from my day in the Pyrenees is that sitting watching the view is alright for an hour or so, and then I get fidgety and homesick. That not having animals around makes for a very clean and sterile environment which I don't seem to be able to relax in. But that loo, the one with the warm seat, now I could go for that!

Off to rescue the electric box from the dehydrator.........so bye for now, and hope you have a good weekend.

Vx



14 comments:

northsider said...

There's never a dull moment on your smallholding Vera. I think it's good to write it down and make plans and 'try' to have some kind of system. Great post!

Kerry said...

I love having loads to do, keeps the brain busy. Love the idea of the heated loo seat. I wonder if I can persuade hubby to put one in the bathroom x

Vera said...

Dave, I make lists and plans frequently....but I should really try harder to take notice of what I have written, and then I would not keep getting in a muddle as to what I am supposed to be doing!

Kerry, good idea! Would make sitting on the loo during winter time quite pleasurable!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

ha! i laughed about that fancy loo - i've heard of such things. what a funny place to encounter one tho.
:-)

rusty duck said...

The house in the Pyrenees looks rather nice, I think I could get used to that. Although I wouldn't be pushing too many of those loo buttons either!

Vera said...

OFG, that loo made me laugh as well, but the whole house was high tech so it wasn't such a surprise to find one!

Jessica, that house was a real posho, but soooo sterile what with no dogs in and out with muddy feet, and no general farm mess anywhere so it didn't feel homely to me. But the view was lovely!

Tim said...

Vera,your dreams are answered:
http://brondell.com/lumawarm-heated-nighlight-toilet-seat.html
but it isn't cheap! 190$... plus the import cost...
or this from AmazoniaUK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Luxury-Bidet-Auto-Electronic-Toilet/dp/B00H1URCJ4?SubscriptionId=AKIAIQWHH4HRPK7LRQTQ&tag=ip-gd-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00H1URCJ4&ascsubtag=Heated000Toilet000Seat
cheaper... has those wash functions you spoke about, too!
Only £162.... but what price a warm seat....
OR:
buy a wooden toilet seat, which is what we did!
Never as cold as plastic...
and I saw one with anti-slam fittings....
but that was over a 100€s itself.

Vera said...

Tim, ah so wood is the way to go! Thanks for the links, but I think we shall not be going high tech with the lavatory!

John Going Gently said...

Oh my " to do" list is never ending too and i have have the jobs you have......
Why cant i get everything done?

The Squirrel Family said...

we learned similair piggy lessons our piglets arrive end april and will be gone by november when our land turns back to its original river bed state . I love sushi and all things japanese foodwise . Could live without the chicken poo and mud in the house though ..............and the loo with more functions than the on you really need lol

Mama Mess said...

We have a wooden toilet seat as well, and I'm a strange bird as sitting on a warm toilet seat or handling a warm shopping cart handle makes me uncomfortable....too much thinking about the person who'd been sitting there getting it warm.........even though that wouldn't be the case with a heated one, I think that's still where my silly brain would go! :)

Rhodesia said...

Hmmm heated loo seat sounds good to me. We love sushi :-) The animals certainly keep you busy but life would be dull with out lots to do!
Keep well and have a good week. Diane

Vera said...

John, I never get even half done on the list of the day...and there are days when looking at the list of 'to do's' makes me tired before I even start!

The Squirrel Family, having to look after four piglets has been an expensive learning curve for us! As for the loo seat, I have decided that our next loo seat will be made in wood, which should go some way to giving me a warmer rear end next winter!

The Goodwife.....my brain would think the same!

Diane, I think I have become addicted to keeping busy! Hope you have a good week too.

Onevikinggirl said...

What is it about loo's all of a sudden? My other favourite smallholder http://debrazzaman.blogspot.nl/ also talks about fantastic toilets. Now I feel very unsatisfied with my own - (the show and tell version typical of the BeNeLux-countries)