A wander in the sunshine



 

 
 

Can you see the vague white splodges behind the tree which is still not in leaf yet (in the middle of the photo). Those are the Pyrenees mountains. And this is our Home Field. It is flooded again, so no animals are grazing on it............but the geese are because they can swim and paddle through the water to get on to the field.

 

 

 

There is one goose missing. She is sitting on a nest round the back of the house. We take the eggs away though, so it is mostly an empty nest she sits in, but she doesn't mind, she still sits and lays an egg for us. The Muscovy boy ducks know that she is sitting on the nest. Laying eggs takes ages and ages and ages. Ah ha, the Muscov boy thinks, 'time for a quick one'. Not when I'm around. I boot him away from her, and chase him off. The two rottweiller girls help me. I don't call them back until the Muscov boy has had a good fright which might make him think again before trying to climb on board a goose girl who is laying an egg.

 

 

You can just see the goose girl beneath the Muscovy rascal.

 

And here are another two rascals 

 

 

Noooooo! Not these two. Max and Mum Pig are waiting patiently for their breakfast. Soon we hope to get them out of this mud patch of a paddock. But at least the sun is shining and the ground is drying. All they need to make a perfect day is a trough full of milk from our cow.

 

 

Come on Lissie, turn round and say hi....

 

 

...and here she is grazing on the eventual veg plot paddocks. The theory is that she can graze the grass down to its roots, then the pigs can be put on the grass so that they can get it all churned up, then Lester hops on his tractor and does a couple of turns over the ground, and then hey presto! Bung in some seeds and veggies here we come!

Sound a bit too hopeful? You are probably right!

 

But I digress. The other rascals....

 

 

It's Lissie and her daughter Bonny. Now the two of them were put out onto the new paddocks. On the same day. In separate paddocks. They are not allowed to stay together because Bons will drink her mum dry, plus she chews the nipples on her mum's udders to pieces, which could damage Lissie in the future, and makes milking difficult for Lester.

But Bons had a thirst. And Lissie's maternal instinct rose to the surface. Through the temporary gate separating the paddocks she barged. Bons on udder. Udder completely emptied. No milking for Lester to do tonight.

 

 

And our cherry trees in blossom. I had a go at preserving them in the canner last year. Wow, what a success that was. Will defo do that again this year.

 

 

Our nearest neighbour out back, to remind me how precious a thing it is to be able to yell one's head off and for there not to be anyone close enough to hear.

After years of living with neighbours who shared the same wall as us

(one side of the wall ours, the other side of the wall theirs)

it is bliss.

 

Off to do things,

or perhaps not.

Might just pop off into bed,

so good night to you,

or good morning,

or good afternoon,

depending on your time of day at this precise time!
Vx