When a herd of a hundred Ridley Bronze turkeys gallops past, their narrowed reptilian eyes scanning the field for prey, I must confess some part of my brain stem activates and I have this strange urge to take cover in the nearest cave. They are a bit creepy when they are in pack mode. Said to be the closest living relatives to dinosaurs, maybe not so surprising that each day is peppered with scenes straight out of Jurassic Park.
Posted in Blog, Turkeys, Uncategorized
It’s amazing what a bit of dew will do when it come to transforming the ordinary into something quite lovely. The other morning huge droplets clung to the overhead wire mesh in one of the chicken runs, which made it all rather sparkly. In the veggie garden the un-killable kale looked all dressed up and ready to go to some glitzy dinner party. And the spider webs! This time of year they are everywhere and never look better than on these cool autumn mornings.
Posted in Blog, Chickens, Garden, Uncategorized
Pinkie and some of her duck friends contemplate a lovely autumn morning. Those fleeces look so thick and luxuriant at this time of year. Too bad we can’t shear now and have to wait until spring by which time the ravages of a wet winter will have taken their toll!
Posted in Blog, Ducks, Sheep, Uncategorized
When I start clearing out a bed, it doesn’t take long for volunteers to come along behind me to clear out slugs and other undesirables. This is one of last year’s hugel beds, to which I’ll add a bit of compost before planting some garlic. I’ll mulch with a mix of hay and goat droppings from the goat pen and then sit back and wait for spring. Ah, garlic scapes…
It seems I am spending a lot of time these days staring at sow udders (yes, swelling – larger each day), squeezing sow teats (Pearl has been secreting milk for a week now, Cora not yet) and examining bedding for signs of excessive fluffing. Waiting for piglets to arrive is nerve-wracking! It’s good to be on hand at farrowing time to minimize squishing of newborns, but those sows don’t always provide details of their planned delivery times!
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