Very cold & have lost all my ducks :0(

Unfortunately have now lost all ducks to the fox, he has been coming during the day and taking one or two a day. Peanut my favorite muscovy has now gone too.

So I had 10 ducks and 22 hens, I now have 7 hens left, so I have moved the chicken house to just outside the kitchen door to save what I have left. Bastard fox.

December & SNOW!!!

So far December has been a hard month, so much snow. It's very beautiful, but very, very cold.

Our boiler started leaking oil and has been broken for 3 weeks, thanks to a very lazy, dishonest plumber. It's not fun having no hot water or heating when the temperature has been down to -18. We are relying on electric heaters which cost a fortune to run and aren't doing a particularly good job anyway as the house is so cold.

The hens & ducks have stopped laying eggs now, the animals are all cold & the water is constantly frozen.

The horses have been in the stables every night out of the blizzards, they seem happy and content to take a break from the weather. Although this has meant mucking out every morning, my most hated job! no riding either in knee deep snow, so it's all work and no play.

Thank god for the Aga though, it never lets me down and it makes the kitchen the warmest room in the whole house. We all get dressed in front of it, I heat up the water for everything on it, it cooks the food, dries and irons the washing, dries the snowy boots and clothes and keeps us all toasty when all else fails :0)

I look forward to cooking our Christmas dinner in it....

Update ....

Its been a busy summer..... all the back ache involved in planting the potatoes has paid off, with a big log basket full of good sized potatoes that should see us through the winter. The girls enjoyed helping me find them as I turned the soil to uncover these rich, red potatoes, they were laughing about, so excited to discover them, who would have thought potato picking could be so much fun!


We've also enjoyed runner beans, lots and lots of peas. Broccoli, cauliflower & onions.
There would have been brussel sprouts for Christmas, but our new ducks have eaten them all, leaves and everything...very amusing!

My very special girl - Hazel xxx

Today we went to our first ever show together... Hazel looked absolutely beautiful and I was so proud of her. She trotted around nicely and stood in line perfectly. Although a very wet, cold & windy day, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. This was a massive achievement for Hazel and I, to actually put ourselves in the spotlight, so to speak & bless her, she won a 3rd & 4th.


I am now looking forward to an endurance ride on the 10th October and our next show, which will thankfully be inside, in November. Exciting times :)

Meet Hazel!

I haven't blogged for a while as I've been quite busy with my lovely new horse Hazel. She is beautiful and has the sweetest nature. When Marc came home I tried to ride her everyday, so everything else has needed doing since he went back to work, because I just didn't do anything other than ride and walk the dogs!


I took this photo on our first hack out together, the scenery is outstanding, there will be so many tracks to explore up in the hills and mountains and I just can't wait! We both need to build up our fitness levels first.

A lovely new chicken house ;0)

Our lovely new chicken house arrived late yesterday afternoon, from P&T Poultry, it holds 16 - 22 hens. I have 22 hens but 4 of them are cockerels and they are going to be 'sorted' this afternoon, so we'll be down to just 18, some bantams & some large fowl.
I'm not the most patient person in the world, so I decided to try and put it together there and then. Surprisingly enough a couple of hours later I nearly had it all put together, but it was starting to get dark and cold and the girls were hungry so I had to call it a day.This morning I just had to fix the roof down and put the hinges on the nesting boxes, screw the ramp together......add loads of fresh shavings and it was all finished!
Hens have already started showing an interest, as soon as I went in to make a cuppa I saw a few walking up the ramp having a little peck about and going in. Hope they like their new home, they've had to put up with a small leaky shed since we moved here. So new accommodation is long over due.


LUSH!!

Our Muscovy duck - Peanut!

Today has been such a beautiful day, the sun has been warm & out all day and it's been about 2 degrees, which has been lovely.

We decided to get Peanut, the only Muscovy duck to hatch in my incubator a while back, out of the conservatory (!) and into the little chicken house in the garden at last. Unfortunately it was completely buried under ten tonne of snow, but that wasn't a problem, Marc dug it out and cleaned out the inside of the house as well. I Couldn't resist taking a photo of such a nice view!

Peanut is now a very happy duck, with grassy snow under her webbed feet and sunshine on her back, she even said hello to George our golden Lab through the chicken wire. Happy days........

Finally managed to get a nice farmer to come and plough our track today for £25. So I have managed to get out and take my poor Springer spaniel, Bramble to the vet. She had bitten a couple of stitches out Wednesday night from her chest and it was starting to look infected. Someone had thrown barbed wire over a fence into the woods and she had caught herself on it a couple of weeks ago, when we were out walking, ripping the skin open. I can't understand how someone can just throw something so dangerous into an area people walk in without worrying that it's going hurt someone or something. Barbed wire is evil stuff.

The sun has been out today, a beautiful day, after what seems like endless dark clouds and blizzards......although temperature was only about -2 the sunshine makes us all feel so much happier :0)

Snow, snow and more snow....

Unfortunately until today, it hasn't stopped snowing since Tuesday night, so I never got to see the Berkshire pigs......don't think I've ever seen so much snow in the five years we've lived in Scotland.
Luckily I took the little car back to the garage on Wednesday and got my Land Rover back, even though it wasn't ready, it needs a bit of work before they'll give me my MOT certificate.
So fearing the worst, I got loads of food and coal for the fire and the Aga, with four kids in tow......as our local primary school had closed at lunch time as the blizzards were getting severe and the roads deteriating. That was the last time we have been able to get out.
The snow has got to waist height in places and the track is so exposed that leads up to the house, that it has a lot of drifted snow and has been impossible to drive on since Thursday, the only chance of seeing life on the outside now is a nice farmer with a tractor and a plough.... or tropical temperatures and lots of sunshine... :0)


Hens are not happy ladies, back to not wanting to get their toes wet and cold, so are mostly perching all day or hanging around the door looking out, poor things, I just keep checking on them, making sure they've got food and water and their bedding is as dry as it can be.



The sun has been out very briefly this morning, so I got the girls outside to play and get some fresh air while I dug out snow paths, with the help of my nine year old, who did an absolutely fab job, obviously had a lot of energy from being stuck in the house these last few days. I on the other hand am feeling exhausted from trying to keep them entertained with drawing, painting, playdoh, puzzles and baking to name but a few and homework from school, that has been given out in a nice red folder especially for snow days.

One of those days again....

Had a busy day, I've got the use of a courtesy car because the Discovery has gone into the workshop for MOT and repair work, but the little car can't make it up the track, so I've had to walk up & down all day, pulling Lola on the sledge because she can't walk on it very well because of the snow & ice.
It's just been one of those days, there's snow forecast again tonight and tomorrow, if thats the case I won't be going anywhere and I am meeting with someone who has Berkshire pigs in the morning, really looking forward to speaking to someone who is really serious about his breed and knows what its all about, rather than reading loads of books about them. Finally I might get to see the real thing..... Please don't snow tonight!!

Yummy chicken soup :0)

I have discovered a gorgeous chicken soup....kids love it & it's very yummy, a bit of homemade bread on the side and it's a great winter warmer.

3 pints of chicken stock. (made with chicken bones, onions, carrots etc in a big stock pot)
3 free range chicken breasts
5 Carrots, grated
2 Onions grated
1/2 mug of pudding rice

Put your stock in a large heavy based soup pot.
Heat gently on a medium heat.
Add pudding rice, grated carrot & onion
Add chopped chicken breast & stir well
Cover & cook on low/medium heat for about 60 mins stirring occasionally. Or pop in the simmering oven for a couple of hours!
Add salt & pepper to taste

Still snowing.....

I haven't posted for a while, it's still snowing heavily, we've only had about a week with nothing but now the sun's getting stronger when its out and theres the hope of spring just around the corner.

The Aga was installed finally a few weeks ago, the warmth is lovely and the food is fantastic, everything that comes out is cooked beautifully, cakes are soft and moist and meat is so tender. The clothes all dry above it and then folded on to the simmering lid and they all look freshly ironed. The dogs and cats sleep all around it and I have to fight to get near it just to make a cup of tea!

I've spent a few evenings choosing seeds to order, although some of the glass fell in on the greenhouse due to the weight of snow on top, I should have pushed it off when it got to high, but I didn't think it would break the glass.

I will be doing fencing for the piglets once I can see the grass and then put them on the area that will eventually be vegtable patch this year, which is rather a large area and will save us the back ache of digging it all over. I don't think the ground has ever been turned over there, it just looks like thick meadow with humpy bits. Luckily the warmer weather comes later here than in the south of England and the frosts still come at night untill the end of April, so theres lots of time to get organised. Just need the seeds planted by the end of March in the warm.


Hens are now laying everyday! Which is so wonderful, I thought they'd never lay again.....

Compassion in world farming

On with the new year....

Well 2010 has brought nothing but snow so far, since the week before Christmas! Had a lovely white Christmas although our Aga was suppose to be delivered, I bought all sorts of Aga Christmas cookery books so I was prepared for a lovely traditional dinner. But the pallet lorry got stuck in the snow on our track up to the house, so it never got here, maybe by spring it will be installed.....
Poor hens have all had enough standing on one leg all day, frozen water and no where to go. Dogs can't be walked very well as the snow is thigh high in places. But it is very beautiful and being house bound gives me time to think and plan ahead for this year, as I sit by the fire with my seed brochures planning what I will grow in the spring and long to see green grass and pots with beautiful flowers in and watch my girls enjoying the sunshine and playing in the garden.....until then there is plenty to do!