Sunday was one of those rare days on the smallholding where everything went right. We had a lie in, rare, so the animals waited patiently until 8am for their breakfasts. The sun was shining as we did the rounds and even Maggie the most bothersome goat in the history of goat kind could do nothing to alter my mood a s she sample every animals breakfast from the buckets we were carrying before trotting off to her own rations.
After a simple breakfast of fresh baked bread toasted with two of our eggs poached, thank you hens, and then another piece of toast with some delicious home made gooseberry jam, thank you Ann, we set about the days planned jobs.
Gardening.
We are lucky enough to have a fairly big garden with two glass greenhouses, there are thirteen raised beds, eight of which are six foot by twenty four foot, the rest are a variety of sizes, some twice the size, others six by six. There are fruit bushes, all sorts, raspberries, a strawberry bed, apple trees, plum trees, damson trees, two small pear trees which get smaller each visit from the goat and when I get around to it there will be a cherry tree, a present to me from Tracey, which I have yet to plant. The whole plot is bordered by gravel paths and flags stones, with a water supply from the spring on the hill. We did have a home made poly shed which worked really well but the wind last winter reduced it to tatters. Finance hasn't allowed the purchase of a proper one but its on the wish list.
Tracey took charge of the greenhouses and planted sweetcorn, peas, pumpkins, melons, beans, and watered the pots containing the tomato's, cucumbers, peppers and squashes.
I set about three of the raised beds, digging in Williams contribution to the smallholding which had been laid on the ground a few weeks ago. I then forked in a top dressing of lime as a friend of mine assured me I needed some to help break up the heavy clay soil we have. I was very happy with my efforts as I managed to actually do some digging, three weeks ago this was not possible as my left arm couldn't take the strain, but I found I could hold the fork steady while my right arm did most of the work. Fantastic.
We took a break and had a refreshing glass of cider, musing over where to plant the roses, still in their pots from when we moved 18 months or so ago, even the light rain that now started didn't put a dampener on the enjoyment of gardening.
I planted a bed of potato's, an early variety and a main crop, this time I am following the advice on the labels and planting them in twos and threes, this should mean when it comes to dig them up there will be a fair number of tubers to reward the effort of digging. I also planted half a bed of garlic, all the time under the watchful eye of Rocky who probably thinks he is guarding me from mountain wolves or something similar in a throwback to his evolutionary inheritance. As you can see in the picture above, Reba his girlfriend was not so watchful and spent most of the time asleep under the loganberries. After a bit more digging and after Tracey had cleared up my mess, I haven't yet learned the secret of doing anything without creating havoc in my wake, we decided to call it a day and spent a relaxing half hour or so reading the Sunday papers with a nice gin and tonic, well it is a holiday weekend after all.
Next on the list was bath Rocky, he is entering a dog show Bank Holiday Monday, and needed changing from a farm dog to a show dog otherwise we would be laughed out of the ring. Bathing a dog that weighs as much as an average adult is no mean feat, so we have resorted to taking a shower with him. I got my speedos on, much to my families amusement (they are so supportive) and Rocky stood patiently in the warm water as I shampooed the thick Bernese Mountain Dog fur, designed to protect him from all weathers. Job done he was then brushed and now has a gleaming coat, the amount of fur that came out during the brushing could have made another small dog.
Dinner was a family affair, our own pork in a spicy sauce, the same spicy sauce that would have been over the rabbit had the cats not interfered. This time they left the pork, and me, well alone.
Even the final jobs of the day went well, the birds were well behaved and retired gracefully and Passion the beagle who last night gave us a scare decided she had had enough of the luxury of the house and wanted to be with her kennel mates.
It was, as I said, a perfect day.
After a simple breakfast of fresh baked bread toasted with two of our eggs poached, thank you hens, and then another piece of toast with some delicious home made gooseberry jam, thank you Ann, we set about the days planned jobs.
Gardening.
We are lucky enough to have a fairly big garden with two glass greenhouses, there are thirteen raised beds, eight of which are six foot by twenty four foot, the rest are a variety of sizes, some twice the size, others six by six. There are fruit bushes, all sorts, raspberries, a strawberry bed, apple trees, plum trees, damson trees, two small pear trees which get smaller each visit from the goat and when I get around to it there will be a cherry tree, a present to me from Tracey, which I have yet to plant. The whole plot is bordered by gravel paths and flags stones, with a water supply from the spring on the hill. We did have a home made poly shed which worked really well but the wind last winter reduced it to tatters. Finance hasn't allowed the purchase of a proper one but its on the wish list.
Tracey took charge of the greenhouses and planted sweetcorn, peas, pumpkins, melons, beans, and watered the pots containing the tomato's, cucumbers, peppers and squashes.
I set about three of the raised beds, digging in Williams contribution to the smallholding which had been laid on the ground a few weeks ago. I then forked in a top dressing of lime as a friend of mine assured me I needed some to help break up the heavy clay soil we have. I was very happy with my efforts as I managed to actually do some digging, three weeks ago this was not possible as my left arm couldn't take the strain, but I found I could hold the fork steady while my right arm did most of the work. Fantastic.
We took a break and had a refreshing glass of cider, musing over where to plant the roses, still in their pots from when we moved 18 months or so ago, even the light rain that now started didn't put a dampener on the enjoyment of gardening.
I planted a bed of potato's, an early variety and a main crop, this time I am following the advice on the labels and planting them in twos and threes, this should mean when it comes to dig them up there will be a fair number of tubers to reward the effort of digging. I also planted half a bed of garlic, all the time under the watchful eye of Rocky who probably thinks he is guarding me from mountain wolves or something similar in a throwback to his evolutionary inheritance. As you can see in the picture above, Reba his girlfriend was not so watchful and spent most of the time asleep under the loganberries. After a bit more digging and after Tracey had cleared up my mess, I haven't yet learned the secret of doing anything without creating havoc in my wake, we decided to call it a day and spent a relaxing half hour or so reading the Sunday papers with a nice gin and tonic, well it is a holiday weekend after all.
Next on the list was bath Rocky, he is entering a dog show Bank Holiday Monday, and needed changing from a farm dog to a show dog otherwise we would be laughed out of the ring. Bathing a dog that weighs as much as an average adult is no mean feat, so we have resorted to taking a shower with him. I got my speedos on, much to my families amusement (they are so supportive) and Rocky stood patiently in the warm water as I shampooed the thick Bernese Mountain Dog fur, designed to protect him from all weathers. Job done he was then brushed and now has a gleaming coat, the amount of fur that came out during the brushing could have made another small dog.
Dinner was a family affair, our own pork in a spicy sauce, the same spicy sauce that would have been over the rabbit had the cats not interfered. This time they left the pork, and me, well alone.
Even the final jobs of the day went well, the birds were well behaved and retired gracefully and Passion the beagle who last night gave us a scare decided she had had enough of the luxury of the house and wanted to be with her kennel mates.
It was, as I said, a perfect day.
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