A tale of two piggies

We are custodians of Stable Sprites Kingdom for a few days, and as he is obsessed with pigs there are a lot to feed.

Somehow this big Berkshire Boar had got himself where he was not supposed to be, certainly in a different place to where we found him this morning. He had got into the turnips, which are destined to be pig food, but not yet!

And then there is Cherry, a first time mum who has just given birth to eight healthy piglets. She just lay contentedly feeding them while we put her food and water out, she really does look like she is smiling.

The Corrals OK

The boys are liking the new enclosure

even though there are on or two concrete blocks and logs left to move

they seem relaxed enough

and we are all getting used to having to go the long way round now there are proper fences everywhere!

Getting there

Slowly the heli pad takes shape, lots of progress today and then we ran out of sand.

GSDs on manoeuvres

The GSDs went on manoeuvres in the cauldron today, a real adventure playground for canines. Click on the image to expand.

Share and share alike

We have a rule here at Rock HQ, all must get on, and on the whole they do. Here's Laverne, Hetty and Ambrose having dinner.

Nearly days

Its been a long day. A nearly day. A day when things were nearly done, nearly finished or nearly abandoned due to monsoon conditions. First light saw me slaving away over a hot PC keyboard, deadlines for various reports are looming. I like deadlines, and Courts set ones that cannot be trifled with. Once a suitable amount of wordage had been laid the morning routine was adhered to which was rewarded by a fantastic breakfast of sandwiches made from microholders sausages and long range eggs followed by toast and microholders marmalade. Microholders are smallholders who do it in towns, so they are the real Tom and Barbara Goods.

Breakfast was worked off by moving gravel into the OK Corral and positioning the feed ring, filling it and then fetching the boys to their new playground. While I worked the GSD's kept me company, exploring everything, they have a lot to learn. Lessons today included nettles still sting (they stung the day before) and oranges are not the only fruit. So far they have eaten apples, peaches and today oranges. Not sure they were to their taste but they stuck with it, pips and all.

The quest to find the missing radiator cap in the inner gubbins of the CRV took longer than it should on account my hands are bigger than the 25mm gaps through the engine. A tool fashioned from a hazel stick and sellotape probed the inner workings until it was located but it was the application of brute force and the flexibility of plastic that finally allowed the cap to be released and placed back in its rightful place.

The fish farm takes shape, a second tank is now functioning. There was a surprise in the well, lots of air, no water. Its a sign of how little rain we have had this year that our never empty well that has had thousands of gallons pumped out of it this summer is down to the gravel base some forty metres below the surface. Its started to fill again bit the water table is obviously low.

I probably wasn't as much help as I could have been to Pritch our hungover builder but progress can be seen on the patio, in between torrential rain and thunderstorms. I kept him supplied with necessary sugary caffeine rich drinks and by lunch time his liver had restored the blood/glucose/alcohol level to a sufficient state to allow him to start smiling.

There was disaster uncovered in the pantry, we have lost the two massive hams, they have spoiled so we only have 300 pound of bacon to get us through the next four months. It was the first time I had tried a wet cure and part of the leg surfaced and went bad, really bad, so its going to be cooked on an open fire and hopefully the dogs can make use of it.
Another nearly job was the gun cabinet, its located in a really safe place and fits the gap perfectly, no one will be able to gemmy it out, its sufficiently heavy not to be moved and by this time tomorrow, when the correct bolts have been located it will be attached to the concrete wall at four points and the floor at two.
By sunset things had dried and we were able to take the dogs out for a walk, tomorrow we hope to finish most of what we started today. Well nearly finished anyway.

Things can only get better

Friday the 13th.
Find newly created fish tank empty. Either hole in tank or more likely scenario pipe left in tank has acted as siphon and water has drained back into well. Luckily no fish in tank so no casualties.
Reuben the monster Bernese puppy somehow manages to get his massive bulk under the new fence at top of bank. This means he is now trapped between it and the fence at the bottom of the bank which is part of the horse corral. Spend pointless portion of life trying to persuade idiot puppy to retrace steps, end torment by giving self hernia and lifting him over fence.
Sudden need to sit whilst carrying feed up to horses who are perched halfway up Bonsai Mountain. Horrific cracking sound as bottom is applied to fallen log investigated. New digital camera found broken in pocket.
Phone garage about Honda CRV which seems to be lacking power, told to check levels of fluids and bring in. Take top off header tank to radiator, distracted by unwanted attention of lovesick goat, drop cap into engine bay. No problem, cap lodges between engine cover and engine. Reach for cap. Goat returns. Cap dropped and falls inside engine cover and out of sight. Need to dismantle engine cover to retrieve cap. Leave job for another day.
DHL lorry arrives. New gun cabinet gives driver double hernia as he tries to maneuver it off back of lorry. Goat gets in lorry causes slight panic amongst packages marked fragile. New gun cabinet twice as heavy as expected and will not fit in site chosen for proposed arsenal. Probably just as well given its too heavy to get upstairs and after last accident when bedside cupboard was shot decision to keep guns out of bedroom still enforced.
Forget to get meat from freezer. No dinner.
Decide to cut loses and go to pub for dinner. Pub serves five deep fried lumps described as garlic mushrooms coated in breadcrumbs that require steak knife to prise open and a steak that smells and tastes like dead rabbit. Argument with chef ends with being charged £1.25 per mushroom and no charge for steak.
Day ends with kebab, indigestion and hiccups. Expect food poisoning later.

Border dispute

The Ryelands are starting to get fed up with the numbers of feral sheep owned by the local militia turning up for free breakfasts. This led to scuffles at the border this morning.