Chickens, cress and a catastrophe.

It is quite unfathomable that nearly six weeks have flown by since the last post.  But there again, when I download my photos to the black box for safe keeping and I edit thru, there's alot to look at!

Bright & bold: spring Camelia

And so here we are, nearly mid March.  I think my all time favourite photo of the moment is one posted on a well known social media website of a large suspension spring standing close to the edge of a building.  I got it straight away (brag-brag....) but it was a very bold statement cleverly depicted photographically.  I guess that is what this time of year is all about really - Spring is around the corner.

 It is bold and bright and in your face.  The drab winter dullness is rapidly giving way to a multicoloured palette emerging from the ground.  For me it is exciting in the extreme.  Not only is this my first spring at Westyard, but it is only my second spring back in good 'ole blighty after an absence of ten years.  I really feel that nothing beats the UK when....well, when what?  I deleted most of the whens and will leave it just at that.  Yeah, yeah go on moan about the weather...or the NHS...or the current political climate...or the oil crisis...or the fanatics at work... or the price of eggs.  But one thing is for sure, having been away for so long it is GREAT to be home.  It will take a long time for me to start the moaning. And here's one small reason why...

A lovely jar of snowdrops

Two weeks ago we had a major catastrophe at Westyard.  Of course we have forgotten all about it now, but at the time it was a really major event.  I had to call 999 emergency services and within 30 minutes we had a fire engine, paramedics and a policeman all turn up - in their own vehicles much to the children's delight!  The small girl had a playdate at the time - and I was very keen to let her mother know that the emergency services were not here to attend to her small daughter!  Thankfully, said mother arrived to collect her daughter and took mine with her back to their farmhouse to remove her temporarily from the chaos.

It was the Elderly Dependant, who had lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into our vehicle and planted himself on the edge of a pond in a derelict building known as the 'former shippon'.  He had mistaken the brake for the accelerator and in a second shot across our yard like a rocket.  Both cars have been deemed 'uneconomic repairs'.  What we have all agreed is that it is a miracle nothing worse happened.  The children had been playing in the yard half an hour prior to this event.  The dog had been lying in the yard in the sun that afternoon.  The cats and chickens roam in the yard on a permanent basis.  Cars are replaceable, they are just money.  None of the other above mentioned are.

What I have since learned is that most people I have mentioned it to, also have an elderly dependant story to tell.  It comes with the territory; only hopefully now, with no vehicle to drive, those kind of accidents won't happen again.  It is a tricky path to navigate as we don't have much experience in the issues that are being mentioned by the medical profession in connection to the ED....ie: dementia, memory loss being the main ones.  It all comes down to this: Family.  Blood.  It really is thicker than water.  We do what we need to do to protect and look after our family.  Not just the junior members but the senior members too.  Enough said.  And no photos.  I have some juicy crash shots but won't post them - it wouldn't be right!

After:  that's Exmoor on the horizon.

The north facing aspect: before.

Much work has been done in the last six weeks.  More trees have been cut down.  More sky has been revealed.  More light has been let in.   More bonfires have been lit.  We have been preparing for the fencing contractor to arrive, and tomoro is the day.  We are playing catch up for the last 27 years and it is really astonishing just how much work it has taken to get ready to put up a fence round a field.  It sounds pretty simple, but in reality many man-hours have been spent in this pursuit.  Once we have stock fencing we can safely invite stock back onto our farm.  Following the fencing man is the farming contractor who cut our hedges in the autumn; he also does rotavating, ploughing, harrowing, liming, seeding and rolling - all of which we need in various of our fields and meadows.

Hens inspecting me muck out stables.
(Spot the cat in the rafters)

The ponies have now moved.  They are off their winter field and now on a strict grazing regime.  Two hours a day on grass and the rest in containment in our barn which is part covered, part open but all on concrete under foot.  Our pony has a very high 'cushings count' and so has started her medication on double dose for two weeks.  She then has another blood test to assess her count, and the vet will no doubt give me further instructions as to her care.

Our chickens, who were free ranging around the farm and laying an egg a day are now back in their run as the builder spotted a fox on the drive at the end of last week.  It is the time of year that mummy foxes get hungry and have extra mouths to feed therefore will boldly snatch hens in broad daylight.  We don't want to take the risk so the chickens stay in their run for now. Shame for them, they were really enjoying being truly 'free range' with the full run of the farm, yard and gardens.


The growing room has things growing in it!  Some lettuces are close to being ready to pick; beans are coming up - ready to plant outdoors once the frosts have gone; my sweet peas which I planted last year are now potted up into two large containers with sticks and are pushing up taller every day.  These will go outside the kitchen doors on the terrace (west facing for sundowners) and be a source of cut flowers throughout the summer all being well.  Pressure's on to get planting more seeds.  Mainly vegetables as that's what we enjoy growing.  I have decided there is no point growing things we don't all enjoy.  It takes so much time, energy and effort to have a row of productive produce - it must be something we all want to eat.  The small girl has successfully planted and grown a row of cress already.  We ate it this weekend with some freshly laid and boiled eggs in a salad.  And it was all delicious.

They call it 'Mother's ruin' apparently...!

We finally decanted our sloe gin.  It was the first produce we picked and processed on the farm back in the autumn when we first arrived here.  The 'Ologist thought the gin had spent far too long ferculating on the fruit and would be ruined.  There was a small amount left over that wouldn't fit into the bottles - which of course had to be sampled.  We decided it was delicious and just right - it had better be, they are 1.5L bottles!

We are soon to take possession of an electric rotavator.  We are hoping it will chew up some overgrown ground and make it planting ready for us.  We are hoping it won't break our backs more than a spade will...watch this space.

I suppose the most exciting news this month is that today we went to see a litter of puppies and chose one to join our family.  He is very small and little and won't be ready for us for another six weeks or so.  He is a Parsons' Jack Russell and has quite handsome markings of brown with a little black on his head.  His mother is called Magic.  Suggestions for a name are open to the table.

Due to arrive in six weeks