This week on the farm

Farmer J's younger brother and two boys came to stay for a stop over before heading to the Pyrenees. Tuesday afternoon a picnic was packed for a trip to the river at Garde Viaur. This is where we send our gite guests, it's a lovely spot with shallow banks for paddling and deeper parts for swimming. The water is very clean with shady spots on the green bank for relaxing.

The cows finished eating down our top field and small hay field where an electric fence was rigged up for them to pass between the two, making feeding the pigs a bit of a assault course climbing under the electric fence. Now moved over the road and happy to be on new pasture.

Franklin has been sleeping a lot lately as well as drinking loads of water and weeing, a trip to the vets he was diagnosed with diabetes. He spent Wednesday in a cage having his blood levels checked regularly and is now having daily injections until Monday week  when his booked in again or a re check to see if the insulin levels correct. So far two injections down and no fight or growling, I am still in one piece with no scars so hopefully all will stay this way.

 Chicken pens  have been cleaned. A job not on my wanting to do list but the chickens will be a lot happier for their short time left as they are now ready to go for table birds. Chicken will soon be available here.

The new layers I brought are still happier to be inside grubbing around on the poo hill. At least were getting eggs now if still on the little side. There seems to be only four brown ones, we can only think one has flapped over into the meat birds pen. How stupid. If she was any other colour than brown we could pick her out but amongst twenty nine others it may be a bit difficult.

Sandy is in her last week of pregnancy, due date 28 / 29 th resting and eating, throwing the straw out I gave her and wallowing in her wallow. Bailing twine and Cd's have been tied to try and dissuade the buzzards from taking a wandering piglet.

Farmer J has started to tidy up the fields after the cows have grazed using the cutting all the brambles and weeds.

I made a dress for Miss F, the first. Hopefully it will stay sewn together. I also finished three skirts using a shop brought one for a template, used French seems and the zip attachment on the sewing machine for the first time. Not haute couture but there fine for around the farm instead of mud stained shorts.

Miss F and Master C have now left for Toulouse, both to move into their new apartment's ready for Uni.I am missing them already, it's very quiet around here.