The English Paysanne

With amazing weather that we are lucky to be having at this time of year the annual chestnut fair at Laguepie was heaving with people today with a few chestnuts as well. Autumnal produce was for sale along with a very sad fungi exhibition, usually this is quiet impressive with mushrooms and fungus lined up in their own labelled bowl with a sticker next to their name green for OK moving to black for death, there was a few of each but they all looked a little sad, a sign that it has been a bad year on the mushroom front.

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Chicks see the outside for the first time this week.

Our old mulard duck passed away this morning, the last of the three small ducklings I brought when we first came to La Singlarie. I had asked for small ducks, which they were when I first got them but some how with my then bad French I hadn't made it clear in translation that I wanted ducklings that would stay small. Over the past few days he was needing to be retrieved from the fields he had been wandering in during the day, tired and unsteady on his feet. This morning he didn't wander far from the barn door and passed away this afternoon to the land where ducks go. At the grand old age of eleven he had a wonderful life patrolling the surrounding farm land with his mates, too big to fly he would parade the chicken field flapping his wings never once entering the pond but constantly dirtying the donkeys water bucket when cleaning his beak. Fly away Monsieur Duck.

A moment from the week at La Singlarie We are not yet bossom buddies but Tempete and Lids Mc Claws are coming to terms with having to share the farm (and me)

Pierrot wheres the worms? Pierrot are you sleeping? What, what no just resting my eyes Poor Pierot today it really did feel like a Monday for him. He was caught sleeping on his feet in the field not only by me but by a chicken as well, hen pecked came to mind. He then took Sorrel work ethic and laid down to sleep, maybe he has too many chickens to care for. Sorrel, keeping the plastic from blowing away.

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Winter coat making

Or maybe it should be metal, not iron. Farmer J has been having a sort out of all the old, used and no longer working machines that have been taking up room on the farm. Tommorow they will go to the metal merchant to sell, probably won't covewr the rather high vet bill for the ceserean on the cow.

Sadly last night Robsewe passed away., named as she was brought from a man called Rob. She had been fine, her usual eating her cereal as quickly as possible so she can go and intimidate Gorgon who is the slowest eater ever. She was a little snotty but had been all her life, or so we had had her at around thirteen years old she had a good life munching on lush grass and hay. She will be missed (but maybe not by Gorgon).

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Taking in the sun shine

As we have been lucky with the weather being dry It has been a good time to start sorting out the veggie patch with the technical gardening term of 'bedding down'. Not sure at all if this is a gardening term but as the weed free (but I know there will be a few dock, nettle and burdock roots hiding) earth is covered by black plastic in the hope that no other weed grows over the winter, I like to think of it as a blanket for the earth over the chilly period or a bit of extra warmth for the mice that will make their nests under it. I am hoping the plastic will be a put off for the rabbits, this year they have eaten most of the veggies I planted. No winter green veg, however they don't seem to like parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes (maybe they know about the wind problem), pumpkins and leeks, all of which they have left alone. What they did enjoy was carrot tops, so much so that of the carrots I planted back in March I dug up loads of tiny mouse size roots, with a...

A moment from the week at La Singlarie  Farmer J's Autumn clean.