The English Paysanne

A moment from the week at La Singlarie A weekend of celebreating my birthday.

It' my birthday today, although I am not as old as the Queen I will be making the celebrations last  over the weekend starting today.

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Can't believe we have a 25 year old daughter

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Another year older, not so sure I'm any wiser.

This week we were back at the vets with Franklin to have his stitches removed and find out the results of his biopsy of which are not clear so we are still none the wiser. He still is wearing his collar until one last stitch heals. Its been hard work these past days feeding the pigs with frozen water pipes there has been lots of water lugging and heavy food buckets carried up the hill to them. Although the pigs enjoy eating the ice from the water troughs they are not too sure about walking on frozen mud so have spent most of their days in their cabins. I finished my jumper, with the help of Fizz pressing the back its now sewn up, the neck band knitted, unpicked and re knitted as it was rather tight. It's now waiting to be blocked, although there are a few mistakes overall I'm quiet happy to finish a cable jumper. Miss F and Master C came back this weekend to celebrate C's 22nd Birthday, We even got them working on collecting the offc...

After a mild Christmas temperatures went below freezing making the pipes to the  cows bath water and pigs freeze up, containers were filled and fetched for the pigs but its a different matter for a herd of large cows all needing a drink. So on a rather biting windy morning  posts were placed with an electric fence being threaded through from the hanger down to the source in the side field, giving the herd access to the woods as well. It took all morning as plastic fence posts were hunted down and pinched from pig enclosures not in use (we seem to get through an amazing amount of these plastic posts) as farmer J switched the fence on and the cows were led down to water I placed the last plastic post in to see a young steer run through the fence taking the wire with him. So after a bit of colourful language, herding them all back, shutting off the field, having a large coffee the fence was mended and re threaded (more fence posts had to be borrowed ...

miss F, the baking queen made a cake a very rare photo ! It's my birthday today,  another year older and possibly wiser? A day spent with a lay in and no animal feeding this morning with cake and presents shared with farmer J, who brought me a lovely tiny camera with wifi so able to send pictures without having to use my tablet -( if I can work out how to that is) and miss F who brought me a lovely silver elderflower troll bead to add to my collection. Master C in the depths of Scotland and unable to connect to the outside world sent me   this book (in my pathway of becoming healthier to my body and trying to reduce dairy and other things that may be making the 47 year old body sluggish). A day being treated to a lovely lunch at our favourite restaurant in Villefranche, Cote  Sauveurs with a surprise of close friends Anita and Richard joining us. Final treat this evening of seafood salad, bottle of Chablis, cake and master chef - what more could a ...

It all got a bit too muddy for the seven pigs up the top of the hill (and for farmer J who was feeding them) so a move to empty enclosures was welcomed. The pigs moved in record time over electric fencing so I think they were as fed  up with the mud as much as we are. It's so much easier to fed when your boots don't get stuck. The piglets are growing, they have not yet ventured out into the enclosure still. Think they may be pigs that don't do mud. They have been introduced to cereal which they are beginning to get a taste for, mums been trying to fit in under the fence to get to their food as yet she hasn't managed, settling for a bit of hay to distract her. The nine laying hens from last year have been moved to join the old hens, two cockerels, gorgon and the two girls as well as the sheep. Shutting them in for a day (Gorgon was not pleased at being shut out for the day) I thought come the next morning they may return to the barn the following...