The English Paysanne

Last week was busy, as well as tidying up around the farm, moving cows again, taking down old electric fencing where pigs were we had a job of fencing an area for some new furries to live in. Divided into two to give a resting peroid for grass to grow in each run we moved down two redundant pig huts which farmer J has done a good job converting and reroofing one (he has a little time to repair the other one) putting up Gorgon wood proofing, yes he would try to get to any food source if he could (the furries food not the actual furies I hope). Yesterday morning I went to collect 4 female (I hope) guinea pigs from a enterprising young lady who reminded me of my self when I use to keep guinea pigs, selling babies to the local pet shop and to new owners with a board outside the house. As I waiteed for her and her mum to catch them I chated to her farmer dad, it was a kind of ramshackle enterprise of ducks, pigs, rabbits with a few hunting dogs, horses ...

Lettuce and carrots trimmed Lettuce and parsley trimmed - they left the parsley stalks, thyme and chives! Chard nibbled - not the white bits though Jerusalem artichokes as they should look Same bunch of artichokes with a stem lower than the rest Kale Kohl Rabi  I haven't been in the veggie patch for a few days, gite cleaning and other life stuff so after a down pour of rain this evening I went for a soggy wonder. It's looking a bit sad and seems to of turned into a rabbit restaurant, a place where they can nibble in the evening, dead of night, early morning or anytime really when I am not there.  I even think they have invited their buck teethed neighbours for a nibble over a green leaf for when you walk up our drives, along the road, around the hanger and gites or look over in the fields rabbits of all sizes are everywhere, even in our garden- so much for having two hunting dogs. There does seem to be repetition to their eating habits i...

 The last two bales came home from the fields in between wet weather showers. Counting bales farmer J reckons another ten are needed in case of emergency so his hoping the weather will let him cut half of our middle field before the moon changes and rain puts a stop to hay making.  I dug up the new potatoes in the poly tunnel, I seem to of grown mutant ones some of them are huge. It must of been the chicken manure I dug in.  Maude and Mabel, the Muscovy ducks are still spending their time inside the barn, I still keep ushering them out, they still keep waddling back in the minute my back is turned. I also found out our large white male is not a Muscovy but a Mulard,  a sterile Muscovy/ Peking cross which is why he may be so much bigger than the girls - and I will not get any ducklings from them, not that they have laid an egg yet.  The Sunday morning market up in Najac has started to fill up with stalls and tourists.We had coffee this morn...