The English Paysanne

Sandy's piglets are now two weeks old and growing fast, just starting to become interested in the creep feed that is put out for them it won't be long before there gulping it down. Of the ten piglets born, eight of the nine males have also now been castrated (one got away to be caught on Friday) ear tags were put in at the same time, cut down in size to accommodate their tiny ears. The only female, the black one without an ear tag will also have to be caught along with her brother to have hers put in. Piglet catching is a little bit scary when a sow is around, piglets make a lot of noise, enough for Sandy to jump the pen fence when she was shut outside eating. You do not want to hang around even if she is a docile pig for she is a good mum being very protective and she wouldn't have any worries about taking a bite out of us! I was hoping to find them all out in the enclosure where they follow Sandy around already getting into mischief play fighting, digging a...

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 ...

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Hedge cutting or putting miss F to work

June, it's a busy time of year with lots of different things needing attention on the farm. The gites are occupied so deep cleaning has been needed with the gardens also needing attention, grass is growing at an incredible rate, good for the pigs as they eat the clippings not good for me as I end up hot, sweaty and with green feet due to getting too hot and having to wear the faithful summer Birkenstock's I love so well. The hay is ready to be cut, farmer J has to grease up the machines while keeping an eye on the weather forecast for five days of unbroken sun/ dry weather in order to cut, turn, return, line up and bail. Also ready to cut are the sheep's fleeces, when we had a small herd a sheerer done the job for 2 Euros a piece, a bargain for the amount of time and back ache farmer J suffered from but now with only two old girls, one who's fleece probably counts as half a fleece now as bits are falling off her as I write we would be hard pushed for a shearer...

The extension to the veggie patch was weeded with the shed emptied of mud from where piglets had lived for a short time, so much encrusted mud was inside the shed it took farmer J a morning with a crow bar and hammer chipping away as I placed it over the earth to be rotovated.(the green bit by the shed has been left due to big tree roots, this is going to be made into a refuge for us, images of seating, fridge and stove appear in my head with a house for the dogs where we can spend a little free time - bit like a holiday! I had a go at rotovating with the rotovator, which after having a life of its own farmer J had to take over. Sunflowers have been planted along the fence, its now ready to be planted before the weeds start to grow.  I have weeded a little in the veggie patch, now I can see rows of beetroot and parsnips its a little easier. We have had a bit of rain and sun so the weeds have grown a bit more - next week it will be weeded and tidied(in my dreams) ...

A moment from the week at  La Singlarie Sandy and her three day old piglets

Sandy was suppose to of given birth a month ago after a visit to champion the boar. After she came home with a smile on her face and without coming into season  plus the eating she began to gain weight, sure signs of pregnancy. As we counted the 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days no piglets came, she looked rounder but no sign.  Each day after farmer J would say "when Sandy" and she would look back, her teats began to fill another definite sign but still no babies after a month of waiting she produced milk, this we thought was not going to turn out happy, thinking they would be still born with her body going through the motions, a waiting game. Then this morning, at normal feeding time I was gobsmacked to find ten little piglets, just born feeding already. Running back to get my camera farmer J thought something awful had happened. Each time I have visited today they have been feeding with no apparent runts they are a good size and hopefully Sandy has got enough ...