Rats / Pickles / Squashes - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Monday 15 September, 2025

by Rosemary at 7:22am in Smallholding No comments Add your own

W/e 14^th September 2025

I’m writing this Sunday night. It’s 8.50pm, pitch dark, bucketing rain and Mickey was an absolute ass about coming in tonight. Smokey is always happy to come in, but Mickey blocks him (being the boss) so I had to walk up the field and lead them down. Once in, Mickey wouldn’t come to be tied up. Grrrr. Most nights he’s fine but he picked a fine one to be an utter dick. I am quite wet.

Weather this week has been changeable, as you’d expect. Showers, some heavy; but warm sunny spells too. It’s cool in the mornings too. Fleece has been in use for the morning round.

Misty morning.

Which has been traumatic due to the rat infestation in the feed store. How did I manage to kid myself that there was ONE rat? When is there ever ONE rat? Anyway, Dan shot a few, then pulled out everything, found the hole and blocked it (and baited it before he blocked it). Traps in and we’ll put bait in the roof space. Buggers. Hate ‘em.

As you can see, the cats are working hard. Bertie and Cooper seem to be buddies, but you can’t tell with Bertie.

Cooper (back) and Bertie.

And Dot was locked in the workshop. By accident. She soon let us know she was stuck.

For a small cat, she can make a lot of noise.

Alistair brought Pickles the tup up. The CIDRS don’t come out until next weekend, but his presence with tease them a bit and they’ll be nice and settled as a flock but the time he has to work. Pickles is no the brawest; his ear is a funny shape and he damaged his head in a fight years ago and has a wee growth in the middle of his head, which makes him look like an ugly unicorn. Still, his laydees like him and that’s all that matters. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Pickles and his girls.

We’re getting on with putting the vegetable garden to bed for the winter. We’ve weeded, manured and covered one of the six and should get another two done this week. Beds I & 6 have perennial plants, so will be manured but not covered and Bed 4 has the over wintering leeks and brassicas.

Dan’s using the squash crop for weight training and curing them in the polytunnel. Still more to be picked yet, so a good crop this year.

Dan, weight training with squashes.

Squashes curing.