The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on December 29, 2011, 05:45:52 pm
-
So, just 2 days ago I was leant over the fence enjoying the sunshine and watching the goats skipping about having fun, the chickens were dustbathing and the sheep were laid down chewing and doing that smiley thing that they do when they are content. Snowball the errant cat had returned from the 'mad cat lady' who borrows her for a few days on the trot and everything felt cosy and good.
Today, 10 year old daughter shouts "muuuuuuuuuum...what does it mean when a sheep is laying down and a crow is pecking it..." and so started our day. Young ewe had died over night, apparantly suffered an aborted pregnancy.
Newest pregnant goat has decided her shed is too 'scary' since a white star chicken decided to nest in there yesterday and it shouted at Puffin when she tried to go in. Goat legged it and has been peering in too scared to enter despite chook being removed by my daughter back to her own house. So, when it started raining ice cubes tonihgt I was out there in my lovely waterproofs trying to coax the goat into her shed and convince her that scary hen has gone.
other female goat in season and being very noisy and trying to escape and a load of fencing blew down.
hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, maybe I'm just shattered today (header tank over flowed from 3am aaaaaagh!!)
-
Yes tomorrow will be better... but for tonight: a large glass of (mulled) wine, some chokkies left from Xmas, fire on...
Goat being frightened by chicken actually sounds quite funny.... but I have seen them jump at really silly things too... my BT tried today to eat my hair/pony tail...
-
Goat being frightened by chicken actually sounds quite funny.... but I have seen them jump at really silly things too... my BT tried today to eat my hair/pony tail...
;D it is really I think it was just the final straw though lol. if anyone could have seen me out there absolutely drenched and freezing and saying "its ok puffin, the chickens gone now..." . It was the same reaction I got when I bought Vanna a new brush, old one was brown new one was pink - took it in to groom her and she was off like a rocket, scared by a new brush ::)
Thanks Anke :)
-
I'm sure tomorrow will be better Plums - re the pony tails chewing goats - mine did that till last week when I braved the hairdresser, made and appointment before last christmas but was snowed in - made it this year and all chopped off short so they can't chew my ponytail any more so now the jacket is suffering more!!
-
What are they like :D I can just see you and hear you reassuring her that the chicken had gone :D
My geese wouldn't go to bed last night - when I looked there was a young rabbit sheltering in their house. It bolted of course - poor thing, I expect that it thought it had found somewhere safe out of the rain - don't suppose it would have liked sharing with the gander any more than they liked the look of it ::)
Hope tomorrow is more like the day previously, that you described :-*
-
My wether has a habit of eating ponytails too, he's upset a few toddlers ::) he steals stuff out of my pocket mostly - barn keys, mobile phone, lip balm...must invest in zipped pocket outerware ;D
Thanks for cheering me back up everyone with your funny stories :-*
-
I hope all goes better tomorrow :)
-
thats life on the farm so u have to appreciate the good stuff while u can.
im sure our farm has its own spirit and will try and prove us wrong if everything is going too well - or if ur planning on going away etc. then something is bound to happen! anyone else find that?
ie our cows have never escaped until the day the bull arrived to serve them, and that was the day they crossed the river and walked 1/4 mile down old railway line and jumped in with neighbours bullocks. and they have never escaped since either! gremlins??? lol
-
if ur planning on going away etc. then something is bound to happen! anyone else find that?
Oh yes, all the time. Non-farming friends get fed up of hearing, "We'll see nearer the time", and "Let's just play it by ear"! And my parents cannot understand why I can't tell them "when things will be quiet" so they can come up for a visit! ::)
-
Every night when I Take Pom into the same place to milk her, she has to stand in the open doorway letting all the heat out while she inspects the whole room to make sure the bogey man isn't in there. (He never is!)
I used to have a problem with Flo eating my pony tail while I was milking her until I realised is was only on the day I washed my hair. Answer? I changed my shampoo. She was very partial to Boots Tea Tree and MInt but doesn't like Alberto Balsam Tea Tree. ;D
-
here's hoping for a better day for you :thumbsup:
never dull though is it?! ;)
-
I know what you mean - I was delighted to have new chooks but then started getting attacked by the cockerel. I was relieved to put a pony out who'd been on and off lame and the next day I hear the Fife hunt is planning to come this way tomorrow so I start worrying about him, the last pregnant mare due in 3 months (the other aborted), the youngsters galloping in all the deep mud, ponies through fences, the stallion getting upset.. and instead of going to see friends and celebrate Hogmanay I will be here on my own for about the 7th day in a row standing out by the field gates to see the fireworks don't upset them either/further after the hunting earlier ::) I hardly spent anything in December and earned maybe £200 but still have a £400 credit card bill from a £200 vet bill, one tank of diesel and one tyre for a car that needs another asap..
There are days I feel blessed pottering about picking veg I have grown, making things from fruit in the garden, eating omelettes from eggs laid just feet from the kitchen door.. and days I wonder how much longer I can cope before it all gets too much.. I am currently wondering if I am being selfish hanging on to this lifestyle dream when it is beyond my physical and financial capacity to really do more than "just cope" most of the time..
Maybe 2012 is the time to think hard about letting the dream go.. but I know it will only take that one foal being born in late March, a sign of grass growing and longer days, and a few more customers for eggs and felt and preserves, a couple of workshops and maybe a few 1-1 clients, and I'll be all optimistic again so I don't know which is real and which is the illusion, both seem so real in their seasons, or on their days.. ::)
All I can say is hang in there - I think it's all swings, up and down, back and forward, and the roundabout bits are just about being too dizzy to walk away.. ;)
-
Oh no EllieD you are having a worse time of it than me, don't give up on your dream too quickly though. I think we have to weigh up a lot of what we do, why we do it and what we get from doing it (satisfaction I mean as we all know the financial rewards are not quite as great as other lifestyles may be!)
I'll be stood watching for fireworks too. One of our neighbours fired rockets directly at our sheep (not intentionally but its how it happened) on 6th November so will be waiting to see him do it again and deal with it...again. It so worrying when you have pregnant stock and people act so irresponsibly around them. We'll look back on this thread late march and smile ;)
-
Ach it's just a day.. ;)
I look at this £400 bill and think how a couple of years ago I'd have spent that easily in a day without even thinking twice, so it's a good sign of how life can be lived far more economically and there are 11 lovely hens out there even if George is a pain in the you know where.. I guess it's a matter of looking on the bright side.. and finding a large bucket to see if someone else's solution will get George in line ;) And if the hunt come tomorrow then hopefully they won't be back for a while and at least it's a day I'm here with nothing else planned..
Sorry, I just let off steam a bit here.. I am doing some clearing out and have plums on the stove defrosting and turning into something for later, and my mid afternoon snack is a piece of shortbread made with custard powder which I heard about on here a few months back, so it's all got potential for a reasonable day and tomorrow will just have to be whatever it is ::)
-
:) sounds like some nice things planned for you today. Things looking better here today too - so far all sheep are still alive, no goats have tried to escape and the fencing stayed up all night (i was awake much of the night reliving what I saw in the knackerman's lorry :'( and worrying that the fencing that keeps the goats out of the plum orchard might have fallen down due to the really bad winds we had last night ) so all in all a better day! x
-
Plums, I'm glad you are having a better day today and Ellied, I'm sure you will soon be having better days. I too wonder if it's all too much (and I only have three goats in my large garden) but, as you say, something nice happens and you know you'll keep going.
Plums :bouquet:
Ellied :bouquet:
-
Thank you :)
-
Thanks from me too - I just retrieved 7 eggs including 3 (!) from the 3 new girls and no attack as I never took my eyes off him other than a couple of secs with my head in the coop.
7 eggs from 11 hens on 30 December.. not bad at all and for all 3 Araucanas to come into lay after 12/13 days here is very kind of them. Mind I've no customers til 3 Jan so I guess it's omelettes, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, maybe even pickled eggs ;) And no new bruises :)
-
hey good going!! We are still waiting on our araucana and cream legbar to start laying, looking forward to some green eggs!! glad to hear doodle-doo behaved.
I've just made 2 batches of bubble bars. one is for the boys (sandalwood, orange and patchouli) and the other is ever so girly, its called 'hearts and flowers' and fragranced with rose and sweetpea, decorated with a few silver hearts and some rose bud heads. My own head is currently spinning due to the fragrance combo so have had to come away from the kitchen!!
-
I'll swap all the broken fences, livestock for a decent nights sleep without him indoors snoring!
The muds getting me a bit down at the mo, but we are all in the same boat with that one. ::)
-
Oh Black Raven tell me about it!! I have moved my lovely hubby into the spare room, he has a hammock in there which is better for his back so when he starts to snore I kick him out ;D But then my 4 year old climbs into my bed and starts kneeing me in the back so I have to stick a pillow between her and me. and THEN snowball the cat trampolines off my head but if I shut her out we run the risk of cat no.4 being run over :-\
muds driving me nuts, our goats are on a hill so everytime I go in their paddock I slide down like a snowboarder (hey, maybe we could start a new sport here? lol)
-
Spring's not far away my lovelies, only a few more weeks :) :) :wave:
-
I feel exhausted from the snoring, so tired. Tried ear plugs and I end up with ear ache and an infection :-\ Whisky seems to help ;D
I'm sorry about your little dead sheep plumseverywhere. It's sad when you lose something, even though you try not to get attached to them.
I'm thinking of renting the field out for people who fancy trying mud wrestling!
Spring can't come fast enough Sylvia :-*
-
just nipped out to collect out van from the garage (finally mended yay!) and on the way found a lot of roads in the village are flooding! i think we've had a steady flow of rain today and the brooks and drains (yet again) can't cope. looks like its feeding time in the shed for the goats again - once I can persuade the youngest that there really are no evil chickens in hers...
re:snoring. I had hopi ear candles once and it really helped wiht blocked sinuses, they say its good for snorers. anything gets to be 'worth and try' though when you are that exhausted really :-\
-
Living alone , the snoring shouldn't be a problem . But i have 3 spaniels that give it some welly at times . As for the mud well , that is doing my head in .
I don't really bother trying to explain why i do what i do , my way of life , to 'normal' people , they just think i am memtal , probably am ! But i dön't have to justify my life to them . But i do think "wtf am i doing?" at times ! Usually when i am walking to the land in the now normal monsoon !
Cheers Russ
-
Living alone , the snoring shouldn't be a problem . But i have 3 spaniels that give it some welly at times . As for the mud well , that is doing my head in .
I don't really bother trying to explain why i do what i do , my way of life , to 'normal' people , they just think i am memtal , probably am ! But i dön't have to justify my life to them . But i do think "wtf am i doing?" at times ! Usually when i am walking to the land in the now normal monsoon !
Cheers Russ
-
ooh no snoring dogs!! poor you Russ! I know what you mean about trying to explain to 'normal' people. our families are just about coming round as to why we want to live this way of life, having said that they should appreciate it as both of us have farmers for aunties and uncles so its in our blood but I guess because hubby and I both worked for the NHS in our former life people didn't expect us to change so drastically! Do you not find though that there are more people saying "I wish I had your life" than thinking you are mental? People seem to say that to us a lot., until bad stuff happens then they seem confused at me getting upset 'over a goat' or lamb...or whatever. They do all seem to appreciate the homemade plum wine though ;)
-
Mmmmm plum wine :yum:
-
Yes , dog snoring x3 can almost be orchestral , but at 3am ?
But worse than snoring is the spinning round in circles 1000 times before laying down , that really does my head in ! Why i do it i have no idea ? lol.
Most of my relatives , are well and truly , on the merry go round of wanting everything that money can buy, and most of the people that do buy a smallholding round here , last about 3 years . I think it takes about that long for the money to run out ! Not so many people moving lately though !
Very few would want to live the way i do though , lol , but i think there are more people in general , who want 'something' different , but sadly , most are stuck where they are due to money (the old merry go round again) .
-
BlackRaven, if your hubby wears anything to sleep in, sew a cotton reel into the back of the tshirt/pyjama jacket! Prevents lying on his back and therefore reduces snoring significantly.
-
Sadly for me he snores just as bad on his side. ::)
-
That's the same with me I can snore hanging upside down hanging like a bat and the best of it is I sometimes wake myself up with the noise :) :) :) Hiring out for mud wrestling MMMM I wonder. Never give up your dream what else would I do when not snoring cheers.
-
My OH snores on his side because he sleeps with his head tilted right back. It looks so uncomfortable. I find the edge of a fingernail pressed against the back of his head does the trick.
-
My OH snores on his side because he sleeps with his head tilted right back. It looks so uncomfortable. I find the edge of a fingernail pressed against the back of his head does the trick.
Ha ha that made me laugh ;D I often give Dave a dig in the side with my elbow or push him. Last night the WHippet crept into our bed, but she doesn't snore - phew!
Hey it's not raining today ! So this morning I had a couple of mins to just stand and watch the hens as I let them out of their run into the field. I can see up the fells and the river Kent runs past and it all looked so beautiful, made me think maybe we aren't so crazy after all, plus my migraine seems to of gone. Much love if anyone is having a crap day :-*
-
Hang on in there everyone - remember the mud free days of the summer and the Hughes of "living the dream".
We too both worked for the NHS before retiring to France.
Snoring - I worked in Sleep Medicine for nearly 28 years and was one of the first UK people to work with "snorers" in the 1980s ( so I sympathise for all you spouses of snorers) - fortunately, in recent years, I got my juniors to do the night work and have not heard a snorer for years. Nowdays it's just the cockerel and the grunts of the pigs who all live in the barn that is adjacent to our house. Our bedroom has 3 small windows that look down into the barn and the OH wants to set up a camera with infra red lamps to look at the owls and Lerots ( edible doormouse). This project smacks of the technology I used to observe "snorers" at night so I am not too keen on it. I am not sure that discovering that the pigs snore would make me get them to loose weight since I spend most of the day cooking their food to make them gain weight.
I hope that all the support and best wishes TAS gives helps those who have bad days and difficulties and I look forward to hearing of better days in 2012.
Cheers Martin
-
smallholding! been there, done that, for over 40 years,would not change anything.
It is a labour of love. :horse: