Thank you
Ill carry on then
Last week I decided to spend a week at the farm (yay!!!) simply because I persuaded my mum to come too as Stacy needs a break from being around her. Mum has dementia (alzheimers) and can be very agressive towards everyone and it hurts Stacy or makes her angry, I just let it go over my head.
We took with us 2 little lads (aged 13 and 10) whose mum has just had a baby girl so needed time off from the bigger kids. 2nd marriage, 2nd family
Anyway, the weather was absolutley wonderful! Too hot to want to make the lamb pens lol but we did.
If anyone had told me what sheep or lambs were like I would never have believed them. They are the most arkward creature that God ever put breath into!!!
I feed them with 1/2 litre coke bottles with nipples/teats on but only having 2 hands can only feed 2 at once, whilst doing that the other 3 go mad at me biting my fingers, nipping the other lambs etc so picture this;
There I am standing, bending over slightly to feed 2 lambs in a sort of 'C' shape, one lamb at each hand when a lamb came up and under my arms and took a leap and bit my boob!!!
I yelled, my arms shot in the air complete with bottles and the 2 lambs I had been feeding imediately dropped dead!!!!!
Or so I thought! Phew! Relief! They blinked, shook themselves and stood up.
I now never go and feed the lambs without a thick apron and I dont EVER bend down!
The lads that came with us have been a great help, especially the older one as the younger one has been spoiled a lot having been the 'baby of the family for so long.
Tyrone (elder one) loves to be put to work and he has learnt how to feed every animal we own, how to bed them down with fresh bedding and how to make their homes water proof. In fact hubby shoved him onto a shed with a tarp and a nail gun, I worried, Tyrone worked fine.
Tyrone had worked with every power tool we own and is quite happy (like most males
) as long as he has a tool in his hand! He especially liked using our sit on grass mower and throwing huge plumes of grass out behind him, which he later raked up as hay.
Tyrone announced thjat he wanted to be a farmer when he grew up so he must have liked it all.
Now Brandon the youngest didnt stick to anything, in fact we asked him to screw a washer onto a lug nut and after 2 turns he couldnt get it on so he just dropped it and walked away. This is how long his concentration lasted at the beginning of the week. I must admit he drove me nuts and I got quite angry at him several times, he was greedy, selfish and once pushed his brother into the nettles and I have never seen such large nettle stings in my life all over his back, neck, arms and even through his trackie bottoms and all over his legs.
At that point I made Brandon sit in the kitchen and showed him what he had done to his brother, Brandon burst into tears as its his way of getting out of any trouble, it didnt work with me and he stayed in the kitchen for an hour and was told if he carried on crying he would be there longer! Oh yes cruel me!
However by the end of the week Brandon (and hubby and I not taking any rubbish from him) had turned around completely and had made/dug a whole veg patch, layed down straw, cardboard and compost and then went on to plant over 100 veg plants plus threw down some chicken fertilizer pellets. Then he watered the whole thing and I took some photo's on the phone to send to his mum. I was so proud of him I could have burst!
It did make me laugh when he phoned his mum to say that when the crops were ready he would bring his mum some strawberries, he didnt plant strawberries!!! lol Oh and he thought that potatoes grew on a bush! He was on a steep learning curve all last week.
One day out of the blue my hubby shouted from the gate "Jackie theres someone here to see you." Walking to the front gate I asked who? "Come see" he replied so in my pink spotted wellies and blue skirt and very dirty T shirt I walk to the gate and see a man standing who said with a great big grin on his face"I bet you cant guess who I am?"
"GEORGE!!!!!"
As with most websites we feel like we really know a friend we make on here so with that in mind I slung my arms round his neck and hugged him in welcome. Bless him he didnt mind a mad 50 year old fat woman flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him. Kath was still in the car so I waved at her and she soon came out to join us and she got a hug too! As I knew about her hand ops I had a look (being an ex nurse etc)and she must have had a good surgeon as the scars are very neat but still rather sensitive.
I ushered George and Kath into the house and Tyrone made the cuppas, we could only find 2 mugs lol so we took it in turns. That shows how unlivable the house is yet, we live mostly in the offices, a sort of camp out thing.
I loved chatting to Kath and George and took Kath to see my animals while George stayed with hubby talking about computers.
All too soon it was time for George and Kath to go home and I hope they both are very frequent visitors to my place.
I wanted to give George and Kath a prezzie so I asked if they wanted a chicken so I killed my first chicken. It was awfull!!!
I picked up the chicken that had gone off its legs being too big and took it to the barn and the humane killer, put its head in and pulled hard and fast as you should. I had forgotton the knife to cut its throat to let the blood drain out so I screamed "Get a sharp knife." Tyrone brought back a bread knife and I stood there trying to saw a slit in the chickens throat with a blunt knife whilst it was still flapping!!!
I was so worried that it was still alive and I was hurting it that I pulled it up to eye height to see if it looked back at me, Thank God it didnt and was really dead.
It was all very horrendous and I felt guilty for 3 days about killing it. Huh! Some farmer I am eh?
I havent yet plucked up the nerve to kill another chicken but I know I will have to as my chickens are meant chicks not egg birds.
George told us about several places that we needed such as the woodyard for stock fencing so we followed Georges instructions and found the place. I stayed in the van while hubby went in to get the wood then he called me out of the van and said "These guys know your Uncle jack and where he lives." So we went to visit my uncle and as its been so long since I have seen him he didnt know who I was!!! I said I would call back later with my mum when my auntie was home from work. Uncle Jack and my mum are brother and sister. Later it was very different as Auntie Shirley was home and she knew who we were and we have a good couple of hours. I was very weepy as I never thought my mum would see any of her family ever again.
The other place George told us about was the sale at the race course, I didnt go but stayed on the farm so hubby went with the 2 boys. Hubby wished he had taken loads of money (he only took £100) as there was lots he wanted to buy. He did buy some stock fencing much cheaper than in the shops and will for definate go back when they have the next sale in September.
Hubby said there was a childs sit on pretend grass mower that he will buy for grandson next time so they can both mow the land side by side trundling up the field lol Grandson is 13 months BTW lol Baby genius according to grandad.
