Video Tour Of The Maternity Suite

I thought I would put together a short video of our ladies in waiting in the maternity suite

I am planning to do a lot more videos from the Ranch showing what we are doing, also from the poly tunnels and growing areas I think its sometimes easier to show things on video.

I hope you enjoy this little tour 🐐👩

No Kidding

Well Thelma had us on a false alarm, Connie is just in a cant make my mind up mood, in other words no kids have arrived, they have to arrive at some point dont they ?

Today I got all three girls into pens, as the weather has turned wet they dont want to be outside 

 This also gives them the chance to get use to there new home, I can also monitor who is eating and who is not, this evening Connie wasnt interested in any food, Thelma is picking at hers and Helen wolfed hers down. I do hope they kid in the next week, as we are away for the week end soon and I dont want to stress my friend with pending maternity duties, she is looking after the ranch for us and it is the first time we will both be away and her first time of looking after things.

Monday as it was a lovely sunny day we took Sol and Tess down to the beach

 Tess was kept on her lead as we didnt know how she would be with the sea,

 there was no stopping Sol he loves the sea, Tess had a little paddle

but didnt know what to make of it.

 She was happy enough investigating everything

 At the week end Flash came out of hibernation 

After a few hours basking in the sun he was off wandering around, he is once again being kept in the fruit cage, although with the fruit cage being covered with wood chip we will have to look at alternative accommodation for him soon.

That rounds up most of the news for now.

 

 

WOW What A Weekend

Were do I start

Saturday I had a group of ladies from the sewing group coming over for the day

We spent it in the cabin chatting going through books fabric and stuff, it was a brilliant day.

Sunday we had a lovely family visiting our ranch.

Louise John and boys fellow blogger

 from Welsh Dreams Now Reality

a really delightful family, the boys were a real credit to Louise and John, well mannered, nicely spoken, inquisitive, talkative, funny and not a mobile phone or I pad in sight.

Louise brought along a lovely home made Lemon Drizzle cake I should have taken a photo before we started eating it

 

 John made us a lovely gift, a boot puller

 It can be hung on the wall,

 Martin has already put it to use a few times

I made some wild garlic soup and Turkish flat breads for lunch, which we had with some of the ham I made the other week and dips. Over lunch we had a great conversation with the boys about were our meat is from and why we raise our own.

 they were very keen to meet the Alpacas, I was really hoping the goats might have kidded in time for this visit, unfortunately not,

 We all brought some branches back for the goats, Connie and Helen got tucked in but Thelma was not interested and stayed away from the others, light bulb moment a good sign she was in early labour, after Louise and family left I set to giving a clean out of goat house in readiness for impending kids, A nice thick bed of straw for the ladies.

 Connie came to investigate that gave me a chance to check her over, looks like kidding is imminent with her to, her pelvic tail muscles (cant remember what they are called) have gone mushy and she had the start of a discharge, Thelma still just wanted to be on her own in the field, not eating, very restless, her udder is full and firm, I really didn't like the idea of her kidding during the night in the field, it looks like another cold frosty night.

The new goat house isn't all finished yet one bay still to concrete, so we improvised this evening and set up a kidding pen in the finished end, Thelma is now set up in there.

 She seemed more than happy, I will sleep better now knowing she is under cover. I will pop over and check her before going to bed, fingers crossed kids by morning.

Back to Saturday again, Martin was busy with concrete and I was playing hostess to the sewing group, Martin brought home two big bones to entertain Tess 

 And Sol

  They had a great time with there bones and they were kept entertained most of the day.

signing off now going to check on goats 😀

Parsley And Wild Garlic

The other day I cut back loads of Parsley in the poly tunnel

 I decided to dehydrate it or most of it, I don't freeze herbs as they take up room in the freezer and I think thy lose some of there flavours.

I did one tray in the bottom oven of the Rayburn 

 It came out fine and had good colour although it took longer to dry out.

 I did five trays in the dehydrator

Now I had a jar of parsley in the cupboard that I bought last year while waiting for mine to grow

 The above picture is shop bought dried parsley

 This picture above is oven dried parsley

 This photo above is the parsley from the dehydrator 

in comparison the shop stuff is brown and doesn't have that parsley smell, compared to the parsley I have done.

 The shop stuff is now on the compost heap and I re-used the jar for my own, it looks a lot fresher.

 I picked a load of wild garlic yesterday (Ramsons) I have set 5 trays in the dehydrator, I thought it might be nice sprinkled on dinners, when thinks are dehydrated the flavour and colour intensifies.

Will report back on it later.

Potting On Pottering

It was time to pot on the tomato plants

 The roots were starting to come out of the bottom of there starter pots, they also have there true leaves now

A few of the peppers needed potting on as well

 I sowed some more sweet peas, the tops got pinched out of the young sweet pea plants, there are all going to be planted in the cut flower area, I love the scent of sweet peas and I hope by staggering there growing I will have some to pick later in the season.

The dogs and me headed over the fields to do some foraging for the goats, Brambles and Ivy, when the goats went in this evening I did some hoof trimming, I haven't been taking enough off, I have been watching a few you tube videos on hoof trimming and gave them a good manicure this evening, there hoofs are easy to trim in the evening as they soften up after being on damp grass.

they also got a good brush down, Connie who is on the right in the photo has a long coat, while brushing her I noticed the hair on her hind quarters is a bit matted, a hair cut is in order I think as she is due any time so the sooner her hair is cut the better, I remember the mess she got into last time she kidded and had to be shampooed down and a hair cut.

This morning didn't start well, the rouge buzzard is back and had one of the doves, fortunately it was the lone dove and not one of the parents but still a sad loss.

There was also another loss I don't know when it happened

we only have one baby dove in the nest, some time in the last few days one must have died and the parents removed it from the nest.

 I managed to get a good photo of the survivor, still ugly.

Today's eggs from the chickens got set in the incubator

21 days and we should have some chicks.

 More seeds have been sown, these are in the heated propagator 

Cucumbers and Squashes, they need a bit of bottom heat to help them germinate.

 The sideboard in the lounge is filling up

 

 I also have a couple of mushroom kits on the go

 There is lots of young ones coming on

 One of them is more in a rush than the others

Chestnut mushrooms this time.

The poly tunnels got a good soaking today in readiness for planting,  the sun was shining at it was a lovely day for being outside, although the ground was still very wet after after the downpours snow and hail over the last 24hrs.

We are getting more good days weather wise than bad days and spring is on the way properly now.

 

Dogs And Doves Update

Doves are doing well raising there young

two weeks old 

They are growing at a rate on knots and now feathering up

Still ugly though but there mum loves them.

Mum is leaving them more and more. Another couple of weeks and they will fledeg.

I must get out the step ladder and get some better photos.

 

Monday mornings is now our doggie weigh in day

Tess weighed in at  32.9kg down 1.1kg total loss to date 6.7kg

Sol weighed in at 33.5kg he has lost 200g instead of putting on.

The weight loss to Tess has made such a difference, her mobility and breathing is a lot better.

She still has issues with back leg weakness when she over does it

like the other day coming in from outside those legs went right in the door way 

Martin had to slide her across so we could shut the door

He was then trying to dry her off 

 Her tail is wagging all the time

   She is such a funny dog, we move her bed beside her roll her into it then move the bed with her inside back to its place, there she stays tail wagging until her legs have recovered.

She loves going out in the car and whenever the opportunity arises she is there trying to get in, she has been here a month now we have learnt how to get round her deafness, yes she is extra work but we love her to bits.

Yesterdays weather was very mixed, sunshine, sleet, hail snow rain and wind a bit of everything.

 

 

101 And Finished

Its Sunday and the bad weather that was forecast for the week end seems to have skimmed past us.

Yesterday Martin spent the day concreting the second bay of the goat house and I was down the cabin sewing.

Today the sky may have been grey but it wasn't too bad outside

I was determined to finish planting the Cherry Trees 

and set to with the help of the chickens

 101 Cherry trees now planted all finished never to be done again yippee. I even counted them twice to make sure.

 Martin moved some more dumpy bags down beside the fruit cage for me to spread out during the week, he also fixed the pigs water trough again every few days the wreck it. He also made a start painting the small field shelter.

Then we both got stuck into replenishing the log supply

 I brought the logs up from the field

 Martin split them

 Then I moved them to the log shed.

I spent a bit of time in the poly tunnel pruning back the citrus trees picked the last two lemons

 I also cut back the parsley, this lot is heading for the dehydrator.

 When Martin walked Sol he picked a big bunch of wild garlic our first this year

 They were cooked up in a left over stir fry for dinner, there was a bit of Haggis left from last night a bit of chorizo and some oddments of bacon all cooked up together with some onions.

 lots of seeds are now germinating, the growing season is well and truly on the way, I got loads of squash seeds sown, in a few days I will do cucumbers also the tomatoes need potting on.

I also made a start with the Basil and Coriander two of our favourite annual herbs. 

Time to jump in the shower now then sit down with my feet up for a bit.

Yippeee Its Friday

After a few days of the promise of spring, this morning started dull overcast gloomy with a chill in the air.

The other day we had a beautiful T-shirt type of day, I was in my t-shirt working away clearing weeds from one of the garden borders and cutting back ready for the new shoots to spring forth.

There was a few bumble bees about when one flew down my t-shirt unknown to me until it stung me and I could feel it buzzing inside my clothes, I ripped off my t-shirt out popped the bumble bee it went about its business as I stood half naked in the garden in pain.

 under the armpit is not the best of places to be stung.

It throbbed and swelled up but now its fine, just left with redness that will fade in a few days.

 I had a lovely delivery come in the post

I saw an ad from the Woodlands Trust about growing trees from seed, I am a sucker for trees and they were giving away free seeds I applied and they arrived the other day

The seeds are already germinating so need to be planted asap.

 Back to being Friday

Friday is clean out day

The Alpaca shelter got swept out

 The chicken house has been cleaned out, I didn't do the goat house as I am hoping that over the week end they move into there new house, first kids due in 5 days.

Another Friday job is making bread for use over the week end.

 I also got some yogurt made, I had some with raspberry sauce this evening.

 Being Friday means Martin is coming home, that's the best bit of Friday, he wont get home until about 10-30pm the evening is spent watching for the car headlights with the dogs, 

It looks like the weather is going to be naff this week end as we end the tail end of the American snow storm arrive as rain.

Regardless of the weather the goat house has to be finished.

I will have to get crafting this week its only a couple of weeks until my next market day and I need to get stock made.

Right time to sign off need to jump in the shower and await my hubby. Have a good week end everyone 😁