I was at work the other day when I got a call from Steve to tell me that one of the chickens had been injured. At the time he called he had no idea what had happened but as time went on the story unfolded.
A friend had been visiting and as he left Steve reminded him to be careful as the chickens were out. He soon returned to say that there were feathers everywhere and a chicken was in the road. Steve thought that it had wandered into the road and been hit by a car but on further inspection this was not the case. The trail of feathers made him realise that she had been grabbed and taken by at this stage an unknown animal. He looked down the road and saw a woman with two horses and two loose dogs and suspected he had identified the culprit.
The chicken had obviously been shaken and had lost a lot of feathers including all the tail feathers and most flight feathers especially from its left wing, she had also sustained an injury to her right leg/foot. Steve gently examined her and there were no sign of blood or puncture wounds so although she was shaking and shocked he felt that if she survived the night she might live. A while later the woman who Steve had seen riding away with dogs knocked on the door and confessed that the culprit was indeed one of her dogs. It transpired that the dog had spotted our chickens in our garden and had gone up our drive and attacked them managing to catch one. She said that she only realised that the dog had gone when she saw it with the chicken in its mouth, she yelled at the dog to drop the chicken which it did. She offered to replace the chicken and a couple of days later left us a note saying that she had been told that our chickens would not accept a new chicken and left a bottle of wine instead! I do not wish to seem ungrateful but.......
A few days later Steve met one of the local farmers who asked about the chicken - he had seen the whole sorry episode.
Call me cynical but I wonder if this woman would have returned had she not been seen and I question why did she not stop and tell us at the time of the event rather than leave an injured animal in the road. Why did she not have her dogs under control? her excuse was that the dog that attacked the chicken was only nine months old, why was it not on a lead? How did she possibly think that she could control two horses and two dogs (without leads) along country lanes and cross the main A30!
Many people may think that it was 'only a chicken' but that chicken was injured and very distressed and should not have just been left. We also rely on our four chickens for eggs - not unsurprisingly she has not laid since the incident thus reducing our egg supply by 25% - a bottle of wine is no compensation for the chicken! or our lost production.
It should also be noted that the sheep are now lambing and are also suseptable to dog attacks.
Finally we are not anti dogs, indeed we have one of our own, but are are against irresponsible dog owners who should know better.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wedding on Scilly and other stuff.
It's been a while since I updated this blog but tonight is the night. We have been really busy; Steve has started part-time paid work and I have increased my hours, we have had lots of weekends away, and work on the smallholding has been rather neglected so we are now playing catch-up.
In September we went to a wonderful wedding on the Isles of Scilly. For us getting there was rather traumatic, not that anything awful actually happened but our imaginations went into overdrive with all the potential for disaster, let me explain; we had booked a flight from Land's End Airport to St Mary's Airport. We arrived at Land's End and it was just like a step back in time, Heathrow it isn't! it was lovely no queues, our names were on a list, no passports - check-in staff were expecting us, our luggage was weighed and so were we, as correct weight distribution on the small twin engined plane was crucial. We had our pre-flight briefing in a small room off the airport lounge and then wandered across the tarmac (10 yards or so) to the plane. Imagine our horror as we were show to our seats which we struggled into, to find that the back of the seat in front of us was pushed back into place and two enormous people wedged themselves into the seats in front of us. Too make it worse they were advised that in the event of an emergency not to open the door but to exit out of the window!! Fat Chance (excuse the pun) if they had tried that they would have just got stuck there was no way that they, and therefore us, would ever have got out by that route. In the words of that Scottish bloke from Dad's Army, Private Fraiser - we were DOOMED!
Steve and I just looked at each other, no need for ESP we knew what each other was thinking!! it was not good. The plane set off across the grass and took off for the 20 minute flight across the sea. Our eyes never left the intrument panel every change to the altimeter, air speed, etc was noted, any change to engine tone or turbulence caused our blood pressure to go off the scale. (As microlight pilots we were the worst kind of back seat drivers!) Land was soon in sight and since I am writing this tail, you have correctly guessed that the landing was uneventful. We also survived the return journey, you will be pleased to know that there were only three of us on the return flight, us and a very slim person, behind us! But we vowed never to go by that route again!
The weather was warm and sunny it was easy to imagine that we were on a far flung tropical island. The wedding was divided between two islands, the church service was on St Agnes and the reception was on St Mary's. Such an idyllic setting with the bride, groom and their guests travelling between the islands on the little boats that provide the only link between the Islands. Many congratulations to Sophie and Mark - enjoy a wonderful life together.
I have visited the Scillies many times and always enjoy my time wandering around the off-islands and the sense of community of the main island. Hopefully I will return again - but probably by helicopter, sea-sickness puts us off using the Scillonian!
Life on the Moor is good but a bit muddy! The summer has been wet with above average rainfall - from the 27 July to the 14 September we only had 4 days without rain although the temperatures generally held up ok. We have harvested and stored most of our crops, although we still have leeks, parsnips and various brassicas in the ground for the winter.
In the kitchen the Rayburn is alight for the winter and provides us with heat for cooking our numerous soups and stews, heat for the house and hot water. It is lovely to come home from work or in from the garden to a warm cosy cottage and a warm meal waiting.
The chickens are still laying most days and eggs continue to feature a lot in our diet, we still enjoy our eggs and are not tempted to have chicken!
As autumn moves onto winter we are planning our crops for next year spending hours pouring over the seed and plant catalogues.
In September we went to a wonderful wedding on the Isles of Scilly. For us getting there was rather traumatic, not that anything awful actually happened but our imaginations went into overdrive with all the potential for disaster, let me explain; we had booked a flight from Land's End Airport to St Mary's Airport. We arrived at Land's End and it was just like a step back in time, Heathrow it isn't! it was lovely no queues, our names were on a list, no passports - check-in staff were expecting us, our luggage was weighed and so were we, as correct weight distribution on the small twin engined plane was crucial. We had our pre-flight briefing in a small room off the airport lounge and then wandered across the tarmac (10 yards or so) to the plane. Imagine our horror as we were show to our seats which we struggled into, to find that the back of the seat in front of us was pushed back into place and two enormous people wedged themselves into the seats in front of us. Too make it worse they were advised that in the event of an emergency not to open the door but to exit out of the window!! Fat Chance (excuse the pun) if they had tried that they would have just got stuck there was no way that they, and therefore us, would ever have got out by that route. In the words of that Scottish bloke from Dad's Army, Private Fraiser - we were DOOMED!
Steve and I just looked at each other, no need for ESP we knew what each other was thinking!! it was not good. The plane set off across the grass and took off for the 20 minute flight across the sea. Our eyes never left the intrument panel every change to the altimeter, air speed, etc was noted, any change to engine tone or turbulence caused our blood pressure to go off the scale. (As microlight pilots we were the worst kind of back seat drivers!) Land was soon in sight and since I am writing this tail, you have correctly guessed that the landing was uneventful. We also survived the return journey, you will be pleased to know that there were only three of us on the return flight, us and a very slim person, behind us! But we vowed never to go by that route again!
The weather was warm and sunny it was easy to imagine that we were on a far flung tropical island. The wedding was divided between two islands, the church service was on St Agnes and the reception was on St Mary's. Such an idyllic setting with the bride, groom and their guests travelling between the islands on the little boats that provide the only link between the Islands. Many congratulations to Sophie and Mark - enjoy a wonderful life together.
I have visited the Scillies many times and always enjoy my time wandering around the off-islands and the sense of community of the main island. Hopefully I will return again - but probably by helicopter, sea-sickness puts us off using the Scillonian!
Life on the Moor is good but a bit muddy! The summer has been wet with above average rainfall - from the 27 July to the 14 September we only had 4 days without rain although the temperatures generally held up ok. We have harvested and stored most of our crops, although we still have leeks, parsnips and various brassicas in the ground for the winter.
In the kitchen the Rayburn is alight for the winter and provides us with heat for cooking our numerous soups and stews, heat for the house and hot water. It is lovely to come home from work or in from the garden to a warm cosy cottage and a warm meal waiting.
The chickens are still laying most days and eggs continue to feature a lot in our diet, we still enjoy our eggs and are not tempted to have chicken!
As autumn moves onto winter we are planning our crops for next year spending hours pouring over the seed and plant catalogues.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Holiday jobs
The weather obsession continues, as it's been wet,wet,wet but our neighbours continue to tell us that its not always like this on the moor. The cottage has felt chilly and a bit damp so we have got the Rayburn going again and we feel cosy now - not very eco-friendly but needs must.
Cornwall has been much quieter now that the main holiday time is over and so its time for me to have two weeks holiday and hope to spend most of this getting stuck into the jobs that need doing around the smallholding. Undergrowth needs cutting back, trees pruning, blackberries collecting, veggie and flower beds turning over, plants propagating, greenhouse clearing and cleaning, leaves sweeping up, motorhome airing and worst of all Japanese knotweed needs eradicating. But then if it rains there is always the seed/plant catalogues to plan for next year or a blog to write or a website to create! But if it gets really sunny I think that the beach will call me and Saffy - even if Steve is not a keen beach bum.
I made a start on the knotweed at the weekend but getting to the wretched stuff has not been easy as its in the 'wild-life' area which is thick with bracken, gorse and brambles. To the amusement of passers-by I climbed up the Cornish walls and acrobatically manoeuvred myself into position to attack these modern day triffids.
To digress we went to the wonderful Minnack Theatre and for those of you who have never been; it was built in the 1930's and is set in the open-air, on a cliff-side setting over-looking the sea, near Land's End. We saw 'War of the Worlds' and the red weed in the story reminded me of the knotweed! It was a real trip down memory lane the music was great - even if our singing along wasn't!
Oh well back to work as there is a huge pile of cucumbers to do things with! If anyone has any cucumber recipes let me know there is only so much soup and pickle we can eat.
Cornwall has been much quieter now that the main holiday time is over and so its time for me to have two weeks holiday and hope to spend most of this getting stuck into the jobs that need doing around the smallholding. Undergrowth needs cutting back, trees pruning, blackberries collecting, veggie and flower beds turning over, plants propagating, greenhouse clearing and cleaning, leaves sweeping up, motorhome airing and worst of all Japanese knotweed needs eradicating. But then if it rains there is always the seed/plant catalogues to plan for next year or a blog to write or a website to create! But if it gets really sunny I think that the beach will call me and Saffy - even if Steve is not a keen beach bum.
I made a start on the knotweed at the weekend but getting to the wretched stuff has not been easy as its in the 'wild-life' area which is thick with bracken, gorse and brambles. To the amusement of passers-by I climbed up the Cornish walls and acrobatically manoeuvred myself into position to attack these modern day triffids.
To digress we went to the wonderful Minnack Theatre and for those of you who have never been; it was built in the 1930's and is set in the open-air, on a cliff-side setting over-looking the sea, near Land's End. We saw 'War of the Worlds' and the red weed in the story reminded me of the knotweed! It was a real trip down memory lane the music was great - even if our singing along wasn't!
Oh well back to work as there is a huge pile of cucumbers to do things with! If anyone has any cucumber recipes let me know there is only so much soup and pickle we can eat.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Obsessed by the Weather!
Us Brits are often said to be obsessed by the weather and living on a smallholding on Bodmin Moor I can understand why! The weather is so variable here, warm and sunny in the morning and foul and wet by the afternoon the next day clagged in until lunchtime and then wonderful sunsets in the evening. Since my last posting the weather has tended towards the wet with just a few fine days.
This has impacted on our outdoor crops rather badly - tomatoes, squash and strawberries have rotted before ripening. Our greenhouse and poly-tunnel crops are also suffering from the continuous damp and lack of sunshine but the peppers in the conservatory are beginning to ripen. Cucumbers continue to do well and I have made several jars of 'bread and butter pickle' which is has used up most this surplus plus a few pounds of onions - all we have to do now is wait for about six weeks for it to mature and then hopefully it will go well with a large chunk of bread and cheese. The local supermarket had a glut of beautiful peaches which they reduced to less than half price and these have been preserved in a sweet, spicy vinegar and should be delicious with cold meat especially ham by Christmas.
We have four chickens and they have been very productive and produce an egg a day each. The eggs are great with very yellow yolks and whites that stay together when poached rather than spreading into each other as soon as they are broken into the pan! As they are still relatively new to laying we get quite a few double yolkers and the occasional soft shelled egg - these are usually given to our yellow Labrador, Saffy who never hesitates to eat them. I have been experimenting with different flavoured vinegars to pickle the eggs in and will let you know the results in a few weeks.
I have always enjoyed cooking and have spent many happy wet evenings finding old recipes for preserving food. I had hoped for a good glut of home grown produce by now but this has not happened so far - but I am prepared for when Steve brings in vast quantities of fruit and veg!
This has impacted on our outdoor crops rather badly - tomatoes, squash and strawberries have rotted before ripening. Our greenhouse and poly-tunnel crops are also suffering from the continuous damp and lack of sunshine but the peppers in the conservatory are beginning to ripen. Cucumbers continue to do well and I have made several jars of 'bread and butter pickle' which is has used up most this surplus plus a few pounds of onions - all we have to do now is wait for about six weeks for it to mature and then hopefully it will go well with a large chunk of bread and cheese. The local supermarket had a glut of beautiful peaches which they reduced to less than half price and these have been preserved in a sweet, spicy vinegar and should be delicious with cold meat especially ham by Christmas.
We have four chickens and they have been very productive and produce an egg a day each. The eggs are great with very yellow yolks and whites that stay together when poached rather than spreading into each other as soon as they are broken into the pan! As they are still relatively new to laying we get quite a few double yolkers and the occasional soft shelled egg - these are usually given to our yellow Labrador, Saffy who never hesitates to eat them. I have been experimenting with different flavoured vinegars to pickle the eggs in and will let you know the results in a few weeks.
I have always enjoyed cooking and have spent many happy wet evenings finding old recipes for preserving food. I had hoped for a good glut of home grown produce by now but this has not happened so far - but I am prepared for when Steve brings in vast quantities of fruit and veg!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Getting Started
I have a day off work, the weather is not great and my better half, Steve, suggested I started a blog. Not entirely sure what a blog was, I agreed and now find myself sitting at the laptop typing away my random thoughts.
I live on a smallholding on Bodmin Moor and its a place that since I moved here in January I want to be. I enjoy my job but don't want to leave here in the morning and look forward to returning to when the days work is done. Unusually for me I haven't wanted to go away on holiday this summer I have just enjoyed being here and pottering around, picking some of the fruit and veg we planted in the spring, that the local wild-life have rejected!
The spuds have generally done ok but some varieties have done better than others, the broad beans got off to a flying start but most of the earliest ones had their flowers destroyed by rain and rotted but we have had a reasonable crop from the second planting. Steve's lovingly planted seeds of carrots, parsnips, celeriac, fennel, peas, onions, radish, lettuce and beetroot have been eaten as soon as they got above ground. Cucumbers, courgettes, peppers, grapes and tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing well, but the aubergines are rubbish with just two fruits on about ten plants. My gooseberries bushes have been attacked by caterpillars, raspberries have been slow to fruit(but are an autumn variety so I'm hopeful), the strawberries have grown loads of leaves but little fruit, cranberries nothing, blueberries nothing. So disheartening after all the hard work but this was always going to be the year we learned about our land, soil and pests! Next year we will be ready for them and we are determined to win the battle!
I live on a smallholding on Bodmin Moor and its a place that since I moved here in January I want to be. I enjoy my job but don't want to leave here in the morning and look forward to returning to when the days work is done. Unusually for me I haven't wanted to go away on holiday this summer I have just enjoyed being here and pottering around, picking some of the fruit and veg we planted in the spring, that the local wild-life have rejected!
The spuds have generally done ok but some varieties have done better than others, the broad beans got off to a flying start but most of the earliest ones had their flowers destroyed by rain and rotted but we have had a reasonable crop from the second planting. Steve's lovingly planted seeds of carrots, parsnips, celeriac, fennel, peas, onions, radish, lettuce and beetroot have been eaten as soon as they got above ground. Cucumbers, courgettes, peppers, grapes and tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing well, but the aubergines are rubbish with just two fruits on about ten plants. My gooseberries bushes have been attacked by caterpillars, raspberries have been slow to fruit(but are an autumn variety so I'm hopeful), the strawberries have grown loads of leaves but little fruit, cranberries nothing, blueberries nothing. So disheartening after all the hard work but this was always going to be the year we learned about our land, soil and pests! Next year we will be ready for them and we are determined to win the battle!
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