Back on vacation

Maddie having some quality time

Part of me feels that Chris is missing his holiday time in Sitges.as he had insisted we go out for lunch at a local Bistro.We had a rather indulgent lunch, two bottles of wine and a long slumping sleep afterwards!

It was all a bit of a shock when I woke up covered in Dogs at dusk, as none of the poultry coops had been locked up safely.

Slightly disorientated and much the worse for wine I have to admit sloshing around a field is not the nicest of pastimes when you are not quite ready for it. I am lucky, however, that all the hens find their own way into their houses before dark, and the ducks once they see you walking towards them, hysterically band together to clamour their way through the shed trap door. Only Gloria and Boris have to be physically lifted into their own home, which is not a bag of laughs I can tell you.

Boris is getting tamer, and will take bread from my hand quite comfortably now, so picking him up (even though he is a bit of pudding) is pretty easy. Gloria on the other hand is quite a different character. With feet like broken umbrellas, she is a bit of a vixen when approached, and gave me six or seven well directed kicks before I bundled her through the coop door.

I guess it was worth the effort cos I was soon back on the couch with Meg sat on my face.

Autumn

Autumn is when you stay in with a fire blazing and Strictly Come Dancing on the tv and tonight that's what we have planned even though I was due t go t a 40th Birthday party in Prestatyn.. Earlier we went to Llandudno for lunch and then did a bit of shopping (I love shopping with Chris as he does impulse buy after a large glass of Pinot), we came away with some great new bed linen from Marks' and a pair of trendy jeans for me......
The field population has settled down a little from yesterday's disaster. Of course we have hardly had any eggs today but that is par for the course.. I have re set the electric fences and have treated the injured chicks with bread and wheat. Both of them look ok today.

Ewan saves the day

The smaller four chicks photographed earlier in the week

I was just tucking into my first cup of coffee this morning when I spotted neighbour Ewan running down the garden path.Breathlessly he shouted that there was an alsatian attacking the chickens, and that he had fended the dog off once but it had come back again.
I grabbed a hoe and ran out to the field where the young dog from the riding stables behind the Church was bouncing through the fencing of the smaller run.I shouted and chased it through the graveyard, then went back to survey the hens and ducks.
The big buffs where hiding in their hen house safely and the turkeys and ducks all looked ok. Stanley had moved the larger flock behind the hen houses , so with a heavy heart I realised that the dog had centred his attack on the small juvenile flock in the smallest run. Two sides of the fencing had been knocked flat and I could only see one of the smaller white chicks (top of pic) walking in circles. Big piles of light feathers lay all around (with the quills pulled out by the roots) The smallest hen house was empty so I quickly checked the A frame ark where I found a rather shocked Rogo and the amber hen,Nonnie hiding there, Linda,Bunny and Susan were missing as were the three other small chicks (above).
Thank god, Ewan had spotted the attack ,even though he is not in the best of health, his prompt actions had probably saved many more of the hens and ducks.
I searched the field and found Bunny (a small black hooker chick) lying in a dust bath in the big enclosure. She was shocked and had been bitten but was alive, I placed her into her coop in the dark (hens can die very easily of shock and need quiet and warmth to recover) and after giving her some antibiotics and water went to search for the others.
After an age the smallest black chick (above) looking battered and worse for wear tip toed out of the long grass by the hedge and strangely allowed me to pick her up to rest in her own coop. The final "mottled" chick I found frozen and also injured up in the churchyard, but she certainly looked a little more alert than the others, and it took an age to catch her.There was something quite valiant, in the fact that all the smaller chicks somehow survived
There was no sign of Linda and Susan, and I suspect that the feathers I found was from one of them, but who knows?, I have been looking for them for most of the day.
The owner of the riding school was incredibly apologetic and agreed to pay for the damage that had been done, I just wish that she had properly invested in fixing her boundary fences, You may remember that I had already complained about the dog a couple of months ago

Mad as Cheese

My journey back from Stockport this morning was filled with letter writing. It is an indulgence as I never seem to make time to sit down and contact people that I may not easily phone or indeed e mail. I enjoy writing letters and today it seemed even more important to do so as I wanted to contact an old friend who is going through a very very bad time.
In this instance, I think a letter that could be read and even re read, may convey the right message, or at least the message that I really wanted to share which could have gotten lost within a verbal interaction.
In the end I actually wrote 5 letters before I got back home and spent a relaxing 5 hours digging before Chris got back.

This evening I actually went to Church! The Harvest Festival service was a little more dour than I expected ( the Children's service was this afternoon which was probably the reason). The Church was decked out with fruit,veg and the odd tin of beans- and looked rather sweet (all the food was going to a homeless charity in Rhyl) We did have a fit of the giggles however, as we spied a very large box of tea bags in on the main window above the altar.Obviously it was the most "expensive" gift, so had a special pride of place, above all the tins,apples and bags of spaghetti.Most of the service was in Welsh ( in respect for the Village Chapel congregation which had come to support the event), but at least I could belt out the hymn "We plough the fields and scatter" in English......I love a good hymn

ps the "Cheese" reference is a direct quote from a newly appointed professor who works with Nigel...she was describing Chris............tee hee

Harvest Festival, new flocks and Stockport

Tomorrow there is a harvest festival service in the church, so I have taken round the obligatory tins of beans (for the homeless shelter) as well as a large basket of sweetcorn for the alter display.Chris and I are going to the service, which will throw a few parishioners as I never usually go to the Church services. Nuala has just rang and laughed loud and long when I told here what I have been up to. She says ringing me is like going back to the 18th Century!

The weather has been better today, so I have had a chance to watch the field population a little closer than of late.
The juvenile hens in the top enclosure have now formed into a tight knit little flock with Rogo in the lead. I will leave the 9 of them together as they seem to get on so well.

The ducks have accepted Boris and Gloria without the usual hysteria which is incredibly odd for runner ducks. I have finally sexed the 22 strong flock and am pretty sure I have 8 drakes and 14 females, which is a better mix than I expected. I still would like to reduce the number of drakes by half, so hopefully Betty the local farmers' wife will take a few off me. The female ducks have started to lay which is a surprise, I was not expecting them to do so, until next year.

I am off to Stockport later to meet up with Nige,back early in the morning.

ps. Albert has finally left the dining room table for 30 minutes!!!!! he walked into the front room, looked around at 4 sleeping dogs then went back to his table...........yep he definitely let sleeping dogs lie

A Welsh Dick Van Dyke and City of Men

I experienced a rather surreal moment this afternoon,as during another torentially wet day, I was sent outside the cottage to check if the chimney sweep's brush was poking it's "Mary Poppins-ish" head out of the chimney pot. The elderly sweep himself turned out to be an incredibly charismatic character,full of bluster,anecdotes and more "chutzpah " than could be found from the cast of Fiddler on the Roof!!!!!!!!! Every small activity was explained and discussed, Horror stories of soot filled flues were told and re told, and several times I had to stick my head through the access door in the fireplace to inspect and re inspect his work. I enjoyed every minute of it- he was incredibly good fun

City of Men (Cidade dos Homens (2007) showing at Theatre Clwyd this evening was a sort of sequel to the terribly violent City Of God Cidade de Deus (2002) and follows two of the now grown up characters trapped within the life-is-cheap favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Where as the first "city" film concentrated on the violence of slum life ( and did so with some stunning visuals) City of Men concentrates more on friendships and hope, and the importance of both in the effort to survive the hardships, it therefore is the easier of the two films to watch as it has a clear heart. Surprisingly for me I was more impressed with the City of God, for all it's cruelty and edge.

My chest still feels awful today, but lots of cough syrup seems to be helping. The damp wet day hasn't helped at all

Good service & obsession

One of the things I have in common with my friend Nige, is that I absolutely HATE bad service. In my mind there is no excuse for it whatsoever, yet time and time again in this country we money paying customers have to suffer rudeness,apathy and derision from a whole army of receptionists,salespeople and minor officials that are supposed to be there to make our lives easier and a little more pleasurable.
Mind you I had to eat my words today, as with trepidation, I rang our local doctors' surgery in a hopeful effort to secure an appointment before Christmas. In seconds the receptionist gave me a slot within 30 minutes of my phone call!! She was polite , cheerful and helpful (as was the other receptionist at the surgery) The doctor was attentive and thorough and the pharmacy staff couldn't be nicer...........It was, I must admit, all a bit of a shock.
The doc said I had a chest infection AND bronchitis, and told me to take a course of antibiotics, lots of fluids and rest INDOORS........Hey two out of three ain't bad.....this afternoon I have cut the flight feathers of most of the new hens and Gloria and have cleaned a couple of coops out a well as walked the dogs up the Gop......
It all has to be done.


Out of our four dogs, only Meg is totally obsessed with Albert. William is sporadically excited by his rather disgusting toilet habits, (and the very prolonged period of litter scratching) whereas George and Maddie couldn't be bothered at all by the little chap. Yes only Meg is desperate to get up close and personal. Several times she has actually made the mad scramble up onto the table,but happily she has been remained more interested rather than aggressive with a rather laid back Albert.

....a day in the life........

I have had a bad chest now for three weeks, and today sounded rather like a wheezy old chronic TB sufferer rather than a healthy man-of-the soil. For the second time recently I have taken sick time from work and hopefully will talk my GP into giving me some antibiotics tomorrow.

So tonight, we have lit the log burner and as there remains a definite chill in the air, I have settled down on the couch with William and Maddie (Meg and William are sitting in the kitchen watching Albert's every move)--and holding a large lemsip am relaxing with my blog.

I said yesterday that I would answer an email I received from Mrs M in the US,(I risk sounding like Humphrey Littleton on I'm sorry I haven't a clue here) basically she wanted me to add a bit of detail to life in the village and my routine here at Bwthyn-y-llan.So with apologies to those that already know the facts...here goes.

I am not sure just how big the field is, perhaps an acre and a half , and it has been split up into vegetable and fruit plots separated by strimmed grass (see above) and 4 poultry enclosures. The largest enclosure is 100 metres in circumference and comprises of three hen houses with 27 hens.Most of these hens are older hybrid birds that are slowly approaching middle age! They are overseen by a white leghorn cockerel called Stanley. There is a smaller 50 metre enclosure set up next to this one, which is acting as a "nursery" at the moment.There are two smaller hen houses in this area,one housing 5 juvenile birds that were raised by one of the red rocks from the big run(Rogo,Nonnie,Linda,Belle,Susan) and the other housing the youngest 4 chicks (hatched from my own incubator a few weeks ago now), these four chicks have not been sexed or named as yet. Young hens cannot be put into the large run with the established flock as hens are quite mercenary when bulling smaller,younger birds and kill them with alarming ease.

The other two runs are both 50 metre affairs, one housing the 22 runner ducks (who live in a large green shed) and the turkeys (Boris and Gloria) who have their own shack and the other housing my five favourite hens, my tame buff orpington flock. The four tiny chicks in my shed will be joining these fat girls when they are old enough, and will hopefully form a nice breeding flock of their own,

Most of the spare pastureland has been utilised with four large allotment plots, and this year I have planted black current and berry bushes in between these and the open "driveway" which has to be left open for access into the Graveyard behind the Church. I would love to ultimately have a goat grazing in this area, but who knows?

Our cottage lies on a one track lane on the West side of the village.and was originally constructed in 1674. It was re modeled in 1864 by a Mr Thomas Parry and was said to be a small ale house (where people could buy homemade alcohol before, and/or after visiting Church) Until fairly recently the cottage was a "smallholding" and had a cow byre and pig sty located where our cottage garden now stands.

Our garden is tiny (we were unable to buy the original cottage garden and orchard located some 60 feet behind our back door) and it cannot sustain four boisterous terriers, so the dogs get four good walks a day, which is time consuming but necessary. We usually walk up the "Gop" which is a large ancient Hill fort and burial mound (the second biggest in the UK). The Gop overlooks the village,(the top photograph was taken half way up).Prestatyn beach is only ten minutes away by car.