How was your bank holiday weekend?

Mine was utterly fabulous thank you for asking.  The weather was just truly glorious and we were able to potter around the garden getting various chores done, sit and enjoy the quietness and views of the surrounding countryside, and spend time with our animals.  Who couldn't feel joy and contentment when you are surrounded by visions such as this...

Saturday was a bit of a hectic get things done day.  We had a grocery shop delivery and made a trek into town to run a few errands and pick up a few animals supplies.

On Sunday we had a new member of our animal family arrive in the form of Poppy, the beautiful Toggenburg girlie.  She is around 7 years old and pregnant, perhaps with twins, due around early June time.  She will be our first milking goat and we are very blessed to have been gifted her.  She was brought to us by a very lovely family, the mama of which I have been speaking to online for a long while.  It was really great to meet Jackie and her gang at last.

Poppy settled in pretty quickly, and after her initial "Argh!!  I desperately need to follow my mama and daddy down the drive" panic as they drove away, she was happy to stay with us and just amble around the place at her leisure.  Pixie and Rosie our younger girls really didn't know what to make of her.  There was a little bit of 'erm, I'm just checking you out' butting but nothing painful and I'm very happy to say they now graze side by side.

Monday's weather was just as glorious so we were outside in the garden from early morning through to dusk again.  We decided to have a day from any back breaking chores and instead just did the necessary animal ones as per usual.

The children pottered around us doing various things - talking with the chickens, spending time with the goats (Pixie and Rosie are still at the yay we will chase after you stage), and making use of the swing and climbing frame...

And we all enjoyed the presence of our feathered friends...

Poppy appears to be able to take or leave the company of Rosie and Pixie at the moment.  She won't actively seek them out, but will happily allow them by her side to graze.  She seems to prefer seeking out humans to spend her time with.  

She is already a firm favourite within our family and we love looking out the windows to see her ambling around munching on any nettles and brambles she is able to find (we have deliberately left parts of the land unruly and untidy to suit).  Every now and again we hear her call out gently and she will look as if she is searching for someone, often just appearing at the window with a kind word is enough for her to wander off and start eating again.  

She's looking pretty content and settled here already though don't you think?

Taisia thoroughly enjoyed the warmer weather and the fact that she was let loose with the hose pipe...

We bought her the watering can from a charity shop on Saturday and she love it muchly.  She potters to and fro the hose pipe to fill it up and sets about watering everything from her daddy's shoes through to the dog (being so hot the dog didn't seem to mind!)

We had to have a quick change of clothing when it started to get a little cooler as the little lady was drenched!

Taisia has been helping water the plants too and they are shooting up very nicely...

We have been gifted beetroot and chard plants from one of our neighbours as well as an animal husbandry book.  We really are very blessed to have such kind and generous souls surrounding us.  Our tadpoles have been returned to the pond from whence they came from, in the same neighbours pond, and we hope to be able to check on the arrival of froggies when the time comes.  They had started to form legs and we felt it was right to let nature take its course in their rightful home from here on in to give them the strongest chance of survival.

We have been busy making plans for the future and what else we wish to achieve.  High on the list of priorities appears to be a couple of ponies so I shall have to see how we can make that happen.  We need to rent a further bit of land first so will be actively seeking some in the local vicinity.  Exciting times ahead no doubt!

More progress!

Yesterday we spent a blissful day with friends.  Before we moved here for the good life it was the norm to meet up at least once a week, sometimes even twice.  They truly are a very special and have a seed of ever growing friendship firmly planted within my heart.  Chelsea, Joseph, Tiegan and their friend M took Taisia off into town and they spent their time eating sandwiches and ice-cream whilst strolling around the sea-front.  Callum chose to stay behind and eat cake!  He pottered around the garden and watched tadpoles in the ponds as well as playing with the family dog.  He looked so happy, even though alone with his own company at times, joining the table of us nattering oldies to have his say or munch.  At one point when D had left the room for a moment Callum whispered "Mum, I really love it here.  I've missed D and M so much."  Enough to pull at the heart strings huh?  Due to car and health issues, since moving here (just over 6 months ago,how time has flown!) we had only managed to get together the once.  During the almost hour drive home I was racking my brain thinking of things we could do and places we could meet at to ensure that there isn't so long between visits again.  Once home I pottered around the land, tidying here and there and seeing to the animal evening chores.  I am so blessed to have this sort of life, one I've longed for for so long that the 'chores' don't seem any hardship.  I retired to the house at around 8pm-ish and settled for the night.

Today we have worked so hard in the garden.  So so very very hard.  I'm aching all over, my poor back, my legs, my arms, but strangely it was still enjoyable, and boy, what a difference we saw when we took a step back to admire our efforts.

Once again it was sunny here in Devon.  I just can't get enough of that yummy warm stuff.  I'm loving hanging the washing out in the morning as I chat to the quails and being greeted by 'our' robin as I go out to do the morning animal feeds.  One thing that has slightly affected that joyous feeling is the amount of stuff that we have still to clear around the place.  Don't get me wrong, we have done heaps and heaps and made numerous tip runs and a fair few fires to rid ourselves of what wasn't needed, but there is still lots more to do.  Today I decided to tackle the rear end of the drive area.  The area has been very neglected.  Flooding has meant a great deal of mess found its way from the neighbours and down our drive.  Some things went under the fencing gap but a fair amount got caught on the netting and ended up stuck.  It is a job that we should have tackled yonks ago but there is an ever growing list of what we need and want to do and it's one of those time-consuming and tough on the body jobs that gets pushed further down the list (accidentally on purpose some may suggest).

I should have taken a before pic before we got started but I just got stuck in with the digging out of roots and the removal of the larger items. It seems like such a long time ago now, but when we moved in it looked a little like this...

Not a very welcoming sight upon first arrival when visiting huh?

We worked hard through the not so pleasant months of rainfall and flooding, and it wasn't too long before a difference was seen.  The drive was clear from mud and the rocks moved and stacked neater.  Some were taken by neighbours in need and we kept some 'just in case' we found a cause.  So far the only thing we have used them for is for edging the animal runs to prevent any small gaps being seen by predators.  

It started to take shape and for a while looked like this...

I know I recently shared a 'first washing on the line of the year' picture and you could see all the junk piles that have formed as we continue the sort through.  

Today we concentrated on working on one side of the far end and I am so proud to say it now looks like this...

The audience (also known as next doors chickens) remained with us for much of the duration.  They were desperately hoping that we may chuck a worm or two their way during all the digging out.  It took us hours.  There were roots to cut, dig, and fight with, stones and sand to clear, and dirt and dead stuff.  So much dirt.

Tomorrow we will tackle the front portion of that section of the drive.  That's not quite such a huge job as we had started clearing a bit of that previously before the snow hit us but it will still be laborious.  But hey, when you see pictures of the progress you know it is all so worth it, and even when working hard and aching, we still raise a smile.  As well as living in this awesome house and feeling very blessed to be caretakers of it, we now share our lives with wonderful animals so when outside we always have their company.

There is Kira our Spaniel, forever hopeful that we will decide to throw the ball for her once, or a thousand times, pretty please....

Don't be fooled though, she isn't always sitting nicely and hoping.  Usually she is picking it up in her mouth and chucking it as hard as she can at you so you get the message.  She always looks so much younger after a clip and her energy levels seem to be rising not flailing!  I often forget will soon be in her 7th year.

Of course we have the girlies - in the form of our chickens, quails and goats.  The latter decided that they would really like to help and suggested that we didn't need to keep on emptying the contents of the wheelbarrow.  They were more than willing to just eat those contents instead.  All in the name of doing their bit and helping me out obviously...

I can't begin to tell you just how much the children have gained from having the goats around.  They have created a real sense of responsibility and are simply amazing with Tiegan.  They are often seen to be 'seeking her out' and run rather madly at her when she is finally spotted.

It appears that they also quite like me too which is rather nice.  This little lady (Pixie) is such a softie, and is often found looking for snuggles.  Here she is saying cheese...

All around there are things growing and ever changing.  Today I spotted this beautiful lot...

It's taking in the vision of the simple things, that we too often take for granted as we rush about dealing with our busy lives, that make me smile.  I am definitely noticing the small things far more since living here and nothing is now taken for granted.

Whilst Joseph and I were clearing the drive (husband helped us hugely once home from work), Callum was working out a bit a weighing and measuring.  He set up a 'see saw' like structure using some of the scrap wood that is left lying about.  He figured out how to set it up so that it was balanced correctly and allowed movement from the centre.  Callum then went around the garden finding things he wanted to weigh and compare to his own body weight.  I love the natural curiosity and learning process.  Chelsea stayed inside the house and had a bit of quiet time; reading, going on the computer, cooking a Cottage Pie and creating a rather yummy crumble like Apple and Blueberry pud.  The other two girlies pottered around.  Tiegan read stories to Taisia, they came outside and searched for worms (squealing in delight when tiny 'baby' ones were found), ran around with the goat, watched totally entranced at the work of a millipede and basically just enjoyed living in the moment. 

Of course, no posting about the outdoors would be complete without a sneaky peek of our chicken gals.  I am very happy to report that the newbies are settling in nicely and the two groups are mingling - to a point.  There is still a little strutting of their stuff going on by the oldies, no nastiness or pecking, just a purposeful stride over to a new one just to let them know that they are the boss.  I have been sitting in their pen with them today and watching all their behaviour and interactions.  I am so lucky.

Of course, the camera was never far from my side.

We had games of peek-a-boo with Betsy-May and Clarabelle...

We had the ever hopeful there might be treats in the offering cheeky Charlie (with Babs in the background)...

and we had admiring glances from Clarabelle, Tilly and Lulu...

I should go and try to get some sleep.  Another day of busyness tomorrow and with animals to care for there is never a lie in (unless somebody is very kind and takes over the morning routine for me - it has happened!).  Early starts are the norm though now so I'm going to have to try to sort out my sleeping pattern.  Early to bed, early to rise, isn't that what they say?  Hmmm, I'll ignore the clock that is telling me it is past 2am then and set this posting to be before midnight or else our todays and tomorrows will appear confusing!

Happy days...

Oooh, that sunshiney thing was out once again.  I'm getting rather used to it now, I hope it chooses to stay a while (I'm putting fingers in my ears when the weather forecast is on TV).

Living where we do, surrounded by countryside and farmland, I like to be out on the land as much as possible.  I love being around the chickens and watching their antics, playing alongside the goat kids which never cease to entertain, and watching Taisia run around in true wild child style - complete with mass of curly blonde locks that never stay tidy.  I always know she is going to sleep well after a day outside 'working'.

Today's lessons in life included how to make a swing, clearing out the stable for the goats and building a 'table' for their bed (although our goat kids like to sleep underneath), putting the ducklings outside in a house and run after making it non-accessible to vermin and other predatory creatures, and supervising chickens (watching their body language and trying to read what their next action would be).  In between all of these activities, cakes and curry were made, more seeds were planted, plants were watered (shoots are appearing daily, the children are loving them sprouting so quickly), books were read, rooms were tidied, discussions were had and plans for the future were made.

This is the swing...

Making the most of what nature provides for us, the best play equipment ever.

I have really great news to report regarding the chickens.  Well, I think it's rather grand news and any fellow chicken keepers out there - or anybody that has had to introduce any animal to another actually - will understand my need to have a record of the news.  My now 6 girlies are getting on rather grand.  There is of course still the little bit of 'hen pecking' going on, but nothing violent or concerning.  The newbies are not standing their ground thank goodness and are happy to just wander off when they see one of the others approaching rather keenly.  That doesn't happen very often now and although the two groups tend to stick with each other and not infiltrate one another, there have been a few occasions when they have mixed together with no issues.  All positive signs that intros are going well.   When I went to lock up tonight I was so pleased to witness all six chickens hunching up together on the same perch.  Last night we went through the separation procedure again as poor Lulu couldn't get on the perch she wanted because it was being guarded by the naughty Babs.  She literally patrolled up and down the perch and 'fake' pecked Lulu's head each time she dared look up.  Lulu looked most distressed - well, as distressed as any cuckoo maran can look.  We popped the three newbies in the other section and kept them apart for the night.  Tonight though all were mingling and looking content, in mixed groups too which is great to see.

Apologies to those readers who just don't get the thrill of that last paragraph, but that's my world right now *grin*

There may be a chance that we will be receiving another goat on Sunday.  This time an adult, a lovely gal called Poppy, currently in kid so will need extra special pampering and care.  We have thoroughly cleaned out the stable today (should have taken before and after pictures!)  A 'table' bed was created and we have let the little ones make use of it for now.  It will be great if they all get along well and they can reside together straight away but we do have a separate pen for the little ones to use if not. We shall just see how the new lady takes to her new family and surroundings and play it by ear.

The three ducklings are still providing great entertainment.  As the temperature has risen ever so slightly we have now placed them in an outside run and house.  We will let them have free-range when we are around to supervise very closely - being very aware that they are a predators dream at the moment as they are pretty much indefensible.  The children know to be on their guard at all times when watching them, particularly watching for swooping feathered creatures coming from above.  We have a fair few birds of prey in this area and have to be aware that young ducklings would be high on the list of possible meal ideas.  The ducklings have been tucked up in the house for the night after we ensured it had been reinforced 'just in case'.  I'm such a paranoid animal mama.  I do try to cover every eventuality and then at least I know that I did all I could to protect them and provide them with the best of care for their days residing with us.

As it is now after 2am, I shall turn this machine off and say goodnight.  I will leave you with these beautiful flowers that a rather special lady sent to me after hearing what had gone on in Facebook land.  It is the first time that I have received flowers via delivery at my door, heck, it is the first time I have received flowers from a proper florists.  I was truly delighted to receive them and they are taking pride of place to remind me of the good friendships I am fortunate to have forged.

Keep on smiling those beautiful smiles!

New additions, fruitful growth and other things....

I have more news to share on yet more members of our ever-growing 'smallholding' menagerie. I know I have said it often, but really I can't believe just how blessed we are to be living here.  To be living our dream.

We have had yet more sunshine.  Just how cool is that?  More warmth on our backs as we toil in the garden, more fuel for the growth of our vegetables and flowers, and more happy smiles to be seen all around.  So joyous.

We have spent the weekend collecting new additions and working outdoors.  We are very much in the mindset that we have to make the most of every dry day right now.  We just don't know what the next day will have in store for us weather wise so live from day to day with very little planning.

The children are adoring having so much space to play and run around in.  They have definitely upped their level of imaginative role-playing games since being here.  The latest role-playing phase appears to be set within the Viking era.  It is rather fantastic to be able to see 2, 7, 11 and 15 year olds having such adventures together (the 17 year old is often to be found baking or reading instead).

For a few weeks now we have been discussing adding more chickens to our current girlie clan.  We initially had 4 girls, but sadly one was taken by a predator of sorts and we were down to the 3.  All lay daily and are very contented it seems.  We expanded their run to being more of pen sized proportions.  We want to allow them to free-range throughout the acre land but the fencing isn't up to that right now and I don't really want to go down the wing-clipping route if I can help it.  It is so difficult deciding what to do for the best.  More space but less defence against predators or less space and slightly more defence?  I know that really in the chicken vs fox wars there is usually only the one winner, but I would like to think that I'd given my gals every chance of making a get-away.

Their current set up now looks a bit like this...

We have upped the wire fencing somewhat in height and the space is now rather large - larger than what it may appear to you on the photo.

The then trio loved their new found freedom.  They now have an old unused (therefore empty) pond to explore.  It has a rather muddy base bottom which clearly hosts a variety of grubs and bugs that they are enjoying scratching about to find.  They are displaying their natural behaviour far more than they did in the run and all in all it's a good feeling to know you've enhanced their days. 

On Saturday we decided to double our chicken crew and add three more girlies.  We headed back to the place we bought our original gals from - MoonRidge Farm.  It is a huge place.  Their chickens roam around the place in mahoosive pens, having the freedom to be within their shelters or out and about at leisure.  They all look very healthy and happy ladies.  Moonridge also has a variety of other animals which you are free to look around at leisure.  They have deer, wallabies, ducks, geese and peacocks to name a few.  We had a stroll around the grounds before trying to decide on which breed of chickens we wished to take home with us.  We had pretty much settled on another Cuckoo Maran as a replacement for the one that we lost, but weren't sure on the others.  After watching the birds scooting and scratching around, we chose a couple.  A Bovans Nera and another Blue Maran.  

So here is a full run down on our current outdoor chickens.

Our oldies:

Babs, our Blue Maran.

Charlie our Columbian Black Tail.

Betsy-May our Light Sussex (poor picture sorry).

and then our newbies:

Clarabelle our Bovans Nera.  Photo really doesn't show the beautiful plumage of this girl with her gorgeous green sheen to her top feathers. 

Lulu our Cuckoo Maran...

and Tilly our second Blue Maran, a lighter more silvery colour than Babs so I can tell the two apart!

I hope that they settle in to their new home with us quickly and enjoy being doted on by the children!  We still have four chicks under heat inside too, two doing incredibly well and two doing not so well but still bright-eyed and eating well, so we are giving them every chance.  

Whilst at Moonridge, the goslings and ducklings caught our eye.  Now I will point out that we have discussed many times adding geese and ducks at some point, but didn't really have a plan as to when.  Obviously confinement is an issue and we would probably have to go down the wing clipping route to ensure they stayed with us.  Then I researched Indian Runner ducks and found out that they don't fly but rather they run around in quite a comical fashion.  We checked out the runner ducklings at Moonridge and fell in love.

I would like to introduce you to Bumble, Doris and Pip....

  

Once again apologies for the poor photo quality, it's difficult to get them to stand still as all they want to do is follow people around and come and see what you are up to.  I love them dearly.  I really didn't think I would be taken with ducks but I truly have been.  They are just off-heat and caged indoors at the moment until their feather growth develops as it is still a little chilly at times weather wise, but they have free-roaming sessions throughout the day when we are around to supervise.  

After all the excitement of the new additions and ensuring the settling in process ran smoothly, our Saturday didn't involve much else once the newbies were home.  We did spend a bit of time outside with the goats.  They had to explore the chicken house of course in preparation for the new gals...

Pixie just couldn't get a hang of this perching malarkey, but refused to give up.

They also enjoyed a leisurely browse together...

I also managed to find the time to clip Kira our spaniel.  This isn't a job I relish in all honesty.  Kira didn't have the best of starts in life and she struggles with confidence.  The noise of the clippers is enough to send her into a panic, it is so sad.  I put the job of clipping her off for as long as possible but she really does feel and look so much better once relieved of her mass of fur in the warmer months.

Here she is as the hairy beast she once was...

and here she is now...

Not a perfect job by any means, but wow she was so good this time!  No fear was shown.  No uncontrollable weeing, no dragging herself along the floor, no tail firmly clamped between her legs.  She actually appeared to enjoy it, rolling on her back for her belly to be done and tail wagging throughout.  

Hmm, maybe this open air lifestyle is being as much benefit to my gorgeous canine pal as to the rest of us.

Our Sunday was spent out in the fresh air, playing with the animals and doing a few of the chores around the place.  The weather wasn't as sunny as it has been and that was reflected in the temperature, but it was pleasant enough. 

Our greenhouse stocks are starting to shoot, I'm amazed at how quickly some have taken...

We also decided to take the plunge and chuck a few spuds into the ground to see what happened.  Potato planting is a family activity you know...

**Note on a personal level**

Some of you may have noticed that I have deactivated my account on Facebook as of late last night.  This is a personal decision taken after hearing something hurtful, although it has to be said that I have been thinking about doing so for a long time due the greater demands on my time at the moment.  

There have been a few, erm, shall we say dramas (?) within the home-education community on Facebook and to be honest I wish to stay as far away as possible from such issues.  My life here is blissful.  I wish to have a peaceful and joyful existence with my children and refuse to allow this to be damaged by an online community of people - many of which I will never cross paths with in real life.  I try to stay away from any confrontation or issues that don't concern me, but it seems impossible to completely keep my name out of things.  I refuse to use my blog as a public sounding board to share my grievances, I never have done and I never will do, it just isn't the right place.  But I feel I have to say something to stop the chinese whisper mentality spreading around and to say for the record that I am ok!  I was hurt that my FB status updates and at least one private message had been shared within a group I was not a member of (and by the sound of it I would run a million miles away from being a part of!) without my permission or knowledge.  It is not the content of those messages that bothers me, there was nothing within them that needed to be kept hidden, but it was the underhand and secretive way they were used and put up for discussion.  I am so far from being that sort of person that does such things, and it is hurtful when I'm not offered the same respect or courtesy in return.

As said, it isn't the only reason for my leaving.  My time is becoming more and more limited as we are reaching for our dreams and Facebook is a huge time-eater and one that isn't needed in my life right now.  This latest episode within the HE community on there has just given me that final push to make that decision. That's not to say that FB isn't an amazing place for home-edders to gain support and network, just that it isn't  right for me at this time.

I don't know if it will be a permanent leaving or just a temporary break, life will decide that in time.  For now though, thank you to those genuinely fabulous people I was able to get to know a little, your support and friendship will always be appreciated.

Of course I will still be online, updating my blog and sharing photos with you all as well as working on Classroom Free so you can't get rid of me that easily, sorry *grin*.