So.. What did YOU do for Christmas?

What a wonderful time has been had by all! Lots of days off, lots of very dry (mostly clear) weather and lots and lots of food and drink!

Even we humans have had a bit of a rest and a surfeit of food!

It all kicked off with our 'Christmas with the Piggies' Open Day on the 21st. An opportunity for friends and customers to collect their Christmas orders (virtually everything was sold out in advance), have a drink and a nibble and, most importantly, visit Ginger's new family. Who obliged by either playing or suckling in public throughout the afternoon. Stars to the end!

After that it was time to concentrate on the household - which was blessed with a weeks' visit from the Dowager Duchess (AkA the Big Boss's mother-in-law). The highlight of her stay was surely the visit to the piglets as a special Christmas day treat. Arriving at Ginger's quarters we found that some of them had gone off in search of their pressies................ which, clearly, Santa Swine had left on the other side of the fence! (A case of Deja Vu - almost the very same thing occurred with Ginger's first litter last Christmas - she's obviously too good at bed-time stories!). Just a few moments of panic (the Dowager D. not us!) before Ginger's insistent grunts had them scampering back through the gap they'd made..... Which we then blocked off.....

They've been investigating the fencing in great detail ever since...........

The Bestest Gundog in all the World and his two pals enjoyed their special treats - which mostly took the form of seasonal additions to their dinners (Goose, ham, pork and pheasant trimmings) although they had new balls to play with in case they got bored. (Gunner decided to hide his and Pilot's in his bedding - for a rainy day perhaps)

The biggest treat of all though was taking the B-G-i-a-t-W out for his first bit of work since the termination of the tail..... the day after Boxing Day just for the afternoon. He was delerious with joy. His feet hardly touched the ground and he was just a little bit wayward for the first hour - but then he settled to the job and by the end of the day was pleasantly exhausted. And not a spot of blood anywhere.................

We are both looking forward to a busy January.

And then we'll have to devise a plan to keep him switched on and learning until the next Season starts.....................

In the bleak mid-winter

The big freeze in the financial markets is being matched by what is turning into one of the coldest, wettest winters in many a year. Perhaps not quite as bad as 1708 when extreme conditions hampered the Duke of Marlborough in his fight with an Austrian force against the French during the War of the Spanish Succession. Rivers froze, livestock died and thousands of people perished from cold, famine or disease. Nonetheless, racing at Cheltenham was cancelled, for the first time in 23 years, last Saturday.

Our own bleak surroundings (shooting delayed and finally cancelled today due to dense fog - so dog's not missed much) are much cheered and heartened by the sight of Ginger's fast-growing brood. They seem not to mind the chocolate soup which is their world and quite enjoy romping around in the copious quantities of hay we put down for them to scamper about in. They are very inquisitive and lively and end up looking like hairy coated Gloucester Old Spots! They'll be 4 weeks old on Friday but already seem much more roly-poly than Ginger's previous two litters. Maybe it's the combination of being thrust into a cold wet world and Ginger 'doing' them better to compensate. She also let them eat hard food earlier than the others; not that that stops them frequently dashing back into their ark for cuddles and comforting milk!

And then to make life even more cheerful we heard that Christmas had arrived early at Abbey Farm, Stixwould. 'Little Polly Piglet' (from Ginger's first litter) and her 'husband' Tang are the proud parents of a bundle of at least 7 squirming piglets. The Nice Mr Barlcay rang to tell us the news literally hot of the press even as they were entering the cold and windy world yesterday morning! He was ecstatic. No doubt Polly will be too when she surfaces!

Not such a bleak mid winter after all.....

Cur-tailed

So-- there were many sleepless nights. Much soul searching. An awful lot of trying to guess a dog's psyche. Would he or wouldn't he. Miss it? Forgive me? Be traumatised? Ever be himself again.

Be able to communicate without it? Be able to work with it?

In the end though he was so miserable with it - pottered about with it stuck out at right angles most of the time - and it showed no sign of healing no matter how much rest he had from the field.... bloody and sore all the time..

So in the end the decision made itself. Off with the damned thing and let the poor dog get on with doing what he loves best.

Now he sports the latest fashion in short tails. And looks like a real, grown up dog. Yes. He was in pain and miserable for the first two days and 3 nights after the op. Nobody got much rest. Him wingeing and whining - clearly in some pain (Nb: to do-gooders - a tail docked soon after birth is so small as to be almost non-existent so feels no pain). But by day 4 he was 'up and at it' again and, if anything, since then has been far more ebullient than I can remember. And he can still wag for England. So no problem there. Only problem we do have is keeping him on lead exercise for 10 days - or more - and strictly no running around loose for 2-3 weeks. His compensation? Being allowed to sleep upstairs for the first time in his life (just so's I can keep an eye on him at night - naturally). Downside? When he's not being kept an eye on, he has to wear a nasty big plastic hood thing to disable him from chewing the new tail - as if he would!

Boy, is he going to have some energy when we finally get him back to work! Meanwhile, with little else to occupy his ever-active mind he has turned his attention to the gadgetry again. The latest victim - one of my computer flash-drives. He said he was only trying to put it back on the desk when it fell on the floor, but then it sort of fell to bits.........

Sooner he's back to work the better.....

Christmas Holidays!

It's been a bit of a week weatherwise: pea soup fog, rain, driving snow, ice: impossible paths and impassable roads: cars going off-road all over the show and tractors towing stranded lorries up the hill. Unexpectedly, Friday dawned just a little damp and turned into a glorious sunny day - for a few hours.

Which was just as well as some of our piggies were off on another adventure. And where they were going would have been totally impossible had the snow or ice continued. The four that came back a little while ago from the Butterfly Park have been quarantined since then in the Old Stalls and were missing the adulation of their public - not to mention the fresh air. Ever mindful of the needs of his growing herd, therefore, the Big Boss arranged a sort of extended Christmas Holiday for them. So they've gone over the hill and down into a nearby valley, which is very lovely, and are housed in a delightful, traditional crew yard.

They must have had an inkling 'cos they walked straight into their limousine at this end and out at the other - and then proceeded to dash madly around their new home inspecting all the nooks and crannies ... of which there are many! They were truly impressed. And will be more so when they realise that the accommodation comes complete with family and doting children... They will love that!

(And since we can never move one set of pigs without re-arranging a few of the others, Samson has moved in with Scratchy and Delila - more of which another day...)

Of piglets, pork and poultry!

There's never a dull moment in the rural idyll that is Rectory Reserve! Last week witnessed a flurry of activity in preparation for the first public outing of the Pork Victualler on Sunday. The Village Church of St Andrew's was staging a Christmas Market to raise ever needed funds. Lots of stalls were present so a great opportunity for the PV to strut his stuff. Five different types of sausage, air dried ham, pork pies and pates, apple sauce and brawn were all on sale alongside hot dogs and plenty of sausages to sample while passing or waiting. The damp and cold did little to deter the happy shoppers and a good time was had by all - and the PV happily sold out of almost everything!

Ginger's brood meanwhile are 10 days old and now allowed out of the ark for brief spells when the sun - which explains the 'brief' - deigns to shine. They scamper and tumble about all over the place then collapse in a heap indoors and wait for the bar to open. What a life!

And where there is life there is also the after-life... to which we bade a sad farewell to Merlin on Monday..... After a proud and happy life strutting about with his hens for some 4 or 5 years he suddenly fell ill and popped his clogs. He was a character and will be long remembered.