Looks like a pig rustler.......

Rustling has started up again. The media blame it on the recession. Cattle, sheep, chickens... and only last week a large producer 'lost' 500 young pigs ...... So it would be reasonable to jump to the conclusion that this suspicious character is our very own pig rustler...... the way he appears to be keeping his head down and lurking round the perimeter of Delila's pen..........

Yesterday Linda (who loves pigs) popped round with her husband and sister-in-law (who's up from Town for a weekend in the country) to show them the new (as yet still un-named) piglets. They've been by far the boldest and most adventurous piglets we've had so when Nick popped his head round our door and said:

"The piglets are out." we thought he meant 'out of the ark'. But what he meant was out of the pen! By the time he got back to the woods, Delila had called the explorers back to her - except for one which Nick lifted over the fence, which caused Mum to get very anxious and grunty! Linda promptly proclaimed she "wouldn't sleep a wink" for worrying about the little ones getting out and lost or hurt!

Well - what's a chap to do?

Since the babes had presumably climbed through the stock wire where there was no chicken netting lining it (well - there had been but it was of Chinese origin and the previous occupants of the pen had long since destroyed it), he offered to do a quick fencing job enlisting sister Sammy's help. Not that we were worried about the little ones getting out so much as Delila following them if they couldn't find their way back in. Didn't want them repeating the adventure that Ginger and her little brood had a year or so back when they went off down the lane in search of the Nasty Giant..........

In no time Nick and Sammy (no point going to the country if you can't take part in typical country pursuits, is there?) had the fence sufficiently reinforced for Linda's peace of mind. Clearly Delila had shared Linda's concerns because the fencing was no sooner completed than she came over and allowed Nick to rub her back - her way of saying : "Sorry I grumped at you earlier!". Then she made a nice wallow under her water bowl by pushing lots of wet mud up at the newly reinforced fence....... Now, it occurs to me that maybe she encouraged the little ones to cause a bit of mayhem just to achieve her own devious ends? Delila Devious? Never.

And then, having satisfied herself that the wallow was adequate, she went and had a quick word with Samson - but only they know whether that was for reassurance or to hatch another little plan between them..... after all, Samson has already dug a big hole under the dividing gate - plenty big enough for piglets to pop through......

For all we know, they are happily going to and fro when we're not looking.... Pig Paternity rights and all that.........

Cometh the pie, cometh the man....

It all got a bit hectic: a couple of journalists rang for info. What was all this about the British Pie Competition? Was it true our Pie was a 'hot' contender? A photographer from one of the local papers turned up too. It all looked very promising.

And the competition wasn't even due to take place for almost a week!

Tempting to think someone knew something we didn't.

Over 500 pies were entered in 8 different classes in the first ever British Pie Competition to be held in the town whose name is synonymous with Pies -Melton Mowbray.

Of course Rectory Reserve would be represented. Our customers say we have the best pies they've ever tasted.

Hence, two entries- the 'Pork' and the 'Savoury' (that's the one with the bantam egg in the centre) pie categories.

All jolly nerve wracking: got to believe you're in with a shout otherwise there's no point entering a competition, is there?

Pies were made, wrapped and delivered on time. And we waited eagerly for the result.

And waited.

The following day we rang one of the organisers.

Turns out the 'Big Boys' had won: the ones who make pies for the leading supermarkets.

Well, we don't know anybody who'd rather have any supermarket pie than one of ours. But the judges know best - obviously.

Still, it was an interesting experience and lessons have been learned.

Roll on next year.......

If at first you don't succeed....

Undaunted and inspired by our previous Working Test adventure, off we went to the East Midlands last Sunday with The Bestest Gundog in all the World for another event with the Gundog Club. Very early start, again: glorious spring morning, again: arrived at venue much earlier than necessary, again: lots of people, cars, spaniels there, again: wonderful 80 hectare woodland to run the tests in. No nerves: Gunner jumped out of the back of the car (in itself an advance - last time he refused to travel anywhere other than in the well of the front seat) all agog and looking eager. We were No: 14 in the novice class. Same format as last time: two judges - each dog to run in front of each judge: hunting for a few minutes then sent out to retrieve firstly a 'seen' object then a 'blind' object. Instead of cold game, the objects this time were standard training dummies.

Gunner eagerly watched the other contestants do their thing: when his turn came I sent him off to hunt and - joy of joys - off he went...... diligently hunting hither and thither in the very dense undergrowth (much more his kind of thing than the light cover we were in for the previous Test). When the retrieve was 'shot' he paid attention and - when sent, confidently set off to find it.... returning with the dummy after just a few directional aids . Same with the blind retrieve. "Oh dear" I thought "hunting fine, but retrieving clearly suffering today". But then I found out that most of the dogs were having difficulty with their retrieves and realised that TBgiaTW was better than most and at least as good as the best of them. So well done him: I was thrilled to bits with him. He drew lots of comments for his looks and his manners too and there is no doubt (in my mind) that he can go a lot further.....

No prizes then but we did get a lot of advice and positive comments from the judges and others: just need to build the confidence up and we'll be in there with a shout.

Next Test in a fortnight ..... different location, different Club, different - even more confident - dog..... maybe

Meet the new Babes.....

It's official .. there are definitely 7 of them.... the "magic number" for curly coat litters! Delila is proving to be an excellent mother and the little ones are already very lively - two of them even having been spotted outside the ark this morning.... the earliest that any of our piglets have ever ventured out! And they are happily running around inside the ark so clearly a healthy lively bunch. No wonder Delila cannot get enough to eat!

Meanwhile, poor Samson can't understand what's going on. Whenever there's a human around all he wants is to be scratched and stroked and when there is nobody about he gets on with the job of digging the most enormous hole under the gate separating him from the love of his life! He sleeps beside the dividing fence rather than in his ark and he's even off his food - which is really a bad sign..... Delila goes over to have a little nuzzle and chat when she briefly leaves her babes for food or water which must cheer him a bit..........Let's hope he gets back to 'normal' soon - maybe he'll be happier when he can watch the little ones scampering around their pen....

P.S. to the previous

Linda left at 5.15 with the news that there are now "4 white ones and 3 red ones and they're all attached to the milk-bar.... !" The Mangalitza magic number......

A quiet week - almost

It's all been very quiet this week since Jemima went back home on Tuesday evening. No problems this time with getting her to go --- she's a clever bird so probably understood the conversation about The New Pond when young Jack and his Ma came to fetch her. She certainly livened up the weekend and it was lovely having her come waddling speedily across every time I called her name - but I did think for a while she was going to disappear down the Church Field -- she spent so much time gazing through the fence!

Anyway, with the promise of The New Pond, off she went and we await reports.

Meanwhile, every day this week we have been muttering that now familiar refrain:"Must be any moment now!" Every morning The Big Boss has been greeted with the same question on coming in for breakfast: "What? Still no piglets!" As the days passed, our incredulity and anxiety mushroomed. Delila surely couldn't possibly go on any longer and by comparison, Lily is at least weeks away from farrowing.

Linda's first question when she arrived at 1 o'clock was :"Any news?" Nope. Not a sausage!

So at 2.15 pm I took this picture and, on showing it to the Boss, said "I cannot believe she can go a minute longer!" and then got on with exercising Gunner (hunting practice for Sunday). Still no piglets. So I got on with making the marmalade.

Just got to the critical part: "Add sugar and bring to the boil stirring continuously" when Linda came to the back door and yelled something that sounded a bit frantic. Radio was playing loudly and marmalade bubbling so I thought she said something about Pilot's leg doing something! So she repeated herself. Still we didn't get it! Decided to switch off the radio.

"Delila's having her piglets!" she said excitedly.... "saw a little red one......" That was the end of the marmalade for a while!

Off we all went to 'have a look' - and to exclude Samson from the scene of the action. He wasn't too pleased at having the connecting gate between what is now Delila's, and his, pen shut. But we placated him with fresh eggs and grass, which went some way to keeping him quiet. And then we peered tentatively at Delila's ark.

"She's got three little red ones.." Linda exclaimed in awe. But then we all got worried about a little one in the straw near the front of the ark and well away from the milk-bar.

After some worried umming and ahhing it was decided to have a go at putting the piglet back to Mum.... Linda got the job (she being the most agile.. and the only one who seemed totally unworried about proceedings.... must come from having worked for many years in a Vet. practice). That job done we all left Delila in peace......

And spent the next hour or two wondering "How many" there would be when we looked again. And Linda muttered something about it being a good job she was having to come back on Sunday to take care of things whilst we're off with The Bestest Gundog........

Three of Seven

"If we ignore her, do you think she'll go away too?" said Raymond to Gordon.

Can't blame them for thinking that.

After all, Delia and Ainsley went off a couple of weeks ago to the Butterfly Park.

Then last week it was the turn of Hugh and Jamie to go off to Elsham for the summer season. So that leaves just the three of the Seven Little Chefs.

Means more space in the ark at night of course - not a bad thing after four months when piglets have grown into their larger clothes. Does get a bit boring though when you want a game or a chunter with someone different - not a huge amount of choice with just three left.

But there's always Ginger and Mangel, or the horses, to have a bit of an exchange of ideas with..... Ritz is always good for a bit of gossip..... and horses do have a different perspective on life... "Comes from being so much higher off the ground...." said Gordon... well, he could have a point.

"Shame about the female though.. never a sensible idea in her head and all she wants to do all day is bat those tremendously long eye-lashes " said Raymond....

(they are very much longer than any other of the female pigs we've bred here) - "works with the humans but doesn't do alot for us chaps" agreed Gordon.

Meanwhile, Jemima has come to stay for a few days over Easter whilst the Family Morris are off visiting friends down South.

Same old Bossy Boots: no sooner in the pen with the other poultry and she's quacking like crazy and telling them all what she thinks and what they should do. Rectory Reserve is probably a bit like a holiday camp for her - sort of like going to Skegness for the weekend - big pond to play in, steep hills to slide down, strange birds to poke and prod. Not to mention those hairy grunty things on the other side of the fence....

Must be a bit of an adventure after being the only bird in the world at home (though there's a rumour the Morris's are thinking of augmenting their flock with a few hens and maybe a duck - Indian runner - or two.... best not tell Jemima just yet)..... It was difficult enough persuading her to go home last time...... although in addition to the exta poultry, The Morris's are also talking (again) about how they might provide Jemima with a Real Pond to swim in..... now, that would be interesting.......

Me? Leave you with them? Not likely!

Ignorance is bliss.... "He'll never be a trial champion!" is a mantra we've long become familiar with. "But" said Rory the trainer "Take him along to a few Working Tests during the summer and see how you get on".

A Nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse. So, off we went yesterday at daybreak - well almost - with the picnic and the directions to our first ever test with, of course, the bestest gundog in all the world. Glorious frosty but sunny morning heralding a gloriously warm, sunny Sunday. Great for people activities: not so great for doggie activities. But there we are, can't have everything. As with everything The BGIATW and I have done together, this is all a complete first for us. We don't know what to expect, or what is expected. Great big learning curve. We're amongst the earliest to arrive: gradually the car park fills up with a miscellaneous collection of 4X4s, people and their spaniels. It's an A/V spaniel cold game test we've entered. Never heard that term before but Audio Visual spaniels sounded good to me - presumably they hear and see everything! I soon learned that it meant Any Variety - which in this instance turned out to be either Cocker or Springer Spaniels. Cold Game? Since it was a frosty start to the day, the birds were presumably left out in their cages overnight so they would be cold, wouldn't they? But not. It seems they are shot birds (pheasant,partridge and pigeon) which are frozen and thawed out the night before the test! Interesting!

After waiting an unwittingly long time for a late (non) arriver we set off - in our case, still virtually in ignorance of what's about to unfold. Out of 20 dogs and their handlers, only 2 others were first-timers but they both had been members of this particular club for a while and so knew what they were letting themselves in for. They admitted they were nervous. I admitted that since I was ignorant of what I was in for, I was not in the least nervous - till they told me what I was in for!

Anyway, off we set. And the proceedings were as follows: two dogs were set their test contemporaneously, judged independently by two judges - one a relatively novice judge, the other in this case a renowned international judge and one time (for 7 years) captain of the British Gundog Team. Each dog would, during the course of the day, complete the same test under each of the two judges. The 'test' comprised setting off with the handler (followed closely by the judge and accompanied by a man with a bag of birds and another with a gun) to 'hunt' a given piece of ground. During the hunt, the gun would be fired and a bird would 'drop' somewhere in the undergrowth. The dog must sit to shot; wait to be told to retrieve, then retrieve back to hand. Then continue hunting. Another shot would eventually be fired and another bird would 'drop' - this time behind the dog where he had no chance of seeing it - thus a 'blind' retrieve. Again, dog must drop to shot, wait for the instruction and then retrieve. End of test. Probable duration of each run, approx. 5-10 minutes, determined largely by the dog's ability and speed at finding the retrieves. Throughout the day, before and between each test, both dogs and handlers were on their feet 'following' the vanguard in order to 'be ready' to take their place at the due time. That's about 5 hours in all. Good dog: be quiet and behave for a couple of hours, go like greased lightening for 5-10 minutes; switch off then repeat.........

Easey Peasey.

The Bestest Gundog in all the world behaved himself impeccably: calm, cool and patient. He accomplished his retrieves without hesitation or error: the novice judge said his retrieves were 'good';the advanced judge said, after each retrieve, "Good nose that dog's got"! On a scale of 1 bad and 10 excellent, I'd say he scored 9, losing a point only for doing his job at below Formula 1 speed. But he was accurate, direct and needed no help from me.

So, jolly good and I was thrilled with him.

But, he would not hunt; on the first run he looked at the judge, and the bag carrier and the gun carrier and at me and clearly decided that his role was as guard dog --- he would not leave my side.

"Hunt? For what?" he seemed to say "Leave you with those blokes? More than my life's worth!" and he stuck close by, refusing point-blank to even pretend to hunt.

"Nothing there anyway" he doubtless thought - for by now, well into late morning the frost and dew had long dried off the ground and there was no scent to be found. Not daft that dog; why waste energy? Why indeed? He didn't know it was a test! He didn't know either that some of the competition were Trials Champions or mature dogs and handlers who'd done all this many times before. Talk about jumping in at the deep end......

On the second run therefore - in front of the Big Judge, I decided reticence was for the birds and gave increasing amounts of encouragement (Not quite cheer leader but moving in that direction....). Eventually he did begin to tentatively hunt around, checking back with me constantly to make sure I was safe with those strange men......... but compared with the competition, many of whom - to quote Rory-the-trainer - "would hunt in a car park", Gunner-the-hunter was a non starter. So though his retrieving, from what I saw of the others, was probably among the best, a spaniel is primarily a hunting dog and judged accordingly..... so we've a bit of catching up to do. But he's a fast learner and he'll do better next time.

If we can both relax and Gunner hunts in his usual enthusiastic (if not manic) fashion, his retrieving skills will get him up with the leaders.

So, project "Win that test" continues: next run two weeks hence. We've got some tips from our trainer about what to do in the meantime and what to do at the next test.... so onwards and upwards......

We both came home exhausted from the whole experience..... and eagerly looking forward to next time!