Looking forward

 As another year ends we could review the past 12 months or we could look forward. Well, we all know what the past year has been like; the wettest since records began. The rain has sapped our strength and shaped our actions. Enough.
On the pig front it's been pretty hectic - more and bigger events and shows than in previous years and an increasing number of pigs. We are now breeding from 3 boars and 6 sows.....that means 12 litters to look forward to over the next year starting with 2 in January. Victoria, right, could be the first to Farrow in 2013. She's a daughter of Ginger and Mangal and is in pig to Banana, son of Truffle and J.D. She's due any day after tomorrow. Closely followed by Truffle.

Both will farrow indoors. For the first time we have decided that conditions outside are not suitable for piglets - influenced in part by Delila's last experience but mostly due to the incessant rain.
The Big Boss has spent the festive season planning activities for the coming months: 50 or more events are already on the cards. Farmers markets with low returns are being struck off and replaced by Game,Country and Food Fairs - many of which are of two or three day's duration. That'll keep us busy.
Away from the pigs the 'Major' activity over the coming months will be educating The Bestest Gundog's Understudy. Already Jaunty is proving to be intelligent, quick to learn, increasingly bold and cheeky. Hopefully these attributes can be channelled into something resembling the makings of a gundog! Time will tell. If all goes well he could be out for a short few days next season......
Then there are the horses to get back into shape after their long winter rest: Rocco, at 20 is no spring chicken, but Ritz is way older than that and it will be interesting to see how much he is prepared to do. Mentally he is as sharp as a knife but he has a bit of rheumatism in his hips which will define what we ask of him over the months ahead.

And, of course, there are the cats to consider. Puddy Cat, the grey, will only consider venturing outside on a winter's day if it's particularly calm and dry. Needless to say, she doesn't get out much at this time of year but come the summer (Please?) she'll be the first to sun herself on the garden bench. Waifa, on the other hand, spends most of her time outside whatever the weather throws at her. Only this afternoon, in pouring rain and driving winds, she was teaching the Pupski some of the niceties of 'huntin for rabbits'. Can see we're going to have to watch her as his training progresses......
And that leaves the poultry: what used to be the main flock - in the Poultry Palace - is being phased out; there are just 5 or 6 hens who are being allowed to see out their days with two or three cocks who take it in turns to lord it over them. Last year's M&S intake have been supplemented by Linda's motley crew who have come to stay whilst their home is being refurbished - and maybe longer. And there are three small bantam flocks who continue to multiply of their own accord - the latest chick was hatched a couple of days before Christmas......Between the lot of them we get three or four eggs a day. I Know. Not exactly prolific, but there we are. That's more than we get from the 9 call ducks. As ever, I have a New Year's Resolution to collect their eggs this coming spring BEFORE they sit on them....... We'll see if that's one Resolution I can keep!!!
So, lots of potential for 2013...... the things we already know look interesting enough, what of all those that we have no inkling of....? In 12 months from now, what shall we be looking back on or forward to.......
Who knows....
Meanwhile, from us to you - Peace, Health, Happiness and Prosperity ---- Oh, and lots of fun ---- throughout 2013....

Merry Christmas Everybody

Merry Christmas Everybody: may all your hopes and dreams come true,your wishes be realised and your friends and family live in peace.
Personally I'd like a little more work, a lot more food and a lot less puppy-pullin-my-ears.... ("Hear that Santa?").
Here's to an excitin, eventful and exerciseful 2013.....

The best Office Christmas Party ever!

Last sow loaded - almost done

 Everyone knows it's been pouring with rain since.. well, as long as anyone can remember. It doesn't really matter. Water drains away;goes down holes in the ground eventually 'cept if you're flooded, which is not nice for anyone.
Everyone knows pigs love mud ... well, mostly they love mud and eventually the mud dries  up a bit and is OK - 'cept this year. The rain's not stopped and the mud has gone from slarmy to gloopy to sloppy and our constant dilemma - well, one among many - is how to manage the pigs in the climactic conditions we are challenged with.   We have weanlings inside who

The Somme?

need to go out and pigs outside who need to go in and pigs elsewhere who need moving somewhere else again.... it goes on and on and gives some of us sleepless nights...
Anyway, today was Moving Friday - we had weanlings who needed to go out; we had a sow who is farrowing soon and - in view of Delila's last experience needed to come in - we had a sow who needed to move away from Samson and another who needed to move up to be with Samson.
We also had an extremely wet field. Up and down which we had to go a number of times with a heavy pig trailer. Undaunted, we made all the moves (thanks to Con who took over the driving - me, Coward?). The sows, bless them - Andromeda, Truffle and Delila - behaved like little lambs and moved without hesitation where we wanted them to. The little weanlings loaded on and off the trailer like angels - swam through the sloppy mud in their new outdoor pen as if it were not there.... even though they were transformed from little blonde things into mucky piggies in 0.1 seconds..... happy to be outside again (perhaps they don't think of weather like we do). It took a while and a lot of driving and slipping through the mud and by the time we were done darkness was falling and the once beautiful Church Field resembled the battlefield of the Somme..... Linda had to leap over a fence into almost bottomless gloop to persuade Andromeda to follow her feed bowl to the trailer; then she almost went head over heels leading Delila up to the trailer - in her eagerness to get to dry land(and maybe the feedbowl) poor sow almost trampled over her....... we laughed: "I've lost my gripper!" said Linda in explanation (they're things that help boots not slip in mud or snow....) - we never did find out where (yet!). By the end of it we were all exhausted but the piggies are all in the right place and no need to worry about any of them till..... well ... well into the New Year.
"That was the best Office Christmas Party ever" exclaimed Linda over a glass of Lindisfarne Mead a while later - which made me laugh out loud .......... and some of us will sleep more soundly over the festive season knowing our piggies are in the right places.
So --- Merry Christmas all and may Santa make your wishes come true....... and if you want to see the little piggies in their proper places drop in between mid-day and 3 pm on Sunday and drink to their health.... and to a dry and pleasant 2013!!!....

The last market of the year

Blown away in Horncastle

That's it then: the last market of 2012 is over and done.... it was, precisely, the Horncastle Christmas Cracker... "Gosh you've got a windy spot!", "You gonna take off any minute now?", "It's not this windy round the other side!"people kept saying. Just what you want to hear when your carefully hung tinsel's going skywards/westwards/northwards/anywhere followed by strategically placed signs, labels and even the new "three tier point-of-sale" Piper's Crisp Stand...... followed by the 'New!' Piper's Chorizo Crisps...... Take my word for it, it is not fun! Nor is it easy maintaining a professional demeanour. But it could have been worse: it could have been (also) raining/sleeting/snowing and compared with the previous weekend it was positively balmy! (Well, almost). Climate apart, the atmosphere was cheerful and seasonal - lots of Christmas music, Santa on his sleigh to-ing and fro-ing (along with some rather suspect elves and reindeer) and enough people to make the place heave. What's not to like?
Best of all was the phone call this morning: "I bought half a pork pie from your wife at the Christmas Market yesterday" a chap said to the Big Boss. "It's the best I've ever had; where can I get some more? Solved my present dilemma: Thought I'd give everyone a pork pie." So he's coming to pick them up at the Open Day on the 23rd!
Occasions like that make everything worthwhile: all the getting up early on a frosty foggy morning; all the standing around in the freezing cold for hours on end; all the ... well everything really. A good end to the market season. We'll not be back till end February/ early March 2013. So time to rest, recuperate and regroup......

I'm not sittin around out here in the cold for a minute longer

On a lighter note- I've been running a series of tweets from Barton-on-Humber farmers market each month - the "Benson's of Barton dog of the day". My stall is opposite this illustrious "Quality Family Butcher" which is clearly held in high esteem by discerning dog owners - my market day is punctuated by the antics of culinary canines sending their humans shopping in the butcher whilst they supervise from outside the door. Some woof commands, some whine with frustration that the job's taking too long, others simply fall asleep in boredom. This chap last Saturday took the biscuit though; having stood still for minutes he clearly decided "enough" and slowly meandered off - who needs meat anyway!
Actually, that's what a number of people at the Christmas Cracker also appeared to have decided........ but it was still a good day. So a big "Thank You " to all our customers - see you all next year (and bring your friends/families/neighbours/dogs.........)

Update

"We're back at work I'm pleased to say - though it all seems a bit odd cos there are often big gaps between the days out and the days off. She Who Must be Obeyed tried to explain to me why we are not seeing some of our old friends so regularly but it don't make much sense to me. I just go where she takes me and get on with the job - I'm not too fussed about who else is there really. I had a little lump taken off my leg before we started work again and it gets sore every time we go out: She worries but it don't bother me - it's not like it stops me running or anything. Humans just fuss too much.

Waiting for the 'off''

She put a bandage round it for the first few working days but that didn't really work cos the brambles and bushes kept pulling it off, so now we don't bother any more.
We have one or two little disagreements out in the field; this is my fifth season and I know my job inside out but She will keep insisting that I do it Her way and, quite honestly, She is not always right. After all, if a bird is shot and I see where it falls the sensible thing is to go and fetch it straightaway whilst I'm on the case - someone (probably me) has only got to back for it otherwise. But She will insist that I leave it till all the banging's stopped. One day even, when I had a clear view of all the chaps shooting, she kept me on my lead; there were birds falling everywhere but she wouldn't let me fetch a single one! How silly. Then yesterday there was an old boy who told her he'd dropped 5 or 6 and would Her Hound (!!!!) be able to find them for him. Well, I tell you, I found two very quickly but there wasn't another bird anywhere but she told me to keep looking. I told her there was nothing there but the old boy insisted so she made me look for long enough to persuade him that he'd better go ask another dog! Some people are so rude!

Meanwhile back at home The Understudy is coming along nicely. I wish he wouldn't keep pulling my ears but apart from that - and the fact I'm not allowed to eat all his food - he's not to bad. Lucky for him he learns quite fast cos Pilot is a bit of a pain and wants to push us around and grumps very seriously if we get in his way. I try and keep out of his line of sight but the little one is still learning that lesson. He got beaten up a couple of times and now he's more wary but every now and then he forgets and rushes into Pilot's space. The Big Boss even re-hurt his very poorly arm - bashed it on the door one morning when he was trying to keep them apart. Set him back a few days that did. She doesn't fuss too much - just puts Jaunty back in his cage and he's back to sleep in no time. Come to think of it, he sleeps a lot. Mind you, when he's awake he makes up for it. He keeps discovering new Favourite Things - like leaping in hay nets or up on to stacks of sacks or doing vertical take-offs from the bales in the barn and running circles round piglets.

Making sure the piglets, not Jaunty, eat their breakfast

I don't think I was as excitable as him when I was young but he does listen - like the other morning when he kept jumping in with the piglets to pinch their food - She told him not to but he didn't really understand what She meant till I showed him. He's learned a couple of other things from me too, like going straight back to Her when She whistles, and sitting down to wait for his dinner. I taught him to leave some food in his bowl as payment for the teacher but She won't let me have it and just puts it up on the table where I can't reach! Really mean that is.  Will have to think of something else...... meanwhile I feel a bit of breakfast coming on so better go...the Bag is out so that means we're off to work again today.....good job we don't have to take the little pupski with us - ------!"

Just when you think....

What they been sweeping under the carpet?

Hah! Now we can see what we're getting to....

So there we are.
Just when you think you know where everyone is and what's going on, something happens to overturn that complacency.
" Ginger's gone walkabout" said Linda, hastening up to the house whilst I was talking to Christine - the ironing guru - and exercising the pupski...
"Huh?" I said most eloquently
"Yeh - I've put her in the stalls with Victoria for now" she continued.
Ginger was not happy.
By the time I'd donned the wellies and sorted the pup Ginger was doing her best to batter down the door.
"Into Rocco's stable I think" I said to Linda - it being not too far away and on the same level.
Ginger duly obliged.
Then proceeded to rearrange the furnishings.
One snick of the snout and up went the rubber rug ("easy peasy" said Ginger - standing back to admire her handiwork.......)
'The sooner she's out of there the better' I thought to myself.
We made minor amendments to Ginger's pen then went back to fetch her.
Pig boards and feedbucket in hand we persuaded her out of Rocco's stable.  Then Linda walked backwards  - increasingly fast as Ginger picked up momentum - in the direction of   Ginger's pen - with the feedbowl..... the addition of a pigboard was merely to make us feel better,
Ginger went straight home "Thanks" she seemed to say "All I wanted was a little nuncheon" -- Huh!.Just when you think you know your pigs.......
And where were the little ones meanwhile?
Fast asleep in a row like sausages in a pack
just like Ginger told them....
They were going nowhere.
Maybe Ginger told them to stay in cos it was her turn to go out and about? Maybe they came back with such tall pigtails that she had to go out into the Reserve and see for herself.... whatever... once back in her pen she was more than contented - snout in bowl and  "What me? Out there? Never"  clearly her attitude.
Which goes to show   - with animals you never can tell......

 Move? Us? We have our orders.....

 

Chalk and cheese

Sleepy Sunday afternoon..........

I got my eye on you chaps so you'd better behave.....

Here's a sweet scene: big mama sow and tiny piglets all curled up together in the sunshine. Ginger looks as though she hasn't a care in the world. And why wouldn't she .... 6 bouncing little piglets all growing nicely and behaving like little piglets ought to.
 Most of the time!
Most of the time they're doing what young things should do - going off into the world and leaving the old lady in peace and quiet.

Out at last

From the age of just over 2 weeks they've been out exploring - bouncing around all over the place like young rabbits; visiting all the other herd members and generally making a nuisance of themselves everywhere but with Ginger. All she ever sees of them is sleepy piglets - and no wonder after all their exertions. The Bestest Gundog spends quite a bit of time explaining the rules to them. They don't listen, of course. Doesn't stop him though. He's nothing if not persistent. They just look at him and trot off on their merry way.
Meanwhile a little further down the path from the second picture, Delila is busy bringing up her little brood. In quite a different manner. Where Ginger is all relaxed, Delila is quite neurotic; where Ginger's piglets are everywhere, Delila's are nowhere. Whatever happened on that traumatic night when they were born has had a far-reaching effect. Delila guards them with her not-inconsiderable torso and when there's the merest hint of "something happening" she herds them to the back of their ark. They are 4 weeks old now though and it's high time they were out and running around all over the place. At least today she let them play outside their doorway but it's a far cry from the shenanigans that Ginger's piglets (just one day younger) are getting up to.  If they don't start leaving mum soon we are going to have an interesting time when it comes to weaning. Two litters could not be more different...... chalk and cheese.......

Moving day ....

BlackBananaBoy wooing his new Lady friend

Friday's is usually moving day... and we had serious moves to make last Friday. Victoria is due to farrow at the end of the year - she may or may not beat Truffle to it - so we wanted to move her away from BlackBananaBoy and the muddy woods to give her time to compose herself before THE  Day. Mrs Merkel, on the other hand, has been given a stay of execution (literally) -she was to have gone to the great sausagemachine in the sky tomorrow but, with The Big Boss having a bad arm and the Xmas markets being affected accordingly, we decided to put her up with BlackBananaBoy to breed instead: We are also thinking we may need a replacement for Ginger (!!!!).

"An armful of piggie is all I ever wanted"  said Con

Well - he was after her straightaway and there's been a hell of a noise ever since.....not sure that she's impressed with her new companion. Meanwhile, Victoria is indoors in the old stalls and wondering why ...but enjoying all the extra attention (and the dry accommodation no doubt).
And then there was little Snowdrop - the only girl amonst a litter of boys - who had to move from the barn with her brothers (of course) to the Playpen with the two Flowers - Rose and Begonia. Well, the only way to move her was to carry her - naturally!.  Linda did a skydive spectacular across the barn floor to catch her back leg - and missed which gaveYours Truly the chance to catch the piggie on the hop and grab the leg on the other side....

Between the pair of us we managed to pick her up and pass her across the hurdle to Con who carried her in his arms down to the field and her two cousins.

Snowdrop giving her cousins a wide berth!

The squealing had to be heard to be believed. The puppy ran to cover in a corner of the barn. Delila rounded up her piglets and stuffed them further to the back of their ark (not that they were exactly'out' of their little house.....).and all the other creatures looked about them in alarm. Snowdrop is so much smaller than her cousins and we were worried they'd not let her sleep with them but she managed to snuggle up at the back of the ark and the following morning snucked out last for her breakfast...... she'll be ok - pigs are so kind to each other  - usually.
Meanwhile, last night when the dogs went for their last walk, there was such a humdinger of a noise going on in the woods - Mrs Merkel and the BlackBananaBoy making whoopee in their ark again -well who's to guess what was going on.. but in the misty rainy night it was a pretty scary sound ---and they were not up for breakfast this morning....... time will tell.....

Just another day...

It was just like any other morning really...cold, slippery underfoot, piggies hollering for their breakfast... the phone rang somewhere about my person... fumbling around trying to find the right pocket whilst taking off the mucky gloves... more haste less speed. Finally. "You wouldn't like to come in would you? I've had a fall".

"Been practising his jujitsu moves again" I thought, walking slowly towards the house --- speed would have induced panic. All sorts of demons ran across my mind. Relief to see him sitting on the kitchen chair - a little ashen-faced whilst clutching his arm. It wasn't Jujitsu training at all. Walking in anger from the study after an early morning aggravation with our landline provider The Big Boss was rudely accosted by the hall carpet - which clutched at his feet and flung his torso in the direction of the hall table.... a missing chunk of which bears testimony to the event...and his right shoulder bore the brunt of the collision...... We spent the next 12 hours at A&E in two of our local NHS providers... a very long 12 hours (Did I mention the incident occurred before we humans had breakfasted???No? I thought I'd forgotten that small point......). It's difficult to say who enjoyed the day least; The BB because he was sedated for a large part of it or Yours Truly who doesn't have the dislocated shoulder.... And we'll not be doing any ballroom dancing in the foreseeable future, that's for certain. It's off to the fracture clinic in the morning to, hopefully, get a clear analysis of the actual damage done and what happens next.  Meanwhile, the patient is under strict instructions not to move the arm AT ALL (it re-dislocated at least half a dozen times whilst being 'fixed' --- "very unstable" opined the extremely competent, charming and effective Dr 'Raj') and has spent the weekend heavily painkilled and sleepy.
The fact that we are about to enter the busy pre-Christmas Markets period, not to mention being well into the shooting season, does little to ensure sound sleep. The Big Boss is doubtless in pain though he won't admit it and I am doubtless in denial - which, if challenged, I will of course strongly deny..... "We'll see what tomorrow brings" I keep saying to myself.... and anyone else who asks.

Filling in the gaps - part one

.... So let's just wind the clock back a bit.... to October 28th... remember all that noise around Delila's pen when we got back from the Sausage Festival?  I was right to be alarmed. The noise level was not normal. Usually when a sow has had a litter of piglets she spends as much time the first few days just caring for them and suckling them. Well, the next morning Delila was out and about before breakfast. I thought she was just hungry and whilst she was eating I went to see what there was to see in her ark. It was not pretty. There was a bunch of little squigglies huddled in one corner. But elsewhere... too many poor little bodies not squiggling. I removed them one by one. At least one of them had a hole the size of a 50p piece right through the skin on its rump. It was too distressing to look too closely at the others. No wonder Delila didn't want to be in there. I fetched her a bale of fresh straw and she spent ages stuffing it all round the edges of  the ark. I can only imagine a stoat or similar got in through a hole at ground level and attacked the little ones.... horrific. And quite explains the awful squealing I heard. For the next 3 days or so Delila spent far too little time in the ark; we were concerned for the survival of the remaining 5 piglets. However, mum was still doing her job and by the end of the first week life was back to normal. Poor Delila. I don't know if sows suffer post natal depression but if they do that's what she clearly had those first few days.

Just keep your distance......

No such problem with Ginger. Her 6 piglets are bonny little creatures and, only a little over two weeks old,  are already out of the pen and exploring what else is in the world. Mum sleeps a lot - but who can blame her!! I don't think she's in the least concerned with the amount of time they are spending away from home. They are still quite small - whenever I catch sight of them trotting around my first thought is always of rabbits. I'm sure that'll soon change......

The Understudy - update

It looks much more interesting from up here

Jaunty (aka The Understudy) has been here nearly 3 weeks now.
I wouldn't say that life revolves around him but it is difficult to recall what it was like before he came! The ever Alpha Pilot has already 'beaten' him up twice so we've all learned to be hyper careful when going about what would otherwise be routine activities! On the first occasion Pupski decided to cosey up to Pilot on the Aga mat and was firmly ragged for that - much squealing but  no damage. There were mitigating circumstances - tired 'marketed-out' humans and overexcited canines. On the second occasion little pup, as is his wont, rushed home to the back door having done his p's and poops and crashed unsuspectingly  into Pilot who, having been on a long journey round the estate,

He thinks if he pretends to sleep I'll go away - but I won't

was also eagerly awaiting entry. Another ragging. Even louder screaming ensued and when I dragged Pilot off him, Jaunty rushed off squirming and crying as if he'd been torn limb from limb. Much cuddling and cooing on the garden seat eventually calmed the poor thing down; the blood, it transpired, was coming from nothing worse than a sorely bitten tongue. Pup now checks exactly where Pilot is before making decisions about where to dash! A hard lesson firmly learned!

What d'ya mean it's too high?!

He has no such problems with Gunner who, not surprisingly, is an excellent Nanny/mentor and has shown him all the 'interesting' places (including where rabbits hide under the Summer house - naughty Gunner). So much so that Jaunty is as relaxed sleeping in his crate of straw in the barn as in his comfy bed in the house! The horses and pigs are less frightening than Pilot whilst chickens & ducks are just curiosities and if there is a platform to climb onto and leap off  then the day is complete.
"He'll scream the house down when you leave him for the night" said Annie when we went to fetch him. He did make a bit of a noise when he woke up the first two nights but since then not a peep out of him till morning tea. So much so that for the first two weeks he had to be dragged out... "Go out in the dark?Me? You must be kidding!"
The outside world is becoming increasingly exciting though and the mad dash back to the house is becoming more and more delayed. Overall, he's proving quick to learn and shows excellent potential as an Understudy - who knows, he may even turn into a star  in his own right!

And, as if that were not enough

Ginger was overdue we thought. "Maybe she's too old?" we said to each other: "Maybe Mangal's past it" we debated.  They're both 5 years old and maybe that's beyond the age of reproduction. Ginger's been sleeping alotl  A whole lot. "Whatever happens, this'll be her last litter" I said to anyone who was lisening.

I went out on Monday morning to do the anipals; Ginger was late for breakfast. Not unusual. The Bestest Gundog was concerned and ran round the bridleway side of her pen: Having fed everyone else, I went in to investigate ....  and discovered several stripey bodies squiggling round in the straw alongside her. With a little urging she got up and came out for  breakfast - looking at me as if to say "Why'd you think there was a problem?".  She and Mangal may be getting on but clearly they have not lost the recipe!
So the question remains. Is this to be her last litter? The little ones bounce and squiggle around her but she sleeps a lot. We'll see how they all go on.... then we'll decide...
Meanwhile, Andromeda has been weaned from her piglets.

"So, what happens next is She'll stop you runnin' around for a while"

In the now time-honoured way, I fed them their breakfast in the barn this morning and simply shut the doors whilst they were too busy to notice. Gunner had warned them their freedom was about to be curtailed but they didn't understand what he was saying!
It's a relief to be able to leave doors open all over the place without fear a stream of piglets will dash in to investigate..... they're not so pleased with the idea though and, by the middle of the morning, were squealing to be let out. It was time for their general perambulation no doubt! How dare we shut them in!
At the end of the  week Andromeda will be reunited with Samson but in the meantime she is having some precious 'Me' time to rest and recuperate.

STOP PRESS....

Returned last night from Lincoln Sausage Festival - more news of which later - and went out a little later to shut up chickens - what a lot of squealing there was out there. "What the hell's that?" I said to The Bestest Gundog because, of course, he knows everything.................... He looked at me as if to say "Why you askin' me?" So, there we have it: he doesn't know everything!
We followed the squealing sounds: past the stalls with Andromeda and her brood - silence there. Past the Barn with the three big girls; just rustling there. Down to the Church Field ---- where the noise was deafening. I suddenly realised: "Must be Delila! Having her piglets.......".  I don't think I have ever heard piglets make so much noise. Clearly Delila thought so too because, hearing me approach, she came gruntling out: "Can't you shut that lot up?" she said.
"Best we leave them alone." I said to the BG and we turned for home. Later on when we tucked the horses up for the night all was quiet.
We'll see how they all are later this morning when it's light......

Introducing....



Hmmm - wonder what I do now?




The latest arrival at RectoryReserve..........
Jaunty arrived here on Tuesday evening after a three hour car ride from Norfolk.
He slept all the way on my lap (no! I wasn't driving) and when we got home I put his travel blanket in his crate - he went in as naturally as if he'd been doing that for days and happily went straight back to sleep.
Apart from a p & poo break he then slept through till 2.30 am - when he screamed the house down....! Only for a little while. After popping out for another p&poo break he went back to sleep till morning. Much the same the second night, except he didn't wake till 4.30!  Registered Gaberlunzie Master at Arms, Jaunty is going to be the The Bestest Gundog's understudy... so it's a good job he's following him around everywhere already! Pilot, as alpha dog, is demanding respect! And the cats both have their noses out of joint: PuddyCat won't leave the Big Boss and Waifa is keeping her distance from everyone - probably working out what it is that's entered her domain!! As are we all - on different levels.......

Here we go again.....



First day, first drive: how much longer do we have to wait?



Wet and happy waiting for the fourth drive



"We're off again. I'd forgotten all about it for ages but then THE bag came out and the next day off we went - to the fields where the wild birds live again. Oh I wagged my tail so hard it nearly made my nose drop off. This is me before the first 'drive' of the day. It was hard to sit still for so long: but I did: and then she gave me the command - "seek on" and I was away.... busy, busy, busy - so many smells, so many things to explore. 'No; don't make me slow down, you can't tell how many birds there are ahead'. But she insisted on calling me back time and time again. Listen - I know what I'm doing; don't stop me; I'll find them, just let me get on with it. But still she insisted and then I remembered - I'm s'posed to do as she says! So much one forgets in the excitement of the moment....................

Three drives later I'd almost settled down. By then we'd been across miles and She'd crawled through hedges and ditches and was getting tired... we were both bedraggled. 'This is more like it' I thought.



Eventually the sun came out and it got quite warm and I was a bit puffy and my leg-without-the-lump was a little red & sore but I didn't care. This is my thing and I was loving it: I even picked up a few partridge that were lying around.

Suddenly the day ended and I was gloriously wet and muddy - but then I had to get in a weird box in the back of the strange vehicle. Not used to such indignity: where was the comfy back seat and my warm snuggie? Hmmph. Still, I was really too tired to care and when we got home, asked for my dinner and then collapsed in a heap and fell asleep.



waiting for the off

And then, joy of joys, next day we were off again. But this time in my own vehicle and when we got to the yard there were some familiar smelling people around that I hadn't sniffed for ages. And I was off with the wind again - trying to listen to her but oh it is so difficult when the command is given and the smells are everywhere. This was a better day: lots of hedges and thick stuff to hunt through and huge fields to charge across. She was still whistling a lot but she needn't have bothered. I knew what I was doing. On and on the day went. Lots of long drives and lots to flush out. I was here there and everywhere.   We went on and on for ages and it was wonderful - some long waits where all I could do was watch and listen for the command for the off again.    And I did try a bit more to listen to what She was saying - really I did. 



Fourth drive, second day... time to relax

Later on we had to sit and wait around again and I heard some shots going off and then something went 'plonk' in the wood; I looked at Her for instruction but She was too slow. So off  I dashed into the woods. And I found it just where I thought I heard it drop.  She looked very relieved when I gave it to her. It was a big drake,not shot too well so it was extra heavy.  Then a little while later she asked me to go swim in a pond and find another bird. Daisy came to help but each time we got to where the duck was it disappeared in front of our noses. Then it popped up somewhere else so we swam over to get it and it disappeared again. We did that for ages which was good fun but a little tiring. Finally She told me to get out and I looked and saw a Manperson had the duck in his hand. Picked it up from the bank furthest from Daisy and Me. Cheek after we did all the work. Never mind: it was a good game. And now She was happy 'cos I was wet and clean! 

And all too soon it was time to jump back in the car and go home. I'd have gone on for hours more, honest! When are we off again?..... Won't be long.... it's that time of year and I've done all this before..."



relaxing at the end of a hard (2) day's work...



Home again

Andromeda has been up at Elsham Hall for (the latter part of )the summer season. Whilst she was there she delivered a healthy litter of 8 piglets; which was lucky because her predecessor at the Animal Park was Scrabble who was supposed to be delivering piglets there but didn't. That was unfortunate because the visitors kept waiting for the piglets to arrive and were disappointed when they didn't and though Andromeda delivered it was a little late in the season.... however, she was a great hit for all that. But now the Season's over and the piglets are at weaning age and they all needed to come  home.
We've never done that before: brought home a

mother and her piglets. En route to collect them we devised various strategies for getting them all to load on to the trailer (actually, Linda spent most of the previous night doing that). But in the end it came down to the tried and trusted way: load mum first (easy cos she just followed the feed bucket) then collect up the piglets and put them in with mum. Collect up the piglets? Ahh ! There's the rub. How? Well, easy really: you corner them using hurdles and pigboards, pick them up one by one and put them in the trailer! Just like that! Hmmph; in the ideal world. In reality, piglets have not read the script. They don't know the rules. Corner them? Nope. The first one maybe.Totally unaware, one can be picked up by surprise. The others hearing the squealing - cos when you pick up a piglet they certainly squeal ---  just dash off. Everywhere. And the squealing also sets Mum off. What was a contented sow eating her food in the trailer turns into a roaring behemoth! So what really happened was Andromeda went straight into the trailer - following the food bucket was ovious to her. The gates were shut behind her.The little ones stayed were they were. Linda and Pirjo (the pigs' erstwhile keeper) picked up a couple of surprised piglets without too much trouble and they were loaded through the side door of the trailer. Then all hell was let loose. No way did piglets want to stand and be caught - or be cornered and picked up. What followed can only be described as a masterclass in 'catching piglets'. No matter where the piglets went, Pirjo and Linda followed, turned them and then Linda launched herself at an unsuspecting little porker - "Focus and Fall" is how it's  best described.....-  grabbed it and hung on till she had a good enough hold to struggle back to her feet and then carry the little thing to the trailer and push it in the side door - which The Big Boss kindly held open for her. After about 4 piglets had been thrust through the door in that manner Andromeda got wise --- and angry. In retrospect we're not quite sure if she was annoyed at the piglets being put in with her or upset at the noise they were making! Anyway, in the end all the squealing, squirming piglets were reunited with mum and - after Linda had washed her face and hands and anywhere else the mud had got to - we set off for home! 
"You'd have made an excellent scrum half" commented The Big Boss as we drew away from Elsham!
After that excitement, unloading them at this end was simple. Andromeda walked off the trailer and into the old Stalls - again following the feed bowl. After a little persuading the piglets followed her and, despite a few qualms on our part that they might not be able to, squiggled under the hurdle to join her - and share her tea! Don't think she was entirely happy about that.

Now we just have to persuade them to leave her and go walkabout so that they can be weaned - preferably in the next week or so. That'll be a doddle then....

Indoor Games

In November 2010 Ginger gave birth to a litter which became known as the 'Indoor games' - it was so cold and snowy that the little ones didn't get the chance to play outside for weeks. Ginger kept them warm and safe inside and they spent their time romping around in the straw and, generally, annoying her!
They grew to be strong and healthy.
Last year Ludo (her sisters were Cluedo & Scrabble) moved up to Yorkshire with Aster and Clarence. Her first litter was very small and her new 'family' were disappointed.
Last weekend they got in touch to say Ludo had just delivered a litter of 8 healthy bouncing piglets.
There - it was just a matter of time and getting to learn the rules. They're all on to a winner now!  It's always rewarding to hear of our piggies doing well in their new homes.

The waiting game

The Mangalitza was introduced to the UK at the end of 2006 and our first pigs, Mangal, Wurzel, Ginger & Pepper were from the earliest litters born in Britain in 2007. Apart from Tony York, who imported them, Rectory Reserve was the first place to start breeding these marvellous curly coats. So there wasn't exactly a lot of experience we could tap into. Ginger took us completely by surprise when she farrowed her first litter; "What do you mean she's had piglets? She can't have" said The Big Boss when I yelled the news across to him from her ark, where I'd gone to investigate her strange behaviour. "What do we do now?" I asked. "I don't know" he replied "I haven't read that chapter yet.....!!" It's been like that all along. The pigs have led us along a wierd and wonderful learning path, the details of which we could never have dreamt of when we were running a sane and sober management consultancy business 'down South'.

Nor at any stage in our lives preceding that.

Ginger is now 5 and a half years old and has produced two litters each year. Hence we are now awaiting her 11th litter. We have no idea if this is normal for a Mangalitza or whether she is over-the-hill and should be gently pensioned off. A commercial sow, for instance, would be 'sent off' after just 6 litters. Certainly Ginger sleeps a good deal - but doesn't any pregnant creature? Having said that, whenever anything's going on near her pen or somebody is in the vicinity, she gets up and ambles over to the fence for a closer look or a welcome scratch. It's no good creeping around her either - she's not at all deaf! She doesn't look in the least bit miserable either- she wallows like any of her younger colleagues and is ever eager for her food.

So, as ever; we'll let the pigs show us the way. She'll be farrowing any day now. We'll see how she gets on and take it from there..... she doesn't seem to mind the waiting game so why should we?

We're eating sausage toad

Here we were at Historic Lincoln Food & Craft Fair at the weekend.
That's the ancient courthouse within the Castle walls behind us; Lucettes Pancakes and Boston Sausage Company on the left and Angel Desserts on the right. Saturday was a glorious early autumn special - sunshine & breezy (and The Big Boss's Birthday - he loves a working holiday!). Sunday was a little more challenging with gusty breezes and sudden showers but we were undaunted! We were 'trying' out our new strategy which was always going to be exciting. We've finally admitted to ourselves that people come to Good Food events not to buy  good food but to admire it and then eat what they know. Which usually means Burgers!

Well! We don't do burgers. Which is to say, we can but we choose not to. We decided to do jumbo 'hot dogs' with spicey wedge tatoes served in our 'special' bamboo gondolas!  And a good job we did because people were definitely hungry for good food but, since they were mostly tourists, they were not into buying it to take home. The Big Boss had wisely invested in some super dooper non stick cooking pans (which yours truly has tested not-quite-to-destruction in the home kitchen) which happily churned out sausages and spicey wedges all day long. Shame the Chef got a little outpaced during the rush hour and over compensated on the second day (we are eating sausages for the county this week) but, nonetheless, it was a great success. And we love cooking good food. We shall doubtless add to the range. Visitors ate our food and then came back to buy stuff to take home -which was great.
We're eating sausage toad tonite (and sausage risotto tomorrow and sausage...? the next day) and we have a fledgeling new business model to digest as well.

PS: And today is the first day of the pheasant shooting season so certain members of the household  are getting jolly excited about the coming few months - Winter? Who cares???

Not a dog's life

Last Thursday started out like any other. Actually, now I think of it, it didn't. Where were my morning bickies? Ohhhh. That should have been a clue. We went down Town to see the nice Vetman who usually checks my height & weight and sticks a needle in me and Bobs your uncle. Well he did all those things and suddenly I felt all dozey;instead of worrying when She went out the door and left me behind, I felt kind of sleepy. And when I woke up I was in a strange place. With strange creatures all around. And a strange blue bandage on one of my legs - the one that used to have that little lump on it. And a funny cold feeling in my ribs.
Well! Honestly;what's that all about?
She came back later and brought me home. All I wanted to do was sleep. And dream.
But I was fine next day. Even better when I'd had my mornin' bickies. Lookin' forward to my usual daily hunt & run. But strangely, She made me take her on the end of the lead. And every day since. She took that blue thing off my leg the day before yesterday. Great! I thought. Now I'll be able to run free. But worse came. Before she went up to bed she put the Huge Cone on. I froze. Why did she do that? OK. So I had inspected my missing lump - closely. But why the Cone? What's that got to do with my leg? How's a chap s'posed to sleep?
Well, the answer is, I didn't sleep. Nor the next night. I don't understand. And then tonight I'm sure my dinner disappeared too quick. I know exactly how many chewfuls I get each night. But half of them were missing.
What is going on. This is not a dog's life.
When will things get back to normal?"

Trials and tribulations



The four judges searching in the distance for a  'runner'

 The presence in the household of The Bestest Gundog in All the World provokes an interest in all things 'Gundoggy'.  Thus it is that one is learning to shoot and has, indeed, acquired a Shotgun licence and a rather smart, though modest, firearm! Being a Spaniel household, it stands to reason that we believe that breed to be by far the most superior in the shooting field. Others will argue the case for the, mostly labrador, retriever. The old adage that a labrador is born half trained whereas the spaniel dies half trained is often opined (usually by men in tweed). In fairness, both breeds are excellent if properly trained but there is a distinct difference in the work they do. A spaniel is primarily a hunter, expected to find & flush game within range of shot and retrieve only when asked (please note, Gunner). A retriever, of which the most common in the working field is the Labrador, is required to retrieve on command - often from great distances; when not retrieving it remains at heel or 'on the peg' (where the person with the gun stands.)
I had a chance yesterday to go and see how the 'Other Half works' by volunteering at a Novice Retriever Trial being held locally.  The day dawned bright and breezy as people from all over the country drove to a remote field in order to spend the day testing out their dogs across acres of the county's finest sugar beet! Apart from the dogs, their handlers and owners, the assembled company included the landowner, his Game Keeper, 4 judges, 6 men with Guns, a 'Trial Secretary' (assigned the onerous task of ensuring dogs appeared in the right order at the right place - harder than it sounds) and various volunteers, two of us assigned to carrying the 'Bags' (after the first few hares were shot we both had time to regret our impulsive help). The following format was repeated throughout the day: two judges would each have 2 dogs 'in front' of them and those dogs would have 3 Guns on either side of them. They would line up relatively close together across a stretch of field. Also in the 'line' were the Chief Steward, The Steward of the Beat, the two bag carriers (one for each pair of judges/dogs) , the Landowner, his Gamekeeper and three other chaps acting as 'beaters' to tease up the game. The 'gallery' of other entrants was shepherded by the Trial Secretary well away from, but in line with the 'Action'. On command from the lead judge the line would move forward slowly, stopping the moment game (either partridge or hare - and one pigeon) was flushed. The nearest gun(s) shot the game (not always!). Depending on which end of the line the game was shot, a dog from that side would be sent to retrieve.
Now here's the interesting bit (well, if you're a spaniel person!). On being 'sent' for the retrieve, the labrador bolts in the direction indicated by the handler. He may have 'marked' the retrieve. In which case it is picked and returned without further ado. This didn't happen very often. Mostly a whistle command tells the dog where to stop and another tells it to start looking. The amount of whistling varies enormously depending on how well the dog listens and reacts to the commands. Mostly there was a LOT of Whistling. On hearing the whistle the dog would stop, look at the handler, read the hand signals and go look where told (or not as the case may be). More whistling. More signals. Until the dog finds the bird or hare and bolts back to the handler. Each dog was given a couple of chances at a retrieve and a fair amount of time to 'find' it. Some dogs didn't 'find' and were called back. The second dog on that end of the line would then be sent. If unsuccessful in the 'find' that dog would be called back and the dogs on the other side of the line would be given the opportunity for an 'eye wipe'. If unsuccessful, all four judges would set off - to the area the dogs had been sent to - in search of the retrieve (this part of the process would have been much more efficient had a well trained spaniel been employed!). If they 'found' what the dogs couldn't this reflected badly on the scorecards. Mostly, though they spent much time looking, they did not 'find' (this, after all is why we have gundogs - they are better at finding; furthermore, it confirmed another aspect of shooting - that the person who shoots does not always know what has been shot - if anything - and far less where it landed so can be quite wrong when giving instructions to those tasked with 'finding'). When a dog was 'out', the handler would put its lead on and take it back to the gallery, from which it would be replaced with the next contender who would come out from the gallery to join the 'line'.
The best dogs required little 'handling'; they followed instructions and bolted there and back - a pleasure to watch. It soon became clear to all which those best dogs were but all were given a fair chance. Dogs were 'out' for various reasons: not 'finding' at all, not heeding commands, dropping game instead of giving it to the handler, not giving it to the handler, marking the game with teeth etc etc etc. Those not out on the first round went through to the second round 'in front' of the other pair of judges.  And those not out went through to the third round which was made more difficult because the dogs were required to retrieve game shot at the other  end of the line. Those still remaining went into a fourth round and the action was repeated until just three dogs were left. By which time we'd stumbled and staggered over vast acres of sugarbeet under a cloudless blue sky. Lovely for humans, not so lovely for the dogs. Luckily we all had plenty of opportunity to rest our legs or heavy game bags (try carrying several full grown hares and any number of partridge) when the judges went looking for 'lost' birds - and lunch alfresco at 2 pm was a very welcome break.



The 'Line' enjoying a rest whilst the 4 judges search for unfound 'game'

 By the end of the day I'd learned some useful lessons:
- a good working labrador is always under control
- a good dog handler has an excellent eye to mark the fallen game
- a dog is easily confused by too many commands
- a good handler trusts the dog to use its nouse and do the job without constant interference
- in whistle use, less is definitely more

The trials and tribulations of the average shooting day mean that not many of the above factors combine in the same place at the right time..... good dogs, whether labradors or spaniels are rare and to be admired and treasured. The best dog yesterday was Winhocklin Willy, owned and handled by Mr K Broomfield.

Here they are

Here they are ... Andromeda & her little brood - looking jolly cosy in their stable at Elsham Hall. Go along and see them whilst you can because Elsham's summer season will close at the end of this month! Annie, a particularly fine example of a swallowbelly Mangalitza ,  will probably not be seen this clean again!

The Delinquent Delights

Meanwhile we learned that same evening that Andromeda had delivered a litter of piglets at Elsham Hall, much to the delight of Pirjo - her trotterservant there. Taking in her breakfast in the morning Pirjo discovered Andromeda had been joined by two piglets; a morsel or two of feed was taken and a little cleaning up done - Pirjo thinking that was 'it' when no sooner another little body arrived on the scene - and another - and another - and another..... until there were 9! Good Old Samson! Just in time to delight the visitors over the weekend......
Hope to have more details and pictures to follow shortly

Ladies & Gentlemen

We'd had all that fuss with weaning Truffle and putting her out with Samson and her deserting him and running riot about the place.We were naturally anxious, therefore, about putting her back out. But having weaned her from her piglets the previous Sunday it was time for her to return to her Intended. We needn't have worried. Two weeks indoors was more than enough. She went straight into the trailer, straight off the trailer, straight into the field - totally ignored Samson and her food bowl and headed for the mud. Then she wallowed and rolled and wallowed and rolled and wallowed some more. It was quite clear what she'd missed most!  Then she got on with her food and when Samson finally came round to greet her she couldn't have cared less! He sniffed her and she sniffed him and that was it really.

 There was no indication that he remembered her as the feisty dame who'd shunned his advances two weeks previously. But then why would he. She'd lathered herself in his gloriously black perfumed cream and that was all he could sense. Nothing else to get excited about.Not yet. Apart from that, she brought with her a dowry of Extra Rations which he was more than happy to accept - well, little thing like her clearly didn't need all that feed for herself. As long as it was understood that her feedbowl was his feedbowl all would continue to be calm.  And it has ever since. She came into season yesterday and was quite accepting of his advances. He's quite a bit bigger than her. No problem. She positioned herself in the corner between the fence and the gate and he used both to provide extra support. What a clever girl!

On the same afternoon we moved Victoria. She was born last October, the only girl in Ginger's litter of 5. She's rather lovely and well developed with a superb curly coat and the beginnings of curls about the ears. The loss of Precious got me thinking that Victoria, of the same line, might be a fitting replacement.

It wasn't difficult to identify a Mate for her. He needed to be of a totally different line, handsome, young and good-hearted. The Black Banana ticked all the right boxes. He'd been moved to the woods a week earlier when his brothers went on The Big Journey. He'd moped and been sad for a few days, even off his food. We told him Better Things were to Come. He didn't understand. Towards the end of the week he'd reconciled himself to his fate and was eating almost normally.

Victoria was separated from her pals with only a little delay. "I've trained her" Linda boldly announced "to eat nearest the gate": So the plan was that when she started to eat, we'd open the gate, move her bowl into the trailer and she would follow. But she didn't. Not for a while and not before she'd eaten a goodly portion of everyone else's food first. Eventually she obliged. Trotted out of the trailer and into the woods and tucked into her second dinner there. Banana, head down in his feed bowl, was oblivious to her arrival.

Till he'd finished eating. "You be gentle with him" Linda said to Victoria and went off to see to the others muttering that she hoped they'd be OK together and still "be in the same place tomorrow". Well she'd hardly gone out of sight when Banana finished his food, raised his snout and scented Another Presence. He rushed round to introduce himself. She was equally pleased to see him. "So this is why I had to leave my mates?" she must have thought. It didn't take long for the introductions and preliminaries to be out of the way before they were all over each other like the proverbial flies. Clearly we'd moved her at Just the Right Time and the pair of them were highly delighted. And continued to regale us with their delight from the depths of the woods for the next day or two. They've not left each other's side since. Ahhhhhh....