And another Birthday....

...... Here we are again - still living through "strange times" in semi lockdown; still going nowhere - almost; still nothing in the diary - almost. Everything seems to be upside down - either it's all crazy, or we are; maybe we humans are simply imagining that there is a threat bigger than all of us and we must behave in this peculiar way?
Even the weather is strange. Today for instance we started in fog, had hot mid-day sun and ended with thunder rolling through yet more fog....... Until last week we had had no rain since the beginning of 'lockdown' in March; tonight in parts of the country not far from us people are experiencing torrential downpours....... Nature is affected too; swallows usually crowd our skies at this time of year but this summer there are almost none... the other birds seems quieter too..... are there fewer of them? Difficult to know....
So in the midst of all this craziness it is good to have at least one thing that we are sure of and that is absolutely normal. Five years since Skipper came into the world. A few fleeting years but what a pleasure they have been. The most uncomplicated, self-sufficient, down to earth, happy-go-lucky chap to have around. Here's to the next 5 Skipper...... Wonder what unexpected adventures they'll bring?

The Birthday Boy

After 5 weeks of 'lock down' I give little thought to the time of day and hardly remember which day of the week it is.
There are no 'deadlines' in the diary; no schedules to be met; neither people to see nor  places to go........
In the midst of so much humdrum Bugler's 7th Birthday is a Noteworthy Event. He's not a foodie so we didn't celebrate with cakes or special treats. Instead we did what he enjoys most; sniffing, hunting and 'finding' things hidden in unexpected places...... It was an unseasonably warm day and for once the beastly easterly breeze which has bugged us for days on end eased off and our 'walk' found us trundling along a cooling stream after a busy hunt through our 'secret' wood...... He was carefree and happy and, as always, a joy to be out and about with.  At 7 years old he is probably in the prime of his life. Whilst he is blissfully happy running and sniffing through the fields and woods though there is no question what he likes doing more than anything - going out on a shoot day and doing his job. Let's hope he has many more seasons ahead of him. Happy Birthday Bugler and Many Happy Returns x

A short while but a long time later

Bugler is symbolically looking over his shoulder to see what else is coming over the horizon.... in the short time since my last blog, life as we knew it has altered.
That weekend, as well as it being Mothering Sunday, the weather turned bright and sunny for the first time in weeks. People turned out in their thousands - beaches, parks, beauty spots were all inundated with humans out to make the most of it. Despite the government's urging for everyone to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus - or Covid19 as we now refer to it.
That forced a sea change in the government's attitude. Stay at home please became "You will stay at home". I'm not sure we realised what "lock down" meant; at home, in the home, near the home, with the family wherever they were, with our friends but not strangers....... so much confusion and so much room for transgression.....
My training buddy and I met up on the 23rd to train our dogs as usual and wondered what the implication would be on our weekly sessions; would we still be able to go to agility l-2-1s or not? I had a hair appointment scheduled for the following day; would that still go ahead...... In the next 24 hours we learned what lock down meant. No more training even out in the middle of nowhere with no one else about; no more 1-2-1 sessions; no more taking the dogs anywhere in the car for any reason at all; no more taking ourselves in the car to anywhere for any, except urgent or necessary, reason at all. I got my hair cut only because the salon boss was awaiting deliveries which could not be un-scheduled so was there anyway - behind a locked door! Strangely furtive. A normal 'thing' become strange.
As has so much. Two weeks on we talk of the 'new normal' without a clue what that is or might be. We look for 'green shoots' in the news reports to match those springing up in the "real" world.  Our gardens are more fertile.
If the dogs wonder why we are suddenly going nowhere, they give no sign; happy to be doing anything anywhere, they continue in blissful ignorance. Would that we humans could do likewise. Today a text suddenly pings into my phone and shatters any complacency I might have felt. I am one of the million and a half  ultra vulnerable who have to remain housebound for 12 weeks.
For once I am eager to interpret the phrase "she lives outside most of the time" literally.
So far, 2 weeks - although a short while - have seemed a long time. What will 12 weeks be like?

I think, like Bugler, I will look for inspiration in the ground...... there's not likely to be much coming from further afield......

Life as we not do know it

Bugler at the Dove Valley Working Gundog Test 20-3-16

So here we are - a good 6 weeks since the end of the shooting season and well into our summer programme: Gundog training for Bugler and Skipper and Agility training for Jaunty. It's good for the dogs because they enjoy the personal attention, brainwork and exercise. Good for the human too because it gives her something 'focussed' to concentrate on. At some stage though we need to 'measure' our progress and 'test' ourselves in unfamiliar surroundings. So, normally, this is the time of year when we're gearing up for Gundog Working Tests and Agility competitions. Indeed, we have already entered one of the former and two of the latter.
But that's as far as it goes this year. Because this year is not "normal" by any definition.  At some point in the future we will look back and say : "Coronavirus (CV) - what on earth is that?" At the moment though it is the only story. We thought all the talk of brexit over the past three years was debilitating, demoralising, pretty darned boring but CV has far outstripped talk of Brexit on any and every scale. Just a few weeks "in" and everywhere we turn all we hear is CV and its effects and consequences. Hardly surprising therefore that it has impacted on our normal summer season pursuits. All Agility and Gundog events (like so many across the spectrum) are cancelled until further notice..... we will all be going nowhere.
There are upsides - no sleepless nights worrying about how we'll perform; no ghastly early morning starts to distant (and they always are from us) destinations; no getting stuck in weekend and holiday traffic (so many dog events are scheduled at these 'busy' times); no more worrying about dogs in hot cars; no more getting home late and having to do all the pastoral and household tasks that need doing every day regardless. There are always positives. Thinking about it - the only downside may be that we will all be a year older when we next get to compete!!!!
We'll keep up the training and hopefully it'll stand us in good stead..... for whatever life throws at us next..
Meanwhile, it's time now to collect eggs, feed the horse his tea and hay, take the dogs for their afternoon exercise, check on the poorly duck.......   so much of life continues as it always did.......

Field Trials are, of course, a Winter Sport!

October 2015

So there was never a thought in my head when Skipper arrived with us in 2015 that he might one day be a Field Trial dog. In fact, when we pitched up for our first formal training session I said I didn't want a field trial dog but a decent beating dog. That was it then. Train for what you want and we trained a fairly decent beating dog.
What changed? Ahhhh... a little success is a dangerous thing. He did quite well last summer in Working Tests; coming 2nd in an Open was a bit of an eye-opener. "We'll maybe enter a field trial" I casually remarked. My 'friends' held me to that. We trained accordingly. More retrieving (we'd not done much of that at all cos it's not really essential for a beating dog - finding lost birds is more their thing), more directional commands, more 'sitting to shot' and 'steadying to flush'. So, in the few short months since the end of last shooting season, when my half decent beating dog was  a pretty decent beating dog, he's learned some of the essential field trial skills. The first trial two weeks ago was a good way to allay my nerves; better dogs and handlers than us were put out on their first run; we made it to the second despite foul conditions.
Today we turned out for our second - and maybe last- trial. Conditions were beyond foul; torrential rain, freezing winds, hail, sleet, thunder and lightening...... and then you expect the freezing cold, wet, bored (after waiting in line nearly two hours) dog to hunt his little socks off, giving his all, paying attention to handler and everything else....... remain sharp on the whistle, remember his lessons, hunt, flush and retrieve sodden birds.... crikey - not much to ask.... I take my hat off to everyone who competed today..... it was horrendous. Yet there will be those for whom the weather and the conditions were immaterial; their little dog will have won a prize which will have made it all worth while. It is after all a 'winter sport' and such conditions are to be expected. They are made of sterner stuff than I....
So, how did the little dog do? Well, he hunted boldly and thoroughly through the thickest of briars; he sat to the other dog's flush and shot; he flushed his own bird and sat to shot; he retrieved his bird from the drilling in evil conditions....... clever boy. If he hadn't then put that bird, as it flapped its sodden wings, down on the ground in front of me, he would have been in with a chance. As it was, we were 'out'! So much so right - and just that one little thing not so right; ah well; he did the best he could with the education he's been given. He's had little experience of delivering just-shot wet birds to hand...... something to work on.
But do we want to?
A dog trained for bushbeating is like a horse trained for a 3 mile chase - an out and out stayer: A field trial dog, to continue the analogy, is like a 5 furlong sprinter; a fast, furious  machine.......
Should I expect my staying chaser to complete a 5 furlong sprint? 

First ever Field Trial entrant in the family

Gunner's grandson enters field trial

There are all sorts of levels of attainment in the world of working dogs. When Gunner and I pitched up for our first ever day of beating on 3rd October 2008 I thought we'd 'arrived'. Then when we did our first ever working tests I thought we were the bees knees! When Bugler earned a few  prizes I was over the moon. But the thought of entering Field Trials was too daunting to entertain. They, I thought, were the preserve of seasoned 'dog men' and professionals not mere mortals with beating dogs!
However, Skipper's been such a schoolmaster for me as a handler that I decided it was 'now or never' and took the mammoth step (for me) to enter a field trial with him. It was today. It was raining; hard. On the plus side, the Trial was being held only a few miles away from  home so it seemed less daunting! As it unfolded it became ever less daunting. Not a single bird was flushed for nearly and hour and a half. When one was flushed the guns couldn't shoot it. By the time we had our first 'run' at midday only 3 birds had been shot.Skipper hunted for over 10 minutes under the first judge without a flush and then had just 10 minutes before his second run because several dogs had been eliminated. Hunted for almost as long under the second judge without a flush and then got his nose down on a rabbit trail. Couldn't quite obey the whistle quickly enough when I called him off the trail so was put out for going self-employed. Shame. He'd done really well in all the preliminaries and sat to shot immediately he heard one.... did all he was asked and hunted exceptionally well and close so by no means disgraced. Couldn't blame him for getting attached to the rabbit scent when there were no birds about. His grandad would be proud of him.....
We've another Trial in two weeks. I wonder what will happen there? I begin to understand why people say it's a numbers game..... so much depends on luck, ground, weather, wind, scent..............

There's a lot of beet in beating!

Could do with a drink mum!

One of the things that makes bushbeating fun (yes! fun!) is the infinite variety of terrain human and hound are expected to work through - from gorgeous grassy pastures to the thickest most leg-grabbing bramble thickets and everything you can imagine - & a few things you never could - in between......
So, yesterday was Bugler's second day out this season and he spent the whole morning hunting through well grown soaking wet (lots of rain the night before) sugar beet. It's hard enough for human legs to walk (or stumble) through for hours on end but for dogs it involves endless bounding and diving through flapping wet near tropical greenery.... It exhausts them but they love the variety of smells..... the tantalising scent of the birds, rabbits, hares, deer, foxes who have passed this way before them. Imagine reading your favourite novel, the one you can't bear to put down even though you are almost too tired to take in another word. That's hunting through sugar beet........ the dogs just go on and on.... just another yard, just one more scent, OH! and another and OMG over there's another..... and finally the field and the drive comes to an end...... the soaking wet dogs emerge and hunt around in search of a much needed drink.... any old puddle, ditch or stream will do...
What makes the dog keep going? He can't be fit - it's the beginning of the season and we don't do this sort of thing between seasons.... 20 mins to an hour of exercise or training once or twice a day not 5 or 6 or 7 times.... Why does he keep going through sodden beetfields for hours even though he must be getting tired? 
Look at the face of the dog; the eyes say it all - he just loves what he is doing and will go on for as long as I ask him to..... he'll have sore feet at the end, he'll sleep like a log, he'll probably be a bit stiff first thing in the morning..... but, if I ask, he'll get up, go out and, beet or not, do it all again................. That's working dogs for you....

And so another season begis

Another year, another season....Bugler's (and my) first day. He was so obviously happy to be back doing what he loves doing best - whichever way you look at it, training and sniffing out mice are no way near as much fun as going out in a big pack for the day!
It started rainy but by late morning (after a couple of Sloe Fizz's kindly provided by our host) it dried up and the day just got even better! There were birds in abundance - more than enough to satisfy the guns that they are in for a good season ahead: far more birds flew on than hit the dust - which pleased our host greatly!!!
It's always a worry - the first day back: Will the dog behave properly? Will he listen to the whistle? Will he chase after that blinkin hare that always lurks in the stubble? Any shoot day, but particularly the first one, is so full of high charged energy, anticipation, excitement and distraction that many dogs find it all too much; small wonder if misdemeanors and shouts abound. However, today was Bugler's time to shine...... he was a real joy to be out with; worked his little paws off in a really professional way. Will he stay like this all season? It would be too much to expect: usually he starts to boil up by Christmas and we have to have a few little heart to hearts.... but maybe he's old enough now to remain stable and biddable........ time will tell...... Meanwhile, thank you Bu for making the sun shine on an otherwise grey October day !

The new Shooting season begins

Skipper at the end of his first day

Where do the months go? Those 8 long ones since February? The hours and weeks we've spent training, steadying, calming the dogs.... and here we are at the start of yet another season. It's Bugler's 4th and Skipper's first; my 10th or is it 11th? I'll have to check back....  I can't help thinking back fondly to my first season with Gunner..... It's all recorded here in this blog.... so many memories... he may not be here in 'person' any more but what could be better than continuing the story with his son and grandson?

Bugler at the start of his 4th season

Bugler was out with me on Saturday for the first day of this season and I could not have wished for a better companion; the hours invested in helping him become calmer and more focused have paid off.... It was an unseasonably warm and sunny 18 degrees - tiring for us humans but more so for the dogs. He worked tirelessly and attentively - my phone recorded that I did 23,000 steps so goodness knows how far he travelled. It's a hard life being a beating dog! Unfortunately he jarred his front leg on the hard ground and developed a limp in the afternoon. He has been on 'box' rest since and will hopefully be OK soon enough to take up his engagement next weekend.

So - Bugler's limp worked to Skipper's advantage. Ten days earlier than planned he had his first real working day - he did bits last season but mostly under very close supervision and control. Today he had to step up and really work. I think it surprised him! The first drive was a stretch of dyke he's become familiar with over the past couple of months through dogging-in.. so he probably did think it was just an ordinary day - with a bit of extra distraction. He worked really well and close, focused on me and what I asked of him.. a real joy to watch. He didn't particularly like the noise of the guns but only noticed it when he was standing still.... and by the end of the day he had learned to almost ignore it. It was interesting to watch him grow in confidence through the day, doing more difficult bits of work in heavier cover or closer to the guns. The task now is to switch him off for the next 10 days and begin his second day as if it is his first.... with the same degree of focus and attentiveness ... so that we can move forward through the rest of the season in a calm manner laying the foundation for many happy seasons ahead..... 

Or we could lose the plot completely and end up with an out-of-control nutcase! Let's hope it's the former.......

Happy Birthday Bugler

 It is hard to believe that 5 years have passed since the morning I learned that Gunner's offspring had sprung. Meg, the mother, had a phantom pregnancy the first time round and, with time marching on I thought things might never work out as planned so went in search of another pup elsewhere. The Understudy, as I called him then, joined our family a few short months before I heard that Meg was indeed pregnant. Jaunty was just 8 months old when Bugler was born so they grew up as pups together with Gunner calmly keeping the peace between them. Bugler inherited a lot from his dad - identical colouring and markings being the most obvious - but also his biddable and gentle nature coupled with an overwhelming desire to please. He's not as "steady" as his dad but that's no bad thing since obedience is his forte..... which is not to say that he's perfectly behaved all the time. Since the training of Skipper I realise though that the faults he does have are undoubtedly the result of ignorant handling on my part. We're remedying that and he is becoming better - more focused and calm - as the weeks go by. I look forward to the next (his 4th) Season working with him - he is going to be a joy. Happy Birthday Bugler xxx

The Beast retreats

The Beast from the east has gone on  its way. Very soon all that's left will be water and mud...... although the roads were passable yesterday there was still quite a lot of snow - mainly on our drive....  Bugler enjoyed pretending to hunt for rabbits and mice in the long grass on the field edges. These are just a few shots of him being an out and out springer.... It'll be a shame - for the dogs- when the snow has all gone but I shall be pleased to be able to get out of our drive again..... If it were not for the remaining drifts, fallen branches and general debris all over the place it would be easy to forget just how very strong the wind was. 

 

.. and He thinks he has a sense of humour?

Bugler turning his head away from the fierce wind

So I thought I'd take Bugler and Jaunty up the drive first thing this morning to see what the road to the village looked like.....
We did not get far.
Thanks to the #BeastfromtheEast we stumbled into 5' drifts just round the bend...
We did try to walk through the first one.... not funny.


Jaunty scaling the wall of a drift at the third attempt

Jaunty tried to jump up the side of one - and succeeded at the third attempt - he didn't try again! Nor was he amused when he tried to jump the fence between the top of the drift & the bridleway that runs parallel to our drive - as he prepared to take off  he sank down into the snow and nearly garrotted himself on the top wire of the fence. Lucky it's only a plain strand ....



The road up to the village

The cause of the drifting?  The 'Beastly' wind blew fiercely throughout the night so we inherited the snow which should be on the neighbouring fields .... not in the least amusing..... there is no way we can expect to get up - or anyone else get down - our drive until it thaws. The last time drifts like this appeared was in the winter of 2010; a neighbour delivered the papers one day on his tractor..... very kind of him you'd think? Nope: the weight of the tractor compacted the snow with the result that long after the roads were clear everywhere else we had about one foot deep of lethal packed ice all up our drive! Not to be repeated....
Sadly the wind continues to blow tonight. Luckily no fresh snow has fallen during the day. What are the chances of neither snow nor wind tomorrow......? Wouldn't it be funny if the Beast just wrapped up his horns and withdrew back from whence he came........

Ahhhhh - the Beast has teeth

So they had the last laugh - the meterologists. Yesterday may have been pussycat stuff but today was the full-blown beast. The day dawned to extra snow and went on from there..... we were surprised by a friend coming down the drive to join us for breakfast at 0930..... and enormously relieved when he rang us after arriving back home - admitting he'd probably be the last person driving on our roads today.
Occasional bright spells have been completely overshadowed by blizzarding white-outs; impossible to walk or see through, they descend within moments, completely enveloping and closing off the rest of the world.
The dogs all had fun hunting for dummies and mice under the snow.... although none of them were too pleased to find themselves clad in masses of 'balls' when it was time to go home..... Spaniels' feathering works like a magnet on snow and the hard lumps turn to ice making them impossible to shake or rub off; there is no solution but to wait till they melt or pull them off with the teeth one by one..... Have to wonder if it's worth running through the snow.....
The poultry have spent most of the day indoors and tonight I discovered a robin shacking up in Rocco's stable for the night.... I think the birds will all be pleased when the beast moves on. Wonder when that will be; the forecasters say the weekend..... hope so... the novelty of snow - like fish - goes off after three days.
Tonight is without doubt the coldest we have had in a long long time; no moon just the wind continuing to blizzard and blow.... what will the morning bring... ???

 
 

We've had snow

Heralded as "The Beast from the East" the snow finally arrived today. !0-20 cm they said we'd get so we stocked up yesterday on animal/poultry feed and cancelled SkipperSkool this morning - fearing we might get stuck in blizzards on isolated country lanes. That amount did not fall.
It's been a beautiful day; sharp cold blustery snow and hail showers interspersed with bursts of bright sunshine and aquamarine skies. Rocco says it's nicer out than in, even though finding grass under the snow is a bit of a lottery - perhaps that's the fun of it. Free to wander in and out of his stable at will, he chooses mostly to stay out - even after dark.


Jaunty snow-woogling

Bugler enjoying the snow

The dogs approach it quite differently - Jaunty makes a spectacle of himself woogling in it; Bugler just loves the fun of running through it and Skipper really doesn't remark that it's anything particularly noteworthy at all - as far as he's concerned, the important thing is just to get on with doing whatever he's supposed to do.
By nightfall quite a lot more snow had fallen. In the bright moonlight, the countryside looks hauntingly beautiful. The wind got up; it is very cold but still does not feel like any sort of eastern beasty. The forecasters say we are in for heavier falls tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. If that's true, we could well be snowed in by Sunday and perhaps by then the soubriquet will seem fitting.....

Skipper oblivious to snow

Maybe......... we'll just watch this space.



Reflections on Seasons past

Before Gunner arrived in my world on 19th June 2007 the life of a working gundog was a total mystery. We'd had spaniels for a number of years: I can remember proudly telling the vet when I took Captain, our first, for his annual injection that he was a "Working Spaniel" - although he had never worked a day in his life!! If it had occurred to me that I might one day "work" a gundog, I could not have imagined what that entailed. When we lived 'down South' I was aware that the lady who occasionally gave me horse-riding lessons "picked up" locally with her three chocolate labs. If I gave a thought to what she did it was only insofar as I was in awe of her and rather impressed that a lady did 'that sort of thing' (all things 'shooting' being to my mind, at that time, strictly masculine!!).
The transformation of Gunner from much admired (by me) young pup to much admired (by many) young gundog is documented in detail earlier on this blog.
The contemporaneous and lasting transformation in my own habits and hobbies, though far more radical and unexpected, happened surreptitiously, slowly and totally unscripted - and over a much longer period of time.
In those distant days I was not aware that I was changing.......  In all the training sessions Gunner & I had with him-the-trainer It didn't occur to me that I was actually training the dog. "Yes" I was managing to teach him things but I was constantly in awe of the fact that he was learning to become a gundog! When he did things that I had taught him I was totally amazed...  even more so when he did things that I hadn't taught him! It never occurred to me to tell him to do something and when he did what I asked I was truly proud of him! I felt privileged that he wanted to be with me.
When we turned up for our first ever experience of 'beating on a shoot' on 8 October 2008 I was greener than grass-  and ignorant of the workings of a 'Shoot'. Yet, there I was with my very own, very handsome and obedient, coming-to-work gundog. I had no idea what we were going to have to do but I knew he was trained to do it! Nobody said it at the time; perhaps it never occurred to anyone; maybe they were just bemused by a not-so-young lady wanting to dress up in weird weather-and-bramble-proof garb and spend her days with a bunch of mostly rough and ready chaps - but they sussed that I knew nothing about the world I was throwing myself into!! Now I know their friendly banter was really teasing!!
The whole language of the shoot day was alien. I turned up with a young spaniel, offering to 'bush-beat' - without a clue. I didn't know what "drives" were, how long and how many there were in a day. When told for the first time to "work that strip of cover" I had no idea what was expected of us. Luckily Gunner didn't let on!

Whilst I knew that The Glorious Twelfth was the beginning of the Grouse (and therefore the Shooting) Season I didn't know that partridge could be shot from September and pheasants from October. I didn't realise that the Season ended on 31st January and had never heard of Cocking Days!
Still I turned up that first day with my young, handsome, well trained Gundog - totally oblivious - yet totally confident that whatever we were asked to do, Gunner would be up to the task!! We learned together 'on the job': Because of the dog he was we had opportunities that might not otherwise have come our way and before long we were hooked. It was all he ever wanted to do and the more I learned, the more I enjoyed it.
Ten Seasons later I realise just how much he changed my life!  Thanks Gunner.........

Update on Wanda

Owing to recent cases of avian flu being declared, DEFRA have requested that all poultry, whether domestic or commercial, be kept shut up and fed inside. This is obviously curtailing Wanda's lifestyle somewhat.
She does still manage to get out somehow to lay her egg in Rocco's stable. She strayed too far one day last week - Jaunty found her however and brought her to me.
We look forward to the time when all the poultry can again roam free.....

Whither does she Wanda

Wanda pecking around in Rocco's hay

We all need routine. My early morning routine is to let the dogs out for the necessaries, let the poultry out and give them their feed, feed the horse, feed the pigs, feed the humans and so on......
Wanda has her routine too; get out of the hen house, eat breakfast, get out of the hen pen, eat whatever she can find in Rocco's stable, lay an egg in the corner, wander off to find bugs and worms outside and so on.....

"What you got in your feed bowl?"

The daily egg

I've not yet discovered where she gets out of the hen pen; she obviously finds it very easy. This afternoon when I was collecting the eggs from her 'flock mates' she hopped back in to the pen behind me as I climbed over the fence - probably afraid she was going to miss out on something! I'm surprised that one or more of the others don't follow her - at this time of year there are more delicacies to be found outside than inside!    When Rocco is grazing down the fields she tends to wander around the yard or the orchard or down alongside the track but when he comes up to his stable she is right there next to him - or behind him - as if she has been waiting. He seems to appreciate the company, letting her peck around his feet and even occasionally snuffling her! He draws the line at her pecking in his feed bowl though (maybe she's checking to see if her egg is in there?), warning her with a quick flick of his tail! She quickly gets the message..... When he wanders out she is quick to follow. Companiable really. I think he is just bemused......as long as he doesn't pat her on the back ....!

A hen named Wanda

The happy wanderer... 6.1.18

Late summer/Autumn is the time of year we usually stock up on hay for the winter. So last August/September I collected some sample bales from our usual supplier - a local farmer:  we've been buying from him for 16 years - even when we've cut our own hay. He's always provided the best quality seed hay but in the past couple of years the Spoiled Pony has not been too keen to chew it - spilling much of it over the floor. The sample bales met with the same distaste.... and at £4 each that's a bit much to recycle in the Poultry Palace.
So I located an alternative supply of organic meadow hay - and when I turned up to collect some bales for the SP "to try" I discovered that the farm also supplied organic chicken on a commercial scale.
All commercial hens are "disposed of" and "replaced" after a fixed period, determined by when their maximum production period ends. Some of the luckier ones are rehomed shortly before the fatal day. We've got lots of poultry: Call ducks who don't lay eggs (except in spring), Runner ducks who don't lay eggs (except in the pond), cockerels who don't lay eggs and some lovely bantams who occasionally lay eggs - very small ones...... I'd been thinking about getting some more laying hens for quite a while. There really is nothing better than eggs freshly laid in your own back yard.
"Do you ever re-home some hens at change-over time" I asked the nice lady as she helped me load up the hay. "Why? Yes we do" she said, continuing "and we are changing over this Friday so if you'd like some you'll need to make up your mind how many in the next couple of days."

What a happy co-incidence!
The next day I returned with my poultry crate. I decided to take 8 hens. More than I needed but in the past when I've re-homed commercial hens I've always lost 2 or 3 in the first month. The change in habitat and habits can prove too much for some birds.
So I brought 8 hens home. And I still have all 8 hens which says a lot for the organic farm they came from. Between them they lay between 0 & 4 eggs a day which is plenty for us and one or two friends......
They're a friendly bunch; always rushing up to peck my feet and chuckle up at me when I go in their pen. They're always last to bed, refusing to tuck themselves in until it's well & truly dark; if I go out whilst there's even a faint hint of light still about they all pile out of their little house and come up for a nightcap - or something! Suddenly 3 or 4 weeks ago one of them started getting out of the pen and wandering around for the odd hour or two, then three or four and finally all day. She wanders everywhere - round the barns, the orchard, the fields, the house..... from minutes after I've opened up their house in the morning till well after dusk. She spends a lot of time in Rocco's stable, pecking away at hayseed on the ground - she even lays an egg most days in the corner or, very occasionally, on top of the fallen hay! We've lost one or two that way! Her wandering ways mean I have to keep an eye on the spaniels; they have all learned not to chase her when I am around.... although they do cast evil glances in her direction. Today Jaunty bumped into her when he ran round a corner ahead of me. He couldn't help himself: within a nanosecond he'd opened his mouth & in she hopped and demanded a quick turn about the yard (his story, not mine). Needless to say he couldn't wait to find me and give her over to my safe keeping (my story not his) and I'm happy to say she survived to tell her tale to the other hens......
Well, a hen with attitude needs a name. We  asked our #TeamGunner twitter followers for their suggestions. They came up with many and various but in the end I thought the most suitable was Wanda.... so Wanda she is. Technically, Wanda II because I did have a hen called Wanda a few years ago.......
So, let's see what Wanda gets up to over the coming months  - if she can keep herself out of trouble - and passing spaniels' jaws!!!!

The First flower of 2018

Jaunty pulled a claw out of his left back paw the week before Christmas.... as is his habit, he'd slipped out of sight when I was bringing the dogs in from their kennels in the evening and had gone hoolying across the fields. But they were frozen solid. He came home looking OK - but then I was not expecting anything to be wrong. He lay down by my side in the snug that evening - as usual. When he got up later on I noticed he was limping - "Jaunty's leg's gone to sleep" I said to The Big Boss.
It was still asleep when I put them all out in their kennels for the night.
And the next morning. So I had a closer look and thought I saw a missing claw. "Well" I thought "That explains it". So I bathed his paw in salted water - twice a day for three days. Then I had another good look and realised the claw I thought was missing was actually still there. I know. Old age and all that. On closer inspection it was actually the claw alongside the one I thought was missing which was the problem. I rang the vet. We went that afternoon. The claw was not 'loose' enough to pull off and not 'tight' enough to stay on. "No wonder he can't put it on the ground" said the vet, giving him anti-inflammatory and antibiotic jabs and prescribing 10 days of antibiotics...... It came off two days later - well, he pulled it off when we were going across the field.... After that he could put his weight on the paw.
Good then.
But Not.
He chewed it over night and made it all yukky and bloody.
A good Twitterpal sourced a single boot for him. That helps on wet walks. The rest of the time when on his own he is wearing the dreaded 'lampshade'. He does not like it. Who would? We go for long walks on lead - he does not like it. What spaniel would?  In the afternoon I let him run round on the extending lead..... he doesn't much like that either. What spaniel would?
It was whilst twirling round on the end of the long lead this afternoon that he almost squished the first flower of the year. On the other paw, if he had not been twirling round on the end of the long lead I would not have seen it.
Well done Jaunty. Thank you for showing me the first flower of the year.

Resolutions!

Sunset 31.12.17

As the sun goes down on the dying embers of 2017 I find myself subconsciously - or maybe fully aware - mulling over the things that need to be tweaked - or completely overhauled - in order to make 2018 A Better Year than the one just fading out.
The list could be very long - full of righteous intentions, grandiose promises and impossible ambitions....... or it could be very short and to the point.
I think I shall go for the latter.
So....
The one thing I shall aim to do in 2018 is write on this blog rather more frequently than during 2017. There's a lot goes on in this little world of mine & I would like to share it with you all.
You will, of course, be the first to learn if I stick to my New Year's Resolution.
Wish me luck!
My wish for you is that you have a happier, healthier and more prosperous year than the one just gone.
Happy New Year to you all.