Roll up, roll up! The finest show in toon!

Mexico has come to show us a bit of their culture. This looks like a bundle of fun, lots to do: Film, dance, music, visual arts & education. All happening in the North East Download the program here, or visit the website ¡VAMOS!

The puppies are very now three and a half weeks old and beginning to explore their new world, huge fun.

Their grandmother Sprocket has always been there silent sort, infuriating if she is stuck somewhere and you can’t find her so I was always pleased that her daughters have a more vocal approach to life, it is so much easier to find a dog when there are audible clues along the way. However I am changing my views now as Gasket doesn’t give a moment’s thought to human sleep habits as she has no compunction about calling  for room service at three and five o’clock in the morning, and we can’t just yell at her to go back to bed for fear of waking our guests.

Gasket's puppies and Rosie's toes

Friday 21th May, and after much deliberation our plans changed. Charles, Hector and I were off to the wedding of Charle’s cousin and Rosie and Widget ( small hairy terrier) were  going to stay at Granny and Grandpa Gordon as Rosie was mid g.c.s.e.’s and snowed under with revision.

‘The girls’ (Three black labs; one Gassy; heavily in pup) were going to stay with John and Dott Clark (the lovely Gun dog trainer and his wife) but Gassy suddenly showed signs of a more imminent whelping so Granny and Grandpa came to the rescue and took residence here with Rosie and ALL the dogs…Cows,Pigs,sheep and hens to look after!

We had a fantastic wedding and they coped famously and Gassy hung onto her puppies until we got home.

Two nights later and Gassy was restless, firstly she went missing and was eventually found stuck (as she was so fat)! trying to ‘nest’ under and old vehicle in the field, but after gentle encouragement from a very relieved Charles and Hector. She was then settled her in the prepared nest, the old Pig sty. In the Pig sty Charles had made a great whelping box  two storeys high (great for when Mum needs a break from  Puppies) and even made a door and flight of steps for the puppies when they are older so that they can venture out into the open area of the pig sty. We had scrubbed it from top to toe (as it was 3 years since we last had a litter),washed all the bedding, dusted down the velvet curtain (courtesy of Charles Mum) that stops any draughts! rigged up the heat lamp and we were all ready. Gassy settled down a little reluctantly and I was woken at about three in the morning with woofing from the kennel…dressed in my dressing gown I let Gassy out for a pee,  supplied a good midnight feast and whispering sweet nothings of encouragement  to her. She eventually settled down again (this is a dog who loves her home comforts be it sofa or Hectors bed!!!) and I went back to bed.

An hour later and more woofing and it was Charles turn. He let Gassy out for a pee and immediately she headed back to the old vehicle up the field. Worried she might repeat her previous antics he dragged her out by the back legs just as she was disappearing under the vehicle, he was knee high in nettles and only clad in his dressing gown!!! and a bit more TLC and she was settled back in the pig sty and Charles eventually came back to bed.

Hector was the next on shift duty and by then he declared”there are feet” after a little while and a lot of effort on Gassy’s part a big GOLDEN puppy was born, quite a surprise but Gassy’s grandpa “Otto” is a beautiful Golden Boy. After this big chap six more puppies came in succession. Two bitches and five dogs.

I have to say no matter how many litters one sees be it puppies, calves, lambs or piglets born the last is still as wondrous as the first. After only approximately 65 days ! these perfect beautiful little puppies arrived ….a wonderful day!

Gassy is proving to be a great and very efficient Mum. She feeds her babies very well then does the old ‘woof’ and gets a little glimpse of the home comforts again before the next feed!!! Our aim now is to find good homes for the five fantastic dogs as the girls are spoken for.  One is to go to the family we got Sproket (Gassy’s Mother) from ten years ago so that the line may carry on. Hopefully they might go to working homes as Gassys beau Hamish is not only very handsome but a great gun dog too. Well done Gassy! Today two puppies opened their eyes.

If the TV and radio are anything to go by you’d think that the world had changed overnight, however I was brought back to sanity when I went to feed the lambs, pigs and hens this morning. In the shed where we keep the feed life was going on as normal; no politics, no hung parliaments, no  just a Blackbird chick taking it’s first tentative steps from the nest. well done Mrs Blackbird, now I can get on and tidy the shed.

Northumberland Gardens Brochure

Worth a look if you enjoy a book. Now in it’s 4th year and growing, lots going on all week  for everyone. I’m particularly looking forward to Friday when there are some food and horticulture events.

http://www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk/home/

Thanks to Mr “B—-y” Fox we have been without chickens since Christmas, but I promised myself I would wait till spring and brave it and get some more.
My aim had been to adopt some battery hens. Sadly due to the change in rules of housing battery hens (Well done Compassion in World Farming and Chicken out keep up the good work!) there is a big hold up in supply for some reason and I was not able to get any for some time. I have signed up as a fan of re homing battery hens and have become a member of  The Battery Hen Welfare Trust. I will still endeavour to house some as and when I can.
In the meantime I found a new supplier on the web  C & G Farming, Hagg Farm Teviotdale. Suppliers of good quality birds at and not too far away. After talking to Grant Shields the owner I reserved fourteen birds.
I love my old hen house that Hector made me but the winds had bent the roof hinges and it is a bit tricky to muck out and a little on the small side for the 14 birds I had enthusiastically ordered. So I decided to keep the old hen house and store it away to use if we ever had a broody hen.
As for our mounting housing crisis we had a brain wave… to convert my old underused potting shed into a des res hen house.
The old apple tree had draped its boughs over the  shed roof and it had rotted through so we replaced that with new struts and plywood then cream sheets of corrugated metal. There was already a shelf inside and Charles added some high up roosting bars.
Years ago in our old kitchen I had painted a set of shelves turquoise blue I found them again  in the garage and they are now screwed on the inside back wall,  filled with straw and very “shabby chick” nesting boxes. For the door Charles cut a cool Indian inspires doorway to add a little style!!!! And an ingenious  pulley system to open it from the outside. Two sturdy bolts on the door and to finish it off I painted it “our” farm pale green. Aesthetics being high on my priority list!
We collected the chickens and shut them in the new hen house for a couple of days.
It is wonderful to look through the window and see a huge row of chickens all roosting along the bar. We have a mixture of: Two brown Goldline, four White Star, three Light Sussex, two Black rocks and three White Ambers, fourteen in total.
Now they are happy settled chooks pecking away all day and I have been rewarded with small but perfectly formed eggs of speckled, pale brown and brilliant white. I feel every day it is such a treat when there is an egg or two lying in the straw …and best of all they taste amazing.

www.slaleyshow.org.uk