A bit of peace and quiet

This has probably been the quietest, least active month since we've been on An Feirm Beag. I say that, of course but it isn't true, it's just that little or nothing has been done outside and consequently there are few if any pictures. Sorry folks you're just going to have to put up with me rattling on without many visual aids.

The big news of the month is that baby D is walking with conviction and has all the bumps, bruises and mild concussion to prove it. You don't know what adrenalin is until you see you baby falling backwards towards something hard and pointy only to see her recover and land on her bum. Covering up hard and pointy things has become the new going out but all the padding in the word doesn't dampen that thrill of blind panic you feel when she discovers some new and interesting way to toy with disaster.

One reason it's been such a quiet month on the farm is that it's been a busy month in the office. Web sites have been updated, training courses have been created and delivered, quotes have been issued, invoices have been posted and business plans have been pulled out of drawers, dusted off, messed about with and then promptly stuffed back in draws until the following week. The long and the short of it is that I seem to have found myself some reasonably predictable and somewhat stable employment. It's all having a very serious impact on my quality poultry time and I do love my ducks. Speaking of which HALLELUJAH!! we have duck eggs! I was convinced they were all male and just a bit gay but no we have fully fledged heterosexual ducks that actually lay eggs and a drake that likes girls, wonderful. Now all we need to do is prove he's not a Jafa

It was the dog attack that did it of course. Nothing like the treat of being eaten alive by a manic canine to concentrate the mind on the need for reproduction. The first thing I heard of course was F screaming. This is now quite a common occurrence, it will be "J the pigs are escaping!!" or "J get out of bed the poor ducks are starving!!" or in this case "OH MY GOD J THERE'S A DOG ATTACKING THE TURKEYS!!!". Now as this occurred at a time when I was holding a baby and was also in fact barefoot (honestly, chained to the kitchen sink most days), there was precious little I could do about it. I had to watch helplessly out a window; screaming baby under one arm, shoving shoes on with the other while my wife set out to do battle with the mutt, armed only with a sweeping brush and a look of steely determination.

The next half hour was a bit of a blur. I'd managed to get into some welly boots and was still holding the baby but had got outside to where turkeys, ducks and broilers were being scattered to the four winds by what seemed to be a small fluffy white husky. by the time I got there F had more or less chased the brute but in his wake he had left demented ducks, baffled broilers, traumatized turkeys and me, frog marching up and down, cursing and mumbling "getting a f@*#in' gun" and "shoot the f#&@er". it may not have been very helpful but it made me feel good and it was all I could do as for some reason I was still holding a baby.

As panic subsided we took stock. The ducks had all escaped injury, mostly by discovering an ability to fly which till then they had kept secret. The broilers, chicks really, had also escaped injury because they had been small and gone to ground and not moved. The turkeys however were in bits. Big, flappy and with a good turn of speed they were Fido's idea of a fun thing to play with. They were scattered all over the place and I thought I was going to have to spend the night ringing necks but in the end the casualty list was mercifully small. One by one they were persuaded to stand up and walk though I don't think the mental scars will ever heal (mine not the turkeys).

So Christmas has been saved, our baby is now a toddler and I'm rejoining the ranks of the gainfully employed. Like I say, it was a quiet month.

October 7th 2009

Hens and chuckie:

Here he is apparently a Mayo lad to boot. Thanks Tom for passing on the hen that turned into Chuckie. He's pretty impressive when it comes to cocks, a fine size and performing all his duties including evening dallies where he brings a couple of his lady friends off around the yard.

Harvesting continues:

We picked from the same elder bush and made wine. Given the deliciousness of the elderflower champagne, the tasting session is awaited with baited breath.

The hops didn't do too badly either imagine 7grams! None of which were wasted and are in the beer that's also occupying the hot press.

The barlotti beans are delicious and definitely one to grow as they taste very like butter beans yum!

We hosted a few friends on Sunday for lunch and were able to provide all our own food definitely a feat to be proud of! The Brussels sprouts were my favourite part! The pork coudn't be beaten either (mouth watering!)

dinner for 3 the first of the bangers and mash dinner with our own bangers!

Bee Keeping:

After the direct experience of the meaning of the phrase "making a beeline for" and finding a bee buzzing around inside the veil, farmer J is now the proud owner of a fancy new bee suit. (check it out!) Putting on your business suit has new meaning around here!

Lurkie Turkey:

Well the fowl are all a growing and the turkeys are looking decidedly less lurkie and much more ugly. Roll on the dinner for Christmas!

Still no sign of any eggs from the ducks, we're waiting patiently.

More projects:

The glass house is still ongoing the soil is prepared and ready to go just one more side to be welded together- if only it were so simple..

We hope to set up the raised beds in the coming weeks though getting rid of the docks is a challenge!

Check out our resident hog- at least one that won't end up in the pot!

4th September 2009

Harvesting Continues at an Feirm Beag:

Gladly, things still seem to keep on growing well, except the spuds, which were smothered by the weeds so had poor yields. So we are all eating carrots Bugs Bunny would be proud to get his teeth into. The parsnips are impressive especially considering our book says they can be notoriously difficult to sow. We have a mountain of courgettes and the recipes are being researched all the time with some cooking going on too!

The sun-less July also meant no opportunities to weed but we have resigned ourselves to letting the veggie patch run this year. A recent course on polytunnels at the irish seedsavers has provided much inspiration and information to last a few years!

There’s also been another type of harvesting of late this time elderberries following the delicious success of the elderflower champagne (with slight recipe issues!)

Home to Roost:

Lots of news on the hen front: One hen mysteriously reduced to a little heap of feathers, diagnosis: a bird of prey(?)

New addition: a fine rooster thanks to Tom. He looks like a fine lad and appears to be performing all appointed duties. He is a bit of a softie though and has to be lifted into bed each evening as he decides the best place to roost is on top of the gate. His crow is also inoffensive so far but he’s still probably only a teenager. (photos to follow next month)

Next purchase possibly an incubator..

In the meantime Baby D likes the look of the hens too.

Pork and Bacon:

The pigs are now loaded into our massive deep freeze and by all accounts have turned into tasty meat (yum.) Overall it was a good learning process. Farmer J especially found out what 25 kg sausages looks like!

More expansion:

We have 6 turkeys and to round the figure off farmer J went for 4 broilers; they were so delicious the last time he figured why not. The turkeys appear unusual quiet and ghost-like for the moment but time will tell. It’s a sure sign Christmas is coming.

Well deserved rest:

A timely break in the sun after the pigs were done. Thanks to Pat and Pauline and PJ all was well on our return. Baby D tasted ice-cream and it sure was cooling (well she's cool looking anyway!)

Bees:

The bees are being fed on a regular basis now to increase their stores before winter.

08.08.09

8th August 2009

Harvest Time:

Despite the terrible weather it's time to harvest and we're happily eating baby carrots, courgettes, onions and shallots, cauliflower (only one), peas beans and radishes and lettuces. All eaten so no photos available!

Weed or no weed cont:

An exciting week of harvesting continued this week with the picking of all the onions. Of course those hidden by weeds and grass will make for very interesting peeling because they’re so small. Otherwise what a bumper crop! Now they’re drying off ready for storage- glad we have so many sheds we should find somewhere for them, probably beside the big deep freeze that will be full of pork soon.

Guess which ones were not weeded?

The Three little pigs:

Because it was a bank holiday week they have had a stay of execution this week but next Thursday will be D day. They have been taken for a little walk for the past 3 days with farmer J to the hops garden and they have rotavated the post spud patch nicely. Hooray for electric fencing so the precious hops were not in any danger. It was fun to bring them up and down the drive though. On the first occasion farmer J got a taste of a stubborn pig who at least did go home again jiggedy jig.

One man and his pig..

Follow the bucket or not..

Moo ving in:

4 lovely Angus cattle are currently grazing the front field. Unfortunately they are the neighbours but possibly next year? We’ve been sampling the delicious beef from the Armagh Dexter’s- definitely tasty.

How're ya horse?

New addition:

Kitty; found in the ditch by the guys who cut the grass around the village and outside our front! Farmer John was approached to see did he want it, how could he refuse? Well Kitty did turn out to be male but hasn’t been renamed really, not to worry I’m sure he doesn’t mind.

Kitty doing his own rotavating

Busy Bees:

And then there were 3. Three busy hives are now in the orchard with the bees apparently happy and doing all the things bees do.. makes for a happy beekeeper too J

Bzz can you spot the bee.

Meanwhile a certain little lady has taken to crawling and standing and pulling everything- makes for fun times. but this time in the workshop on a rainy day in July she is safe and sound.

Why does the rain turn everything on it's side?

TUNE IN NEXT MONTH :)

July 1st

Happy sunny days!

Busy Bees:

At last the bees have arrived and are busy (we hope). Two nuk’s arrived wrapped in cardboard boxes all the way from Gorey. The boxes sounded like something boiling over inside. Anyway with not too much use of the smoker they were transferred to the actual hives and will be visited by the intrepid bee keeper in 3 days. Meanwhile the hens haven't batted a wing at their new companions in the orchard- pecking order and all that.

Hens:

happy hen Whose egg is it anyway?

The hens are as ever happy. They have found a mystery escape point from the orchard and tend to roam in the evenings or when hunger strikes. Unfortunately they can’t find their way back in again. See encl for another hen mystery-whose egg is it anyway?

Ducks:

Can you believe how big they are? They still love their ‘ponds’ i.e. sand pits but seem to be drinking less; probably just another sign they are fully mature and ready for the oven well no eggs to date so maybe not quite so mature or else Farmer J’s diagnosis of 5 ducks and 3 drakes might be mistaken?

Hey Hay:

Hooray the hay is saved and solved the problem of what to do with the grass. A total of 160 bales (square ones) not bad for 2 acres. It was great to feel part of the farming community too not to mention have an opportunity to drool over farm equipment (farmer J).

Pigs:

Suffice it to say they are getting bigger and maybe lazier. On rainy days they seem to sleep more except for a strange game of tag they seem to play in the evenings. They are now allotted significantly less space and seem to be showing that they can truly root up all right. A recent visit to Dunmore East’s food festival gave some ‘food for thought’ to Farmer J on how to roast a pig.

Veggie Plot:

Weed No weed (can you spot the onions?)

Despite some mystery no shows of carrots, leeks and chives to mention a few we have done some replanting and delighted to begin to eat mange tout, radish, rocket and onion and emergency spuds when we discovered no spuds for dinner. Currently there’s a bit of an unintentional experiment on weed versus no weed. One bed of onions quickly was regained by grass and weeds and weeding was given up on. Despite this, so far they seem to be doing as well as the other onions. The only drawback is finding the onions maybe? Hopefully next year we’ll have the glass house up and running. Right now we have the frame erected but have still to make sides for it. We have a load of polycarbonate waiting in the shed to glaze it. The weather has been a bit poor and that has slowed things down but we will get there.

The veggie patch is coming on!

So much has happened since the last blog it’s going to take a while to get through. We’ve had a pigs and poles, a Christening, a Confirmation, a tractor run and a newspaper article. Quite a month

The Christening

We started the planning / implementing for this a week in advance. If that seems a bit mad it’s probably because it was. That said the party all went smoothly and everyone seemed to have a good time. We cleared out the big shed and the lean to which has become known as “the hay barn”, bought straw bales, decorated the place with paper lanterns straw bales and Christmas lights. The idea was to have a barn dance seeing as how we are like living in the country and all, yeeha!

We also researched different recipes, which was hard work of course but someone had to do it. We ended up picking this North African lamb stew with aubergine, almonds and dried apricots. It was absolutely delicious served on a bed of cuscus but when we started to make it up for 30 people we had a few terrifying moments when it just tasted and looked weird. The quantities were enormous and the cooking schedule went out the window but in the end it turned out really nice and after the party we were still eating it for about 3 days.

The Christening itself was done in the local chapel here in Newcastle. We called in Fr Gaygan who had performed our wedding ceremony so it was nice for him to come back and see the results of what he started. After the ceremony we sent half the crowd (all the men, except me), across the road to the pub to watch the rugby (Heineken cup semi final, Leinster embarrassed Munster), while the rest (all the women, except me.....obviously), went up to the house to spark up the barbeque, set out the salads and turn on the Tammy Wynette.

 

To cut a long story short, there was great food, decent music, children killing each other with sticks and the crack was mighty. In the end whiskey was produced and we all sat around under a patio heater chatting until me and Michael started debating (arguing) over the state of the economy and that successfully chased the remaining stragglers to bed.

Allotments

In Spring of last year some time a small group of fairly sinister characters decided to start campaigning to have allotments re-instated in Clonmel. This seems to have captured the zeitgeist because it now seems everyone has started doing it. Richard Corigan is making a TV series out of it but of course to us he’s just some Johnny come lately. In early spring of this year the allotments were re-instated on a pilot basis by Clonmel Borough council (thanks lads). Since then the scheme has run successfully and the first vegetables are just beginning to surface. The local Newspaper ran a full page article and we all patted each other on the back. Hopefully next year we can have the scheme extended

Hops

 

I initially planted these sometime in April I think and they haven’t really thrived. Allot have been eaten by slugs (later today I’m taking the ducks slug hunting), and others just don’t seem to have appeared at all but enough are now surfacing for me to take some heart and start phase 2 of the process, erecting the scaffolding. Hops are a climbing plant and to cultivate them you create a 4 or 5 meter high scaffolding and run strings from the ground up which the plants can climb. This in theory creates a spectacular curtain of foliage and loads of hops; but probably not that many in the first year. Anyway having never done anything remotely like this before I’m delighted to say that Fiona and I managed to get the poles up and the guide wires tight and the whole thing looks pretty good. More importantly it hasn’t fallen over. We still have another 3 poles to erect and 5 more hop plants to plant but the weather has been awful. Maybe today we’ll get things finished.

 

Pigs

About a week after the christening we finally took delivery of our first pigs. There was quite allot of preparation required for these lads. We had to install an electric fence and tighten up all the other fencing, scrub out and disinfect what is now the pig house, create feeding troughs and water troughs (the ball cock water trough had just been installed about 2 weeks after the pigs arrived, bad farmer John) and finally persuade Mary Nugent’s father Michael to lend us his cattle trailer to go and pick them up (we bribed him with free range eggs). We bought 2 sows and a bore off John-Paul Crowe (a budding star of Corrigans city farm). They are Pietran, or so he tells us; and were quite a challenge to get out of the trailer. 

Eventually they came out when they bloody well wanted to but it was nearly dark and they made so much noise we thought we would definitely get complaints from the neighbours. Since then they have settled in well but still aren’t ploughing my field for me. Clearly I’m feeding them too much.

Sligo

 

Last weekend we were up in Sligo for Oona’s confirmation. It was a long overdue visit and the wonderful thing about it was that there were so many children. I’ve discovered that when you get enough children together in one place they reach a critical mass and instead of needing constant attention they start looking after themselves, entertaining each other, it’s amazing. You even have time to make cups of tea and have a chat and stuff, brilliant! We farmed out Dearbhla to some of her cousins and had whole hours to ourselves to hold grown up conversations. Of course inevitably Dearbhla heard there were beers and she had to get in on the act.

Tractor run

On our way back from Sligo, sick and tired from the journey we decided to stretch our legs in Ardfinnan and catch the end of the tractor run. Now I know some of my neighbours are a bit eccentric and that’s all to the good as far as I’m concerned but this is taking the biscuit, I mean it’s not even a tractor.

Finally the obligatory baby photo