Saturday 3 January 2015

The farmer has just returned from his shooting day - early as it happens.   It is a 'raw' day here, overcast with a bit of sleety rain in the breeze and gradually getting colder; not a particularly nice day to be out.   When the shooters got as far as our fields the farmer came home and is just in the process of lighting the wood-burner and getting us snug and warm.  Then he can carry on with the jig saw puzzle we started yesterday - one designed by his niece, which we are enjoying doing very much.

Friend W and I spent the morning in one of our local cafes drinking cappucinos - I only got back in at just before mid-day.  Then I had to remove from the Aga the ham shank with vegetables which had been slowly cooking all morning.   Now the whole house smells of it.   It is  not something I really care for, but the farmer loves it.   Tomorrow I shall strip the meat from the bone (once it is completely cold and the fat has been removed from the stock) and add red lentils, thus making a good, hearty soup for cold winter's days.

Everything seems to eat more when the weather is cold.   The wild birds come to the feeders and eat the seeds very early in the day.   We always put out mixed seed in one feeder, niger seed in another and sunflower hearts in a third.   In addition there is a cage of peanuts, a cage of fat balls, a scattering of suet and of dried meal worms on the bird table and poultry wheat (for the pheasants who more or less live here) on the floor.

The cattle in the loose housing had plenty of silage to eat when the farmer went off on the shoot at 10am but by the time he came back a short time ago they had eaten up.

The only thing that doesn't seem to eat 'with the weather' is the sheep. who just keep eating at the grass all day, whatever the temperature.   The farmer scatters 'sheep nuts' every morning for them but only a few of them bother to eat them - the crows and rooks get the better part.   The sheep will only turn to them in earnest if we should have a fall of snow (fingers crossed we don't).

I shall now return to the Times crossword - not doing too badly today so I shall persevere.  Have a nice weekend.


 

14 comments:

Yael said...

Have a nice weekend too. It is always a joy to read your posts. For me it is like a travel to other far places.

Heather said...

Your post makes me feel warm and well fed. My husband has taken charge of feeding the birds here. They have a nicely varied running buffet, and I am surprised any of them can still fly!

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

I am with the Farmer in liking ham shanks.
Arose from my sickbed yesterday and made chicken soup. The add-ins, besides an onion, carrots, and celery, salt & pepper were: turmeric, juice and zest of a lemon, juice of two large tangerines, ½ tsp toasted sesame oil, a splash of pear vinegar, a little low salt soy sauce, ½ tsp Sriracha hot sauce, grated fresh ginger, and gluten-free spaghetti broken into thirds and cooked separately. Think that's it. Anyway, it was just the ticket for two sick people!
Raw here today, too. But, there is leftover soup!
:) m & jb

Gwil W said...

I do the crossword in the free newspaper I pick up at the tram station. The answers are upside down at the bottom of the page if I get stuck. It's a great way to learn a foreign language. I think I'm 3 Down today: "Gwil said: . . ."

Gwil W said...

Ach, now I see it was 4 Down.

Mac n' Janet said...

It's going to be in the 70's here this weekend, but an arctic front is expected by Thursday, so we'll be cold too.

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

The birds don't seem to be eating the Niger seed at all. All the other stuff is being taken more or less as we put it out and the chickens wait underneath for that which the messy sparrows drop. The hens really are hungry. Fortunately we have some spent malted grains from a local brewery and floor sweepings from an old flour mill to add to the pellets. Otherwise we would be bankrupt!
And as for the humans I keep "needing" a biscuit with every cup of tea

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

A blustery day here - with rain and flood warnings to follow. There are many rivers in our area, coming down from the mountain ranges and with temperatures rising some of the snow will melt, and added to the heavy rains it will push the rivers to their banks and beyond.

It sounds like you are snug and ready for the blustery weather too.

jinxxxygirl said...

Hello to you Weaver!!! Hubby was standing by as i read your post today and he being a former rancher in TX (he grew up on a ranch with sheep)was curious about your 'sheep nuts'... and the fact that your sheep didn't seem to care for them... He said they had 'sheep feed' that had corn and maize mixed with molasses and pressed into pellets and the sheep would go crazy it for it, nearly run you down getting to it :)

Oh my grandmother was a crossword person , funny how none of us grandkids took it up. I do like the seek and find word searches. And i'am a lover of mazes....

I do feed the birds here but nothing like you... and many other bloggers i read...I just put out a mixed seed... Perhaps when we get to our new home i will take it up further... You have a good weekend too Weaver.. Our plans have gotten messed up ...but thats okay we'll just roll with the punches.. :) Hugs! deb

Terry and Linda said...

I'm already tired of winter. Downton Abby is coming Jan 9th here. It is a PBS show that is adored by all of us dreaming of England!


Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/?s=The+Adventures+of+Fuzzy+and+Boomer&submit=Search
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Penny said...

It does sound like winter, love the sound of all that warming food. Fires in the hills still not contained but cooler today so better conditions for the fire fighters. 6 houses so far lost but more believed could be burnt when they get around to assessing things. Over 11,000 hectares burnt.

Twiggy said...

Sounds lovely and cosy, crosswords, wood burners, jigsaws and hot soup. Great recipe for a Wintery day
Twiggy

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for calling in everyone.
Jinxy - I will put the information about the sheep nuts into your comments on your blog some time tomorrow, so thatyour husband can read it.

lil red hen said...

It's so good to know someone else who likes to work jigsaw puzzles! The days after Christmas always calls for a new puzzle here. After the farm chores are done for the day I love to sit and ponder where the pieces go and watch it slowly grow.

I always enjoy your blog!