Friday 25 May 2012

A Little Outing.



Shed cleaned out, potting bench looking sparkling and the shed window - which was festooned with cobwebs - cleaned until it shines. Good job done. My privet 'bird' given me years ago by my friend,M, thanks M, cut into the shape roughly resembling a bird and all pots watered. That was yesterday's jobs on return from the poetry morning.

Last evening we took a trip down the lane to a friend's farm to deliver something and on the way were astonished to find that there were literally hundreds of orchids out. There are usually quite a few on the sides of the lane, where the wood is; but this year there are hundreds and they extend into the wood itself.

At the farm our friends weren't about but we left our parcel and on the way out I took a photograph of some of their goslings. This is what I call a proper farm. J and S have arable land, grass land, sheep and lambs, suckler cattle, dogs, cats, geese (which they breed for the table at Christmas), hens scratching in the yard, even a goat. When you get out of the car you are met with a plethora of dogs with wagging tails and friendly cats. If you are lucky you might even see a cat carrying her kittens around. Lovely place to visit.

This is where I got my two goose eggs when I bred a pair of geese and this is where the pair of geese (yes, there was one of each sex luckily) returned when they began to attack my bantam hens. I try not to think about the fact that they probably ended up on somebody's Christmas dinner table.

13 comments:

Heather said...

It's good to know that such farms still exist and will hopeful survive in our less than ideal economic times.
What a treat to see all those wild orchids. I can't identify the ones in your photo but love them, and can remember the bee orchids which grew on the chalky soil where I grew up.
Your garden shed sounds as if it should be called something grander!

Crafty Green Poet said...

I see we're both taking photos of goslings!

I thought it was too early for orchids, I'll need to look harder at the local orchid field next time I'm passing!

Jinksy said...

And I thought orchids were rare...

ArcticFox said...

you know what they say..... what's good for the goose.... is good for the dinner... or something like that!

Irene said...

I thought orchids were rare too, but now I hear you have them by the hundreds. I wonder if we have such novelties over here in the hill country. I must start looking for them. I bet goose for Christmas tastes just great. Especially if they've had good lives on a farm such as you describe. Then I wouldn't mind eating one.

The Weaver of Grass said...

These are early purple orchids Heather and they are there in the wood in their hundreds - and huge too. It must be all that wet weather.

angryparsnip said...

What a treat to see a field of orchids.
Reminds me of when the poppies bloom in California. You can't believe your eyes, rolling hills as far as you can see filled with golden poppies.

I would love to see a photo of your garden shed and garden again this year. I remember when you took photos of the hen house, I so enjoyed them. I live in the county but not on a farm and I really enjoy seeing photos of your farm and surrounding area.

cheers, parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

Nice little farm photos. These goslings look much nicer than the Canadian goose goslings seen here. We are overrun by them.

Reader Wil said...

Those orchids are stunning, Pat! And the goslings adorable!
Thanks for the comment on the psalm, but this was a mistake . I didn't mean to publish it. Everything is at sixes and sevens for my laptop is broken. The video card is!
I am working on my iPad now, which causes some problems. Well anyway I scheduled my ABC entries till September. I hope my laptop will be repaired by then.

Cloudia said...

you live is in a lovely place, in a lovely mind and heart!


Friendly Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral

> < } } (°>

Mary said...

The orchids are lovely, and their color is wonderful. So springy. And i love geese. Scrappy. (I've been chased and nipped by some, but didn't mind.) :) I love farms like yours...

The Weaver of Grass said...

The garden shed is a ruin, built of breeze blocks by the farmer many years ago! The one good thing about it is that it is near to the back door, so that I can get things quickly without too much walking.
The veggie garden is quite a long walk away from the house. For Parsnip I will put on a photograph of the vegetable garden before the weeds begin to grow. At present it looks good and the sun this week has made everything perk up.
Thank you for visiting.

Mary said...

That friendly farm nearby sounds delightful.......I'd love to see the mamas carrying their kittens about!

Imagine, wild orchids propagating so well and actually becoming a woodland paradise - what a stunning color.

Mary X