New sheep, a leaking pond and gooseberry jam

We got quite a bit of work done on the field last week.  My worker brought his digger and we turned and tidied up the compost area, a lot easier than using spades!  Now all I need is some rain to soak the heaps and then old carpet to go over the top to stop stuff growing in the compost.

 

The three new arrivals last Friday, which we collected from near Rennes.  A two year old ram - laughing in the photo - a four year old ewe and her baby girl lamb of three months - all still to be named.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They joined Martha and her ram lamb, Arthur, and Basil and Betsy - my two goats - in the two biggest grassy areas. 

 

This fierce looking boy is one of my neighbour's tethered goats which are all around the hamlet.  He's not really fierce - just the effect of his magnificent horns.

 

 

The fish pond developed a slow leak sometime towards the end of last year.  It was on the list of things to do.  On Friday, I topped it up so there was at least 45cm in it.  On Saturday morning I looked in and there were about 3 cms left and the fish were struggling and gasping in the small quantity of water.  A neighbour helped me bring two of the house baths that I use on the field for storing water back to the garden and a friend came over and helped me empty it and put the fish, newts, toads etc into one bath and most of the plants into the other.   The horrible silty bottom stuff ended up all over the gravel at one end of the pond and will eventually have to be removed once the pond has been repaired.

 

 

I had spent the morning in gentler tasks.  After picking gooseberries from my two bushes on the field I made jam.  It was really easy to do and tastes wonderful.

 

Some of the terrace pots - June and July are always good months for them.

and the clematis which I like so much on the other side of the door from these pots.

Some of my hens sheltering, this afternoon, under an old table from the rain which was just beginning.  I just made it back from the field before the heavens opened and the thunder started.

Here are my little white bantam and the Araucana chick which she hatched - now almost as big as her surrogate Mum.

 

This last photo is of one of the brambles in the lane in flower with a promise of fruit in the Autumn.

 

Three things I like:

1.   The birth of a friend's grandson, Freddie, on Thursday last.
2.   The lovely prawn bisque I made for lunch today.
3.   Seeing a friend, who had a double heart bypass in the Spring, in Brittany again.