Rabbits taken by predator

Monday afternoon and these are my three new rabbits in their run.

I went out to feed them this morning and it was total devastation.  Whatever had gone into the run was not going to leave without my rabbits.  It must have been a large animal to have done the damage shown in these following photographs.

No sign whatsoever of the three rabbits.  

Well, predator, you win.  I won't keep animals anymore in my garden area.

Three things I hate:

1.   Predators.
2.   The suffering my rabbits must have gone through.
3.   The empty area left behind.

A new ram lamb for Lisa

Thinking about it, I live in a self-made utopia.  I watch satellite television which is broadcast from Britain about Britain and the wider world and therefore hear about all the horrors of the failing NHS, asbestos in school buildings, football fans invading pitches, the Ebola virus, diabetes in children being insufficiently monitored, the pathetic political wrangling about TV debates etc. etc.  I rarely receive any news specifically about France, except that which I glean from neighbours in conversation – so I never really hear anything bad.  I seem therefore to have created my own, ignorance is bliss situation about how wonderful France is, having no real social problems of any type – apart from the awful Charlie Hebdo attacks a few months ago. Clearly, deep down I know that I’ve done this, but I enjoy not knowing anything horrid happening in the country where I have chosen to live.   News can be very depressing but I have become an ostrich and it’s lovely!

I had a wonderful surprise on Friday morning when I walked round to the furthest field to see two sheep intent on something on the ground.  As I approached I realised that the very small white object on the grass between them was a new born lamb – a ram lamb.  

Just half the size of my cats he had not yet got to his feet and birthing bits were still coming from his Mum so he must have literally just been born.  It had been below freezing the night before so it was lucky he hadn’t been born then.  I picked him up and both sheep followed me through to the smaller of the hen runs against the barn.

I placed him on new hay in one corner of the run and his Mum and surrogate Mum licked him continuously.  As the morning went on I removed Martha, the surrogate from the run leaving Lisa and her baby to bond with each other.

The joy was short-lived when I discovered the lamb on Tuesday afternoon unable to put his right front foot to the ground.  Clearly his knee had a problem and initially I thought it was broken.  He was also very hot.
  

The vets at Corlay examined him – his temperature was over 40°C – and said he had an infectious arthritis caused, probably, by an infection getting in through his umbilicus. They gave him jabs of tetanus, anti-inflammatory/painkiller and antibiotics.  Apparently this is an extremely painful condition and if there was no improvement by Friday’s appointment with them then he would have to be put to sleep.   

The following morning he was putting his foot to the ground.  I swabbed his umbilicus and gave him his daily intra-muscular antibiotic injection.  He was much cooler and I was cautiously hopeful for him.   He improved each day and when I revisited the vet on Friday he discharged him, though first he did a castration by banding.  I don't suppose the lamb will be feeling too friendly towards me for a while.

When the vet weighed him on the first visit he was just 1.4kgs - so tiny and so sweet.

Three things I like:

1.    Playing in a bowls match on Saturday against the only other Brittany based club.
2.    It's only another seven days before my next incubator chicks should start hatching.
3.   Just had the first summer booking for rainbowcottagesinfrance.com.

Catching up with the last two months

I haven't posted on this blog for nearly two months - far too long.   Lot of things have been happening but I really have to put it down to laziness.  I am not going to attempt to write about everything, just some of the events.

One of my best friends went into hospital and had a tummy tuck operation which followed her gastric bypass.  The last weeks have reminded me what it was like when I had mine and how pleased I was to lose the incredibly tight corset after two months of compulsory wear.  She is just reaching that stage now and only has another week with it.

The five yearly Census was being carried out in France in the first two months of the year and I visited by a very pleasant girl who works in the Newsagent in St Nicolas du Pélem who helped me complete my form.   I seem to remember that the commune had just over 1700 people following the last Census, it will be interesting to see if that has changed much.

I had my first Workaway of the year during a snowy week on the crossover from January to February.  

Obviously we couldn't do much work, but did complete some of the inside jobs outstanding which were on my very long list of Things To Do.  I hope I get lots more people wanting to come and work and stay in St André as the year goes on.  Here are Ruby and Bella eating broccoli stalks on the white stuff.

During February I had my downstairs floor replaced which was a labour intensive time for me, moving books, shelves, and emptying cuboards.  

It was all worth it and I am pleased with the result.  The majority of the old floor was good and friends who's niece has just acquired a property over here is going to use it in her property, so good recycling going on.

I've really enjoyed cooking during these winter months and have made so many different soups.  In fact, as I write, I have two pans on the hob, parsnip in one and butternut squash in the other.  The butternut squash was one of six I brought back from the UK in October last year.  I have started storing all my veg in the garage and they certainly all last much better in the cooler, darker area.  Here's a mushroom soup I made a couple of weeks ago ... absolutely delicious.

A large dog fox took and/or killed seven of my hens and injured one Muscovy duck at the beginning of February.  Thanks to lots of tlc the duck has recovered well.  Then, a week later, my three rabbits were taken one afternoon.  Opinion amongst my neighbours and a couple of hunters is that the killer was a pine martin or weasel in view of the decapitation.  It was very upsetting and I shall probably not have rabbits again now. Later in the week a neighbour asked me to hold his fox terrier while he went into a barn where the dog had cornered a dog fox.  With another neighbour's gun the fox was shot - I'm not normally in favour of killing but I just hope it was the one responsible for the suffering of my poultry.  

My oldest son has finally exchanged on his first house which is currently being built.  It's a very exciting time for everyone concerned and I'm really pleased for him.

My granddaughter, Mia, now has nine teeth and will soon be eating steaks without any problem at all!  She is gorgeous and is now 19 months old.

A yellow dog appeared at my gate one day last week.  He was still there the following day, so after feeding him, a friend and I took him to the local vet to have him checked for an identity chip.  Unfortunately, he wasn't chipped so we were advised to take him to the Mairie.  There a commune employee took him back to his own home while they waited for someone to report him missing.  He was a lovely boy and I hope he is reunited with his owner very soon.

As a lover of home made pork scratchings, I was thrilled to find this pork skin in the local supermarket.

Within 30 minutes of arriving home it had been turned into these - scrummy!

One of my two geese laid her first egg this week - it weighed in at 187g or for those still working in imperial measurements - 6.5 ounces!  In the photo the front row from left to right contains a normal hen egg, bantam egg and duck egg.  The second row has my beautiful first goose egg.

I am getting a wide variety of egg colours with the hens I have at the moment.  I'm not sure who is laying the olive/blue eggs or the very dark brown speckley egg, but I'm very happy that they are.

My first gite guests of the year are here at the moment and it's been good having people staying again.  She was a returner and kindly offered to bring over some shopping so I replenished some of my Tesco cupboard.

My two grandchildren, cousins, Mia and Charlie, watching a film together.

Three things I like:

1.   My grandson growing up, he's now had his eighth birthday - I do love him.

2.   Waiting for the hatching of 18 eggs which I have in the incubator in the kitchen.

3.   Hearing from my Dutch friend, Sita, who I had lost touch with for a few years.