I haven’t done my blog for ages
and thought I would start again today.
Just for a bit of background, though I’m not going to go back and write about the
last two months, I fell in the garden henhouse on Sunday and think I’ve
probably cracked some ribs and damaged soft tissue.
Today my ribs are slightly less
painful than yesterday and it was easier to get out of bed and get dressed this
morning.
The animals were fed and watered
and the hens let out of the barn, I watered the polytunnel and optimistically
left open the doors in case it got too hot in there.
A week or so ago, when I left the house there was a beautiful moth on the flyscreen - apparently a Tau Emporer.
Down the lane there are bait
hives out in the hope of catching swarms, so I went to check them. A neighbour was in his garden and I asked if
he could possibly strim my field entrance when he had time. He suggested Sunday afternoon, I am hoping to
go to the Silfiac Plant and Craft Show in the morning. As I turned to go he told me that someone had
given him two bantam hens which he didn’t want and if I did, then he’d bring
them over with a bag of stale bread from the Retirement Home – brilliant!
Breakfast was streaky bacon, veal
kidneys, fried bread and gravy from the roast with a black, sweet coffee,
before I went outside to finish cleaning off bee hive frames removed out of the
dead hives at the weekend. It was hard
work as using my right arm to scrape isn’t easy with the ribs.
I stored the cleared frames – twenty-two
of them in the garage and went back up to the field to empty another hive. I stacked the ten honey laden frames in a large
lidded plastic box and then found I couldn’t lift it. There must be so much honey on the frames as
they were far too heavy. Once I’d found
another smaller box I transferred four frames to that and could just about
manage to get the boxes into a wheelbarrow and then unload into the car boot to
bring to the garage. I cleaned off the
hive I’d just emptied but was too shattered to consider taking the honey off
the frames today. Also, I need to buy
some litre sized plastic containers in which to store the honey so I don’t use
up all the jars in which I sell honey from Rainbow Cottages. I must also add to the list, wire to repair
the frames and foundation wax for when I manage to get to a Point Vert with an Apiculture
section. The only stores I know of are
at Loudéac, Carhaix and Guingamp and I am not planning a trip near any of these
in the next couple of days.
Back to the kitchen to make some
soups. I cooked up celeriac followed by pea
and ham and they have just cooled enough to put into the freezer. As I was finishing the pea and ham a
neighbour from the far side of the village arrived to ask if I had any
vacancies in the gites as he might have a judge for the Corlay Hippodrome races
over the weekend who had nowhere to stay.
No chance of sunbathing with a
book today as it is very overcast and no sunshine. It felt almost chilly inside and I’ve lit the
woodburner and am catching up on recorded TV programmes for an hour or so.
My American Workaways left on
Tuesday. Marge made a set of cushions for the new swing seat and Nilly enjoys the comfort in the sunshine.
The Workaway family coming last Wednesday had a change of plan. I may though have found a young man to arrive
sometime next week, arriving by bicycle so no firm date yet. I have lots of work, as usual, especially as
my immediate neighbours have offered me the orchard next to the field I already
rent from them as more grazing for the sheep and the hens and the land will all
have to be fenced.
I went to check some hives I have seen previously in the woods to see if they were thriving. They had been removed for the winter but I drove slightly further on and found this lovely stone bridge over the river Blavet.
1. All the blossom on the trees in the village.
2. Seeing the seedlings in the polytunnel doing well.
3. Finding I have a broody hen in the barn sitting on eggs.
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