Dreaming of spring to come

The seed catalogs are arriving; thick, glossy magazines, full of lots of new plants for the year ahead. It's snowy outside and although the wind is howling a seed catalog can warm you up as well as a log fire, in the middle of winter.

At Stoneback farm the growing season starts with fencing off the kitchen garden. It will be a wooden structure that can hold a tank, read Molly sitting on it... First I thought a tall net could do the job but our hens are very good at flying so we would end up with visitors amongst the lettuce, anyway. So why not make a pretty fence, instead? We will never keep the happy gardening hens out, but at least they turn the soil for us. Our dear sheep tend to walk all over things, not really on purpose, it just sort of happens. They remind me a lot of Shetland ponies, our sheep. I know it will end up with me fenced in, and four interested woolly friends leaning on the fence, asking how I am getting on. At least the crops will stand a chance, that way.

Every year I have big plans, new varieties of plants to try out and every year I end up with the favourites; beans, lettuce, carrots, herbs and peas for Mr. Chip. If we don't have peas, the summer is not complete and our dear dog can't sit and watch them grow. We did not have a vegetable patch last summer as there was no time. I ended up buying peas from the market for him. " Not the same thing!", was the verdict, but better than nothing. So this year will be a bumper crop of peas! Two different kinds as well, apparently. There will also be tomatoes and cucumber of course. Cucumbers are Mr. Chips second favourite treat.

Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My will eat the carrots, the hens will keep the lettuce in place so it will never fully grow and I will be watering. The trick is to sow Marigold and Pot marigold in between the peas and the carrots. It looks pretty, keeps the weed from taking over and the smell makes the hens think twice about coming near them. Oregano is also good for that purpose; it just spreads so wildly, read everywhere.

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

The cold has let up a bit and our dear sheep can enjoy some time outside, again. Darya will have a wonder about, checking that all is well with her beloved snow. Monty and Eric will look at me like I have gone around the last bend, when suggesting that they could pop out for a while to and life will get back to being a bit normal.

The lock on the stable door fell off in the middle of the worst cold spell, so it's been a bit fiddly with nothing keeping the door closed. Strings and forks and some interesting technical details are involved at the moment but the lock is being fixed in town. Small things that feel like huge problems when everything is frozen are now just part of everyday life with animals.

We found out that by eating warm soup every morning, life is easier for hens. Lots of corn is nice, to. It took a few days to get used to the smell of warm meat soup at 8am but whatever works, has been the motto around our place for some time now. Hens like their lettuce finely chopped and our sheep get a breakfast of hay, diced swede, carrots, apple and cabbage and a few bits of dry bread. The sheep have their own mineral food and they have their salt and mineral licking stones as well. The hens have their dry food to help with the egg laying and general health, although our cockerels love that stuff the most. I seem to run well on coffee and cake.

Today I learned that the blackbird cocks its head to see what it is eating, as the eyes are on the side and a bird’s eye can not move in its socket. I always thought they could hear the worms in the ground, that way. I think the Year of the Monkey came in the nick of time, as far as I'm concerned. Now I have to go and tell my dear husband about his upcoming fence-building project before he reads about it here. Then it's time for a short walk with Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My. We are going to collect some willow for them to peal. They love that stuff.

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 7th February.

Darya the hen

The cold weather decided to stay and to really dig in making an impression on us all. Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My pop out for a stroll occasionally and seem to be fine with that. The day they decided to become racehorses on snow was memorable. They headed off outside one morning, bouncing with energy. They were going to take over the world in one fell swoop, apparently. First stop was the bird-feeding place. I had become wiser and had fenced off the area, the day before, and this made our four sheep so surprised that they started an almighty show fight - running and head butting and snorting loudly. It was fun to watch, although the weather was fierce.  I should have let them be but as I wanted them in to warm ears and feet, I called them over. The speed they got up to before the last corner was heart stopping. When four sheep then came around the corner, gliding on their sides I just stood there, thinking about broken bones and the domino effect. I also thought that maybe I should have left them to do their bird food raids....

The hens are everywhere, in the stable. Sometimes it feels like you can't move for hens around your feet.  I'm sure they feel the cold creeping in to the stable and they are so mind numbingly bored, being inside all the time. Monty and Eric are getting on each other's nerves and the tooting goes on a lot. They have formed a duo of loud sounds and the sheep are soon putting them up for sale.

Darya, the youngest hen in the group saw snow for the first time. This made such an impression on her that she wanted to look out of the window all the time. The problem was that she only saw the sky from the small stepladder she was perched on. I did not understand this at first, until Darya started babbling loudly at me, every time I saw her. Luckily I figured it out and gave her a log to stand on. Balancing on her ladder with her piece of wood, she now saw the world, in white. The running commentary went on for days. Then she wanted out to test the snow.

When the cold weather set in, a few of the hens realised that it's warmer when sitting in my lap. They never have the time to hang out with me in the summer, but I seem to have become the village feet warmer. Darya also sees me as the entertainment around here so we now go out to look at the snow, once a day. She sits inside my jacket commenting on everything we see and then we go in again. When it's a sunny day she closes her eyes and sighs happily. Hens are quite wonderful, when they give themselves the time to enjoy life to the full. Darya has found both time and her sense of humour. Apparently she wants to be a parrot and sit on my shoulder. The problem is that she digs her claws deep into my jacket and I can still feel them. To think what it would do to someone wearing just a t-shirt, having Darya landing on the shoulder.... So we are training to sit nicely in the lap instead. If Darya had her way I should be buying an eye patch and a wooden leg, right now. Then I could walk around with her babbling away, looking like the pirate who fell on bad times. We could join the circus. Until then I will have to be the entertainer and hope the weather turns warmer, soon!

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

I saw the most beautiful picture of a giraffe the other day and started reading about them. I learned that the male giraffes do head butting as a display of dominance. This is called necking. I think Monty and Eric do something similar, maybe they are related? Long legs, long necks and fast runners... Lina the hen thinks they are just silly cockerels and there’s nothing very special about that.

I read more about giraffes and they are not doing so well, either. It seems the list of animals in need gets longer all the time. It's good to keep in mind that we can help someone, somewhere. I have spent this week catering for the blackbirds. Every third hour out with fat, corn and seeds, to keep them going in the cold. I also built an Igloo style feeding place so the wind could not get to them. It worked. They are getting slightly tame and it's nice to see that the gang let everyone have a go at eating. No chasing away a friend when everyone's in trouble.

Stay warm!

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 31st January.

Visitor in the stable

Last winter our animals had a guest to stay. His name was Mr. Waffle and he was probably the nicest looking rabbit I had ever seen. Small and fast with a shiny coat that made him look like a blazing arrow when he zoomed past.

Mr. Waffle moved in to the stable to keep out of the cold. He had lived outside all his life and now his young owner thought it was time for a stable break. It turned out to be a good idea, as the winter became cold and damp, to put it mildly.

Rabbits are funny animals. Either they are timid little creatures with a polite smile or they take over their world. Mr. Waffle greeted life full on and had the bravest little heart a rabbit could possess. He ran up to four, completely petrified sheep and said "Hello!" He visited our hens and did not even find Waldemar the cockerel scary, although he was towering over the little rabbit. From the first meeting, our animals also learned that when cornered, Mr. Waffle bit them. So they stopped doing that and let him get on with his life as a "Speedy Gonzales" with long ears.

Mr. Waffle liked running, which meant that he could turn up from nowhere, fast. This made the hens a bit jumpy but they soon got their own back. One afternoon our little rabbit friend was found sitting in his bedroom with the funniest, concerned look on his face. His body language told that something was wrong and "He did not understand!" It turned out that one of the hens had claimed her turf by leaving an egg in his house. Maybe an Easter Bunny joke but Mr. Waffle was not amused. In the end he got used to eggs turning up here and there and he never broke a single one of them. So it turned out rabbits have a sense of humour, after all.

                                    Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

Mr. Waffle went home the following spring and for a while it felt a bit empty. The hens still sneaked around corners, just in case, and our four sheep looked for him. "Always good to know where the little fella is", they told me. Then summer arrived and they had other things to think about.

On New Year's Eve, Mr. Waffle came for a visit again. As fireworks and loud bangs are not good for any animal to endure, our town friend came to stay in the country for the night. It was quite wonderful to see that everyone remembered each other. It took Mr. Waffle less than a heartbeat to start investigating his old patch. The hens all rushed over to greet him and our young cockerels and Darya the young hen, who had never met him, all found the rabbit fascinating. Our dear sheep started twitching their noses in a telling manner, they also remembered our friend. "He nips! they told me. "Just for one day", I whispered back. And a fun day it turned out to be. 

Mindy was right, this week I learned a new thing about sheep. I now know that sheep have such a good memory that they can remember 50 individuals; animals and humans. No wonder they recognised Mr. Waffle and that they count all our hens every evening. They hear Monty and Eric tooting whether they want to or not.

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 24th January.

Winter months ahead

The New Year arrived with proper, cold days. The lack of snow makes it a bit boring but even heaps of leftover hay around the yard looks beautiful with a twinkling cover of frost. The four M’s (our sheep), still believe that leaving some hay for the animals that live out in the forest, is an act of kindness. I have not had the heart to tell them that the feeding places around the village are now offering grains and sometimes bread, so their food is probably not top on the list for elks and deer. But the thought is nice and I'm sure someone appreciates the hay.

The hens are already a bit fed up with the cold, so my dear husband is going to build them an indoor climbing frame. This will hopefully keep them occupied and distracted from the fact that two fully-grown cockerels are now following them around. When our hens get bored they seem to turn on the male member of the family. Monty gets upset by hens telling him what to do. Young Eric seems to have thicker skin, so to speak, and just bobs about while grumpy hens lecture him. He looks like a young guy who should be wearing Converse trainers and a funny hat.

Animals like everything to be orderly and systematic. They feel safe in the knowledge that one thing follows the other. Change the system and they get uneasy.

This morning was a good example. As its cold outside at the moment, everything speeds up a bit in the mornings. Quickly out through the door as not to let the warm air out. Small breakfast outside, then in again. More time indoors and new games to be invented to keep everyone happy.

When Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My moved in to Stoneback farm, they really disliked our stable doorway. Either they bolted in or out like racehorses or they leaped like woolly frogs. I don't know why they did that but it was not healthy for them. I started feeding them some treats just on the threshold, in order to slow them down and to make them realise that our door did not try to kill them. It worked, so after a while they got their treat outside, after everyone had gotten there, safe and sound. We also did the same thing going in for the night.

This morning I gave them some dry bread indoors in the morning, and then let them out to eat hay. Mandy could not eat her food, she just stood there, staring at me through the window. I went out to check that she was feeling okay, then carried on cleaning their loose box. Mandy kept staring until I finally understood. I went out with the morning bread and Mandy sighed deeply and went off to eat her food. It's not the animals fault if I am in a hurry, was the sentiment of today's lesson. Makes you wonder how many lessons humans fail to understand, by not listening to our animal friends.

A Pygmy Marmoset: Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

This year is The Year of the Monkey, according to the Chinese horoscope. The year should be full of curiosity and humour. All I know of the whole thing is that I'm a monkey. (Born in the year of the monkey, not that I have fluffy ears and a long tail...) So to celebrate I thought to be inquisitive and learn a new thing about animals, every week. So here goes; the world’s smallest monkey is a Pygmy Marmoset monkey and it’s cute. As you can tell, we start on a small scale. Eric tells me that next week will bring us trivia knowledge about cockerels. Mindy thinks it will be something big, and about sheep. All I know is that this might become a very trying project, but maybe a little interesting, all the same.

Now I have to go and provide some food for the hungry, fluffy four, or they will get upset. I work like clockwork, I do...

After writing this, the weather turned extremely cold so no animals have been outside for five days. It has been like a house party, in the stable, according to the animals. The hens have been sitting in my lap to warm their feet, our four sheep are now even bigger and my dear husband and I are sprouting grey hair. So far the water pipe has not frozen and everyone is well. -28 degrees C is not fun but part of winter, I guess. There's been a lot of mingling and food sharing and stories told to keep everyone in good spirit. We must have done something right, as two green eggs were laid next to the two brown ones, yesterday. Still don't know who got inspired to start laying eggs in January, but it is quite sweet of them. When the rest of the country is trying not to freeze to a standstill, our hens celebrate spring arriving. I don't know if I should be worried or impressed....

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 17th January.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope the year 2016 finds you all in good form and ready to take on whatever this year brings. We can only wish that it is a good year, at least a bit better than the last one.

I asked Mr. Chip what he felt should be brought to light in this little text, the first of the year. I thought he would say that fireworks and loud bangs should be banned by law. Or that people should start thinking outside the box, just a smidgen....  just a few words of his hopes and dreams. But no, Mr. Chip wants to talk about something close to his heart (literally..); breakfast in bed.

For as long as 13 years, Mr. Chip thought that everyone ate their breakfast in the kitchen, at a table and so be it. This was the norm, boring but safe and he was fine with it. Then I introduced an alternative and after some small altering of how and whatnots, it's now the only way to have breakfast, according to Mr. Chip.

The first mornings, when I tried to eat a sandwich in bed were quite funny. Mr. Chip sat bolt upright, his back so straight he almost fell backwards, and his nose close to touching the bread. I never knew that a fox terrier could squint so badly, his eyes almost met in the middle of his nose. He probably held his breath all through that first sandwich but I'm ashamed to say, he calmed down once he realised that he always got some bread too.

Now our mornings are lovely. I eat and drink way too much coffee while a dog is lying, glancing at me from under a bundle of quilts. A sniffing nose and twinkling eyes are all I can see of him, until I offer him some of my food. Then a happy sigh and he is off to the land of nod again.

It must be the combination of knowing where the food is at all times and the warm bed and lazy feel, which makes our slightly elderly dog love this arrangement so much. No more climbing out of bed to sit on a hard floor when it's still dark outside, in order to watch people eat...

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

So I think Mr. Chip would like everyone to start greeting winter mornings with their dogs, in the same fashion. Crumbs in the bed are a small price to pay, he tells me, for a happy, warm dog. The truth is, that I have to agree with him on this one. I also suspect that the next time I meet someone who knows a thing or two about training a dog, I will get an earful.... The thing is, that we have a dog that knows a thing or two about training people. He is hard at work and I learn new things all the time. The main thing is that everyone is happy and that there is a mutual kindness involved. And yes, my dear husband has left for work so he does not see me spoiling Mr. Chip even more than usually. So now we just have to hope dear husband does not read this....

We start the year as we mean to go on, I guess, spoiling our friendly animals and hoping that they will have a happy new year, too. Lina, the hen, already hopes for spring, as turning the compost is a challenge when the ground is frozen. We did have a talk about the winter months to come, but apparently hens are fine to skip the skiing season altogether. Molly can't wait for proper snow! A lot of rugby tackling is awaiting us... Oh joy!

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 10th January.



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