My mind jumps like a flea

Mr. Chip had his spring check up and everything seems fine. The Cushing syndrome is kept in check by medication; two tablets with food, each morning at eight o'clock. We are organised to a fault but if it's helping the little lad, why not? Next visit concerning the Cushings will be in the autumn, if all goes well. We will go back next week for some injections that are due to be renewed. Mr. Chip will not be thrilled but getting rabies can't be a laugh a minute, either, so we are visiting the vet again. We are also on a diet.... Our poor dog has gained some excess weight and it's mostly my fault. When the weather conditions were very icy we could not walk so far as Mr. Chip has a wobbly leg that should not slip sideways. We still ate normally as he eats surprisingly small portions and without food you tend to die. Now there is some weight to loose and we'll get there.

We are bringing home four or five chicks in the beginning of May. They are coming from the same breeder as all our hens and we can't wait! I have high hopes that Darya will take them on, as she is kindness on legs and still a bit of a loner. A week after Eric had moved away, Darya got in to such a foul mood that I thought I would have to take her to visit him. She was snippy and grumpy and only polite to the sheep. Her mood lasted for a week and she walked around on her own a lot so in the end I think she was feeling broody and contemplating building a nest. Then all of a sudden she was back, being her lovely self again, so maybe it was not Eric after all. She just decided not to start nesting. Pippi is in a brilliant mood and clearly moving on after her son flew the nest.

Monty has started a rambling club. He takes the hens for long walks all over the place. As this is the time when hens should be kept in their outdoor cages, I worry a bit. I tried keeping them locked up but the complaints were loud and painful to listen to, so once again, I caved. Most of the migrating birds have arrived by now anyway, I guess.

The ramblers take a break on our step, where they get water and some nice biscuits. Then off they go again, Monty in the lead and five minutes later we see him running in all directions, trying to keep his little group together. It's not easy being a walking leader and he falls asleep first, in the evenings. All you can see is a drooping head while he leans on a hen, fast asleep. He does wake up very early, as well....

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

Our lovely sheep are itching less and I have not found any tiny visitors, since the medication. Fingers crossed. We will do a repeat performance with the stuff in four weeks time. By then they will have less wool and it will be an easier task. We are also looking at alternative to sawdust for their loose box. Hemp is one option. It works like peat, you only take out the wet spots and build up a mattress for the floor. Hemp should be a more environmentally friendly option than peat but I still have to read up about it. It's also much more expensive than anything else on offer but we could compost it in the garden. It's basically chopped up stems of a plant, I think. Sawdust is lovely and keeps a fresh home for the animals but it sticks to the wool and it tends to builds up on the manure heap. And even the better quality still dusts a lot. The clue is in the name.... I turned part of the manure heap on Sunday morning. Some go to church, some... Anyway, I dug down to the bottom of the heap and it was really hot and burning well. All of a sudden the hens turned up trying to jump head first into the hole I had dug. I saved them from becoming a bbq brunch, but you have to move fast. They were very surprised by my behavior and called me this and that as they stomped off. It sometimes worries me that they are so trustworthy. Anything could happen to them as they seem to believe that whatever we do, they are welcomed to join in. Sweet but worrying...They still have not figured out that the tractor contains my dear husband, when it passes them. The day that fact is brought home to them, they will want to ride along with him. And then dear husband will want to move far, far away, so I won't tell the hens.... Mr. Chip used to ride along in the tractor when he was younger, him and his best friend. The hens have to stick to our game "Wheelbarrow taxi", where I push them along and they look like something out of a road movie. More "Thelma and Louise" than Jack Kerouac, though. But it's a fun game and our four sheep look at us with bewilderment, bless them.

Spring does open up the world, both mentally and physically and it's just to go with it and enjoy. The feeling of more space, again, makes you happy and Mr. Chip celebrates the fact that the ice has melted away. Now all we have to do is walk a lot and to remember to pull in our tummies, at the next vet appointment.

They say that hens dream. They experience REM sleep, just like us. How wonderful!

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 8th May. 

Dogs and cats

Springtime has brought back the discussion about roaming cats and dogs. Rescuing centres for helping cats are telling us that cats are being brought to them in alarming numbers. People still leave cats out in the wild to fend for themselves, even though we live in a society that should know better. We also read in the newspapers about healthy dogs being put down because they are too expensive to keep. Farmers in England have to shoot dogs that get in amongst their gracing herds, as the option is too horrid to contemplate. This is people who make their living looking after animals, so to be forced to shoot someone else's pet can't be easy.

Mr. Chip's friend got bitten by a bigger dog last year and felt poorly for months. The bigger dog was allowed to run loose in the forest. We have come across loose dogs on our walks too, but as Mr. Chip is so small, at least I can pick him up and meet any jumping dog that come too close with a bended knee. It's not a nice situation and I know you are not supposed to lift up your dog as you might end up in the middle of something, but what do you do? Well you give the other dog owner a piece of your mind and see that their dog is put back on its lead. Then you head home because your walk is completely ruined.

And this is the thing. Letting dogs loose in the forest is not only irresponsible, it's also such an act of selfishness. There are birds nesting on the ground, animals have tiny babies that do not need a visit from a runaround domestic animal and some people are just afraid of dogs. This "Me first!" society we live in makes keeping animals difficult, at times. Take our dear sheep for example. Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My spend their days wandering around their own place, minding their own business. All it takes is one loose dog and all hell would break loose. If our sheep were kept in their paddock, they would be better protected from outside danger. The problem is that they would be so bored that the whole village would know about it. So we take a huge risk by being a happy go lightly gang, but they only wander about when we are at home.

I find it fascinating, when people tell me how well behaved dogs they have, always obeying orders and never having to be on a lead. Mr. Chip takes one look at something fun and he's off. No amount of calling or begging would get him to stop if he's mid-chase. This is because he is an animal and acts on instinct. This is also why he stays on a lead when we are out walking. At home he can meander along in the yard all on his own as that is his right to do. We keep him on a lead if we have children visiting, though, as you never know how those types of meetings will work out. By keeping Mr. Chip on a lead we can help him with the meeting as much as it is out of politeness towards our little visitors. Even a fox terrier can seem big if you are two years old and our sheep must look like bison.... At least our bison know to keep a distance.

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

I know that I'm entering really dangerous grounds here, talking about people's cats. Cat owners seem to have their own set of claws, when cornered about their pets. As I feel foolhardy, I will still ask "Why do some people insist on keeping cats that they have no time for?" Cats living outside are no pets, they are bird-killing machines that also like other baby animals if they can catch them.  Cats need to eat fat in order to survive; it's a known fact. Why some people still believe that a roaming cat is a happy one, is beyond me. I'm sure they would love a warm home like everyone else. I know of cats that are supervising a garden center successfully. I also know cats that are running a very popular B&B, with the help of a dog, I might add. This is the way cats should live, not left to their own devices, left completely without a safety net. (I mean that cats should have homes, not that they need their own business, although that would be fun). Our cat, Hobie came to us straight from the forest, feeling ill and thin as a rake. When he felt better he went in and out as he pleased, but not once did he run away back to the forest. Hobie loved his house, his minions and his own dog to tease. Not to mention his own food bowl.... And he loved to sit and watch TV, in the evenings. So I do believe cats to be as important family members as dogs, deserving the same loving homes. Cats are just a bit scary....

I just read in the news that dog kindergartens are popping up here and there. It's a funny old world we live in, to say the least.

They tell us that cats have better memories than dogs. Apparently a dog's memory lasts no more than 5 minutes as cat's can remember things for up to 16 hours. And a Goldfish can live up to 40 years. The last bit of information was thrown in just to confuse us all, a bit. 

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 1st May. 

Tiny Visitors

This week’s blog comes with a health warning. If you harbor a severe dislike to tiny, itchy creatures, start scratching now.

A week has passed, a week without the company of my dear husbands. It's good to take a break now and again and this time family and friends met in Cyprus. This sent Mr. Chip into a tailspin and our dog glued himself to me for the duration of the holiday. I have literally not been alone, this week. Mr. Chip also realised that if you sleep on top of somebody, that particular somebody can't vanish into thin air, without you noticing it. So I'm a bit flatter now.... Dear husband got back today and our dog can relax again.

We had the vet out to check on the sheep this week. Mandy has bled a few times from the rear end (I'm being discreet) so we thought it would be good for her to see a doctor. Our vet thought it had to do with spring and stuff and not to worry. Then she made the mistake of commenting that some cows bleed a bit after their weeks of being in season. Mandy turned around and gave the poor lady such a stern look that she started apologising. Mandy does not take kindly to being compared to a cow. Now we know... We took poo samples and there was no need to deworm and that was good. Then I showed a spot on My, where she's been itching and no problem was found there, either. All in all they seemed like happy, slightly round animals. As we live in the middle of nowhere, small, itchy spots should not be a problem.

Two days later, however, I found chewing lice on our poor sheep. They are tiny, active creatures that make the life of a sheep very uncomfortable. So for the rest of the week I have been hunting lice eggs and killed as many of the small blighters I have been able to find. The big question is how they got there, as our animals have not met any other sheep for two years. This little louse moves from sheep to sheep, not via someone else. We will get help next week, as the "medication" in question was sold out, at the vets. We still need to identify our visitors so the stuff we use is the right one.

Calling around to see if anyone else has this problem only resulted in everyone starting to feel itchy. Some ideas about how to get rid of them were put to us, while they were scratching behind their ears. Saunas were mentioned and home made sheep dips. But more as jokes, I hope...

While I've been hunting small game, an idea for a children's book came my way. Would it not be fun to write a story about a happy community of lice? Adventures and events in their life, accompanied by funny, sweet pictures. Children would love it and it would test the mental strength of the reader. How long before you break down and start scratching... As I'm too busy with our tiny visitors I'm happy to see someone else take this idea and run with it. I promise to buy a copy of the book when it's finished as I'm starting to get immune to lice and bugs. It also gives me a whole new meaning to the expression "A big knitathon"...... If you meet a group of lice out running.... Hens do not share their tiny visitors with the sheep and vice versa so at least that's one less thing to worry about.

Spring is here and I get to call for our sheep in the afternoon, again, as they have restarted their life as nomads. It's the most wonderful feel when you call for our friends and you get an answer and there they are, Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My; four happy explorers, lice and all. How we got on with that problem will be a tale for another time. Until then, I will sit and go through their wool and think of more book ideas. It does make me feel like a little monkey, though, all this grooming...

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

Monkeys apparently pick specs of dry skin and salt from each other. They very seldom suffer from any kind of lice and knits. I hope they know how lucky they are on that front.

P.s. We got the medication needed and four polite sheep stood in a row while my dear husband squirted the liquid on a spot between their shoulder blades. My job was to make the parting in the thick wool and to actually find a spot for medicating. Not an easy task with our polar bear lookalikes. Now all we can do is hope it does the trick and the itching stops. I did clear out all the bedding and hay from the stable, just in case someone was setting up home in the corners. It's been a tough week for tiny visitors, around here. At least the sheep are calmer and I have time to do something else than pick knits. My eyes are sore from all the squinting...

You can stop scratching now, it does not help!

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 24th April. 

Walking makes you think.

The snow finally carried us for a few mornings, in late March, and Mr. Chip got his favourite walks. We are so happy for him and now I got my pinkish suntan. Our lovely dog found enough hare droppings to keep him going for days but still wanted his lunch and dinner. We could have rolled him out in the evening but apparently it's very important to eat a varied diet. Or so we were told. It's mostly bark and dry grass in hare droppings, I guess.

Walking up and down on fields got me thinking about animals in general. Mr. Chip would not venture out on these walks alone. He wants company and reassurance that all is well. He turns and checks that he is on the lead and that his team knows to follow him. Mr. Chip is getting older but non-the-wiser. If a hare appeared in front of him he would shoot off and there would be no stopping him. Because of his slightly wobbly leg we try to avoid this, so he stays on a lead. He is a nice looking dog, though, when he does his dangerous climbing up and down the wide ditches dividing the fields. I'm sure in his mind they are huge crevasses and he is a mountain climber. I'm holding on to the safety rope and celebrating with him when he makes it back. Lots of fun and it does a world of good to both of us.

The point I was trying to make was that without our help, Mr. Chip would not enjoy these walks as much as he does. Interacting, playing and cheering are part of an animal’s day, as much as it is for humans. Rest, snuggling up with a good book and food are also on our dogs top ten list.

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

Our four sheep make me wonder about this, quite a lot. A sheep is an animal you see scattered around fields, next to busy roads, munching away. In some countries sheep stay out all year around and even survive floods and other catastrophes. They seem to be a happy bunch and that's that, really. Then you meet our lot; four so different characters that you never cease to wonder about them. They are funny, they have moments of pondering (mostly Molly after she has eaten some hen food, so there might be tummy ache involved in that...) and they have the need to interact, in the same way as a dog does. This fact took me by surprise, I must confess. I never thought sheep would be such social animals. I imagined them to be more of a group of happy, woolly friends that would hang out with me, occasionally. It seems I was wrong.

At first I thought they wanted more dry bread or something but soon learned that it's affection that they seek. So that has started me thinking about animal behaviour in general. Have I triggered the need in them, to be noticed, somehow, or do all sheep need this kind of attention? Do a lot of sheep out in the countryside break out of pens and fences just to come and say "Hello", to someone? Are people who tell me that sheep are boring really the problem themselves, for keeping sheep in a boring way? This is a conundrum for me now and I will carry on pondering about this. (My world is not that big...).

It is the same with the hens. We treat them all kindly, I feed them the same food and they all get to do the same outings. Still some hens are grumpy, some really kind and some get picked on until I step in to sort it out. This for example resulted in Darya transforming from henpecked to a blossoming, happy hen. Lina is now gaining weight and being a feisty hen, again. Monty turned possessive and forced poor Eric to move house. (I know its territorial and all that but I still feel hurt by that one. There was no need to fight; we could all have plodded along happily around here). With hens I think the stress factor has a lot to answer for. Hens that are bred just to produce eggs tend to be a harder breed altogether and more prone to picking on each other. Our lot are more mellow as they get to do what they feel like, mostly. We don't feed them outside but they come up to greet us when we meet on the road. Some like to sit on my arm, the view is better from higher up, and Lina always has a kind word for people she meets. I believe hens need interacting, too. Even the squirrels have started to greet me, in the mornings. They climb down the tree, not up, at breakfast time. That feels nice, although I still worry about the fact that there are so many of them. I will carry on wondering and pondering about our friends and enjoy the fact that the spring sun has started to warm us all, a bit. Small steps, on all fronts...

The cockerel is linked with solar energy - a symbol of dawn, illumination and the sun, in Celtic and Nordic myth. So when Monty really gets going, early in the morning, I will try to feel the mythical side of it all. I will try, at least.

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 17th April. 

Erik moved house

Eric has left the building!

On Easter Monday Eric moved to his new home, about an hours drive from our place. Two very surprised hens moved as well and although it was a bit unfair to uproot them, it felt the right thing to do. Our young cockerel would never have settled down alone in a new, still empty henhouse and our hens take things in their stride. They turn three years old this spring so they know a thing or two about life. We also knew by now that Eric would not be happy with us anymore, as every time he made a louder noise or approached a hen, Monty came screaming around the corner. Not a nice way to live! On Sunday night Eric crashed into the back of my head, trying to land next to a hen, sitting on my shoulder. He felt that at least there he would be safe to flirt with a hen without Monty interfering. He missed the landing and it felt like being hit by a football with claws. We were all slightly startled by that attempt.

Moving day was a bit of an ordeal as an hour before our friends were to arrive to collect them, all our hens decided to start laying eggs. This meant a lot of shuffling about, deciding where to make a temporary nest, a lot of calling for the cockerels and just general mayhem. Eric started going a hundred and ten around the place as Darya the hen was occupied elsewhere and could not hang out with him. Our lovely sheep just stared and I think they did some packing of their own.

It's interesting to watch when people who really know animals and work daily in an environment where animals are loved, enter our little stable. Monty is usually the first to start flying around when visitors arrive. This time he just stood watching Eric and left the creating of a chaotic situation to him. The real difference is with our four sheep. They are shy and weary of new people but now they just took a collective step forward and asked how everyone was doing this noise filled afternoon. The youngest lady of the party almost left for home with our sheep, instead of hens and a cockerel. It's easy when you know how....

After the first few slightly miserable attempts to catch dear Eric we managed and off they drove to their new life. The stable became so quiet; you could hear a feather drop to the floor. I just let all the animals outside for a while and they wondered around looking for their friends. Pippi, Eric's mother looked everywhere but soon started pecking away as usual. She stopped spending time with her son a few weeks ago, when all the fighting began between the cockerels. Maybe that was Eric growing up, leaving home, so to speak?

A few hours later the phone rang and our friends told us about happy hens and how well everyone had settled in. They did not need to tell me about Eric (they did anyway as they are kind people) but I could hear him in the background. He was telling all and everyone that he had arrived, nattering away about his new home, the food and all he could see through the window. Hens close by and new friends, Eric was a happy-chappy and an adventure had begun for them in a beautiful, new home.

Darya slept in her normal place, that night, no Eric to keep her company but her dear sheep around her. It will take a few days and then Monty will be back there with her, like it used to be. Spring is here and our first new neighbours have arrived from warmer countries. Doves cooing in the trees and we are knee deep in slightly thin looking blackbirds. Two very surprised geese are on the field, clearly feeling they arrived at the party a bit too early. We feed all and everyone and welcome them back.

Credit: Dasha Dimitrova

Migrating birds use the sun, stars and landmarks, to name a few factors, to help their navigation. The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), fly over the Himalayan Mountains in eight hours, on their way from Mongolia to India. They fly during the night, all on their own muscle strength with no Sherpas to help out. I find that to be an impressive achievement.

There is still some snow to melt away on the lawns, but a happy summertime to you all. It seems that we made it through another winter so well done, all of us.

Text by Nina

Next blog post on the 10th April.