Newyddion Banc Olive

This post is mainly stuff Bridget could be posting herself, but her computer's not working and I don't have much news of my own at the moment, so...

Bridget has had lots and lots of chicks this summer -- this one is a Sablepoot. If I remember correctly, there are four of them, and they are tiny -- this one is already three weeks old!

These are Light Sussex chicks from my hens (but sadly not my cockerel as he proved to be infertile and then later got eaten by a fox...)

The ducklings are still doing well and growing much more rapidly than chicks do:

And finally some photos of my own -- these were taken at 6 am the other morning on my way up to Cilwr:

Hwlffordd

Sorry, no pictures this week. Just to let you all know, I will be at Haverfordwest Farmers Market this coming Friday, 10th July, representing Cothi Valley Goats, so if you are in the area, pop down and say hello!

Hwyaid eto

The good news is, the ducklings are all growing rapidly and are all doing very well. The sad news is, Del died last Sunday. Of what, we don't know...

Hwyaid!

Lookit -- Del had little ducklings! This was actually the other week, so they are older now, but these pictures were taken the day after they hatched -- so cute!!! And swimming already!

In other news, Angela brought me back this lovely looking flour from Worksop -- can't wait to make bread with it!

I know I have been bad about posting regularly, but I am going to try to post something every Sunday -- perhaps if I have a bit of structure it will help...

Egni/Carbon/ac ati...

Here's a question for all you number crunchers out there:

Say you're designing the heating/hot water/cooking system for a small 1 bedroom house, not a new build. Which of the following is the most efficient/has smallest carbon emissions?

1. Heat (and hot water in winter) provided by wood burner with back boiler connected to hot water cylinder & radiators. Hot water in summer provided by solar thermal panels, backed up by an electric immersion heater powered by either PV panels or wind turbine backed up by connection to green electricity supplier. Cooking to be done on electric cooker.

2. Heat provided by wood burner in lounge & wood burning Rayburn in kitchen/diner. Hot water provided by back boiler on Rayburn. Cooking to be done on Rayburn. Either PV panels or wind turbine to provide for electricity needs (lighting, etc.)

3. Is there something else out there that I haven't thought of yet?

All answers greatly welcomed...

Banc Olive

Tuesday night I stayed up at Banc Olive and looked after Bridget's animals -- it was a lovely night, one night after the new moon.

Recognise these?

Thomas the calf, less than 24 hours old:

And, of course, Jessica engaging in her favourite activity -- bottle-feeding little April!

Bara Saffrwm

Angela brought me back this beautiful (and delicious) saffron loaf from Cornwall -- it reminded me a bit of a sweet Rosh Hashanah challah, but according to Jane Grigson's recipie, it doesn't contain eggs -- all that lovely colour just comes from the saffron!

Speaking of food, I just finished reading a really scary book called The Death of Grass by John Christopher. I originally caught part of this a couple of months ago when it was dramatised for Radio 4, and I would highly reccomend it. It was written in 1956, and either John Christopher just has a vivid imagination or else he's psychic -- it's uncannily relevant right now.