How many pairs of wellies?

Derek the fire-god...

We had visitors this weekend and managed to get lots done -- Derek and Andrew brought their chainsaws and Peter and James helped us make a bonfire.

The chives have woken up from their winter nap. Is it too early to call this the first sign of spring?

The poultry dispatcher has finally arrived, so we will be saying goodbye to Polly and Little Boy this weekend... :(

We sort of had a bit of snow the other day (not really...)

Finally burning (sort of...)

More hedgelaying...

Greg trying to get a fire going, with some very wet, green wood...

Hedgelaying (or, in Welsh, Plyguclawdd)

Was talking to Rachel last night and she said it was difficult to understand the whole hedgelaying thing from my photos -- so please go have a look at the National Hedgelaying Society web site --they have very good photos and a very good explanation of what hedgelaying is and how it works.

One of the drawbacks of hedgelaying is that there is all of this wood that we've taken out of the hedge that we now need to sort through and cut up into...

...the small twiggy bits to be burnt on a bonfire now as soon as it stops raining...

...and the useful firewood...

Lovely blackberries from the autumn's abundance in my oatmeal makes the bleak winter taste much better... :)

We finally had some snow yesterday -- only a dusting really -- and then it turned to rain in the middle of the night, so by this morning everything was melted -- but this is what it looked like here around 4 pm yesterday...

The day before Christmas, Bart from across the road came by and handed me ANOTHER pheasant!

It is SO cold that the water in the toilet in the porch has frozen...

Oh no -- there's another cat! :)

The pepper harvest in its final form: Spicy Roasted Pepper Pesto!

This is K having a go at the bones from the pheasant after I pulled all the meat off them -- a treat for the whole family! :)

Yum! Pheasant!

And ready for cooking... Just like you get in the supermarket -- NOT!

We opted for peeling the skin off rather than plucking out all the feathers as I am going to casserole it rather than roast it.

Removing the feet.

Removing the wings.

Time to prepare the pheasant for cooking...

The final pepper harvest. Sometime this week these will all be made into roasted pepper pesto...

Stripey pepper!

Never mind fairy lights and flashing Santas -- look what I have growing in my yard -- for free!

More free food -- some guys showed up in a Land Rover and gave me this pheasant! It's currently hanging in the porch and I'm looking forward to eating it this weekend...

Latest knitting work-in-progress...

At long last, have FINALLY finished the cardigan I have been knitting since February! Now I have something to keep me warm on the chilly winter nights... :)

This is Gareth who is teaching us hedging...

So in the foreground is part of the hedge we laid today -- before we started, it looked roughly like the trees you see behind it on the right...

The egg on the left is from our hens, and the one on the right is from free-range organic supermarket eggs -- can you see the difference?

Cockerel Crowing

Sorry there's no photo of this, but it's an auditory experience -- this morning, as I was putting on my boots to go outside, I heard an odd crowing sound -- not our big cockerel...but our baby cockerel -- he's all grown up now! :)

Our House

So we have finally submitted our planning application for the work we want to do on the house. Barring any unforeseen complications, it should all begin in the spring...

So the baby chicks were nine weeks old yesterday and I think I have finally decided what sex they are -- we have one of each!

...cockerel...

...hen... If anybody out there knows any better, please let me know!

So the outside tap is now wrapped up snug as a bug -- hopefully this will prevent it freezing tonight as it is supposed to get COLD!

Finally harvested most of the sweet peppers from the porch. This photo is the "before"...

...ac ar ol...and after...

Roedd hi'n oer iawn y bore ma.
It was very cold this morning. We had our first frost! I went out to feed the chickens and not only was the top of their water frozen, but the tap in the field was frozen as well! :( Need to find my gloves...

Gwnes i frecwast fawr y bore ma. Mae wyau yn prin nawr!
I had a big breakfast this morning. Eggs are rare now!

More leaks -- this is water coming down the wall in the porch...

Was supposed to have gone to the WI meeting this evening to hear Derek Moore on Wildlife and Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but have just had a call saying that the meeting has been cancelled due to flooding. This is the water coming under the gate at the bottom of the field -- and as you can see, the water is coming over the bottom bar... Apparently there is flooding at the bottom of the Talley road and the police are only letting people with essential business through...

We have an interesting leak above one of the windows in the lounge...

...which is conveniently dripping into the baby spider plants directly underneath it -- automatic watering system! :)

Egg production has dropped off dramatically, and the ones we are getting (we are averaging about five eggs a week or so) are decidedly odd looking...

And yet more seeds that I have to roast tomorrow, but it is late so am off to bed now...

This is what happens when you try to roast the seeds from the insides of 18 pumpkins!

Saturday night we went to a Halloween party -- Calan Gaeaf in Welsh -- and I was a black cat -- cath ddu.

Eggs, or lack thereof...

No eggs today! I think this is the first day, since mid-June when we got the chickens, that there haven't been any eggs... :( What am I going to eat???