What a sight to enjoy from the kitchen window on a bright morning at the end of August.
Our lavender muscovy ducks perched on the pergola overnight and have not yet come down to feed.
Would you on a morning as beautiful as this?
Anyone living the good life or having a desire to do so, will understand… I’m sure!
We had a long standing arrangement with a fellow poultry keeper, that we would take her two Egyptian Fayoumi ladies and treat them like queens. Well, the appointed day arrived and the Egyptian ladies left their Raheny home for life in the country. It was lovely to meet Margaret again and her family. While we chatted I expressed a desire to find a cockerel for the ladies and of course, Margaret pointed me in the direction….
As we were some distance from home and the cockerel was close by, we decided to look him up and hopefully settle all the birds in together when we got home later that evening.
Not only did we find a lovely cockerel befitting our ladies but we also brought home a nubian goat to begin our goat herd.
We drove home in absolute delight but considered ourselves certifiable, to have impulsively purchased a goat when we only went looking for a cockerel… henceforth, referred to as our ‘Nile Valley Collection’
The Egyptian Fayoumis were put to bed in the hen house with all our juvenile birds – to ensure no squabbling, but there was no home ready for our impulsively purchased nubian.
As we’ve finished breeding for this year, all our chicken pens are open and all the fowl are free to range wherever they desire. Osiris, as our nubian was christened, was placed in a now open chicken pen, with the gate once again securely closed for just one night. He didn’t wait, but just jumped clear over the 4.5 foot chainlink fencing from one pen to the next… to freedom and was happily resting by the bottom ditch among the larger fowl when morning came.
After all the trauma of being transported rather unceremoniously and being locked in a chicken pen, he remains friendly, and will eat from our hands. He will make a beautiful daddy next year. In the meantime he has become a constant companion to our Shetland pony
Our Egyptian Fayoumi ladies and gent are settled in as if they have always lived here. They have established themselves at the top of the pecking order with all the juvenile birds. Bubble & Squeek (the ladies) parade as a unit in search of autumnal feasting and occasionally peck the more daring younger birds into proper order!!
We are immersed in the fruits of the harvest at the moment. We’ve been digging our potatoes since the beginning of August, but the joy of sitting down to a meal with knowledge of it’s origins does not wane.
It’s a special joy to share the bounty with guests and enjoy their pleasure as they consume the meal, knowing that the potatoes were growing just an hour before being eaten.
Lifting the lid on the saucepan and watching the steam waft upwards, always seem to bring a smile to our own and our guests faces.
These potatoes are growing in a patch of ground that had been used for many years to dump hedge and grass clippings – the most difficult type of waste to decompose. The heap accidentally caught fire in dry weather a few years ago and although we quenched the flame it continued to burn slowly under ground for almost a week, I assume the path of the branches and twigs allowed a restricted flow of oxygen to reach the fire core.
With the addition of high nitrogen compost from the hen-house, combined with potash from the ‘charcoal like’ slow burn of the fire, the ground is very fertile, the earth is really friable, easy to manage and very productive.
It appears we may have to dig deeper this winter to pay the feed-bill for our chickens.
Following the worst drought conditions in 130 years in Russia they have banned the export of wheat from the end of this week until 2011 and it appears that Canada’s wheat yield may be down 17% on last years.
This will have a knock on effect on all foodstuff.
The fruit trees are producing in unprecedented abundance this year. 
This plum tree for example, has changed its shape, to become pendulous with the weight of its fruit. Branches that reached outwards in spring are now being supported with lengths of 3 x 2 timber to keep the fruit off the ground.
The trees have been nourished with a rich compost at their roots, from a mixture of hen-house sweepings and garden / household waste. The presence of bees from our hives has made a huge improvement on pollination this spring. 
One could be forgiven for mistaking the bunch of plums on the right for grapes.
It is going to be such a tangle to cover these trees with strawberry netting! We encourage birds in the garden at most times of the year – but please leave our soft fruit for us!!
There will be a busy day of jam-making very shortly.
Equally, the apple trees are producing like never before… unfortunately some of the smaller branches are beginning to snap with the weight of the fruit.
This is such a wonderful time of the year. It’s no wonder we celebrate harvest.
There will be lots of apple jellies and jams, I hope we’ve collected enough glass jars… 
