Gardening with Peg

l love this duck. This is Peg, the Duck with 9 lives. So far she has used up two so hopefully has many more to go yet. Her first near death encounter was when she was only a few weeks old. She had her entire wing nipped off by a grumpy goose. Amazingly she survived the trauma and gets around quite happily with one wing and one stump!

Her second was a close encounter with a Quoll who killed a goose and severely mauled poor old Peg. Again , despite her injuries she battled on and lived to tell the tale.

She is a bit of a funny girl. No one particularly likes her  ( as in the other ducks and geese) and she doesn't particularly LIKE anyone either!.......except me when l have a spade in my hand..................then she LOVES me!

Worms, worms, worms....................

Every spade turn uncovers more!!

l have to be really quite careful where l put it!!

Terribly exciting!

But she does get a little annoying and slows my digging time down considerably!

Uh-oh.........here come the geese!!

Then after 'our' hard work we finish off with an impromptu shower bath! Peg doesn't swim (probably due to only having one wing) so she bathes in shallow water or when she gets lucky.......has a hose bath which she loves! 

Happy Peg.

l love to see it.....

Potted Colour

A beautiful Mid Winters Morning this morning. Cold but sunny. Just perfect..

A perfect day in fact for planting up some Lupin and Pentstemon seedlings in readiness for Spring.

Not a bad spot under the huge old Walnut Tree! Using my pallets of bricks as a potting bench l was well away!

All very colourful!

Done in no time. Then into the wheelbarrow and off to the Potager Garden to grow a bit more before they go direct into the flower beds.

Pretty!

l also indulged myself yesterday with two rather glorious  bare rooted Japanese Maples which l somehow managed to squeeeeeeeeeeeze into the garden.. They can be a bit temperamental in the hot winds so have been carefully placed in as sheltered spots as we can find to help prevent their leaves from burning. Fingers crossed they will do well....

Once the path is down it should all look fabulous!!!

This one is tall regimented and important.....................

Whilst this one is all willowy, wavy and bendy!

Roll on Spring! Can't wait!

 

Cold Cold Cold!!!

A hugely freezing couple of days! Snow, sleet, rain, wind , hail.......you name it we have had it! The sheep and all their baby lambs haven't left the barn for two days. It's like a kiddies nursery in there! You step through the gate and you are bombarded with leaping  and frolicking lambs everywhere! Of course, they get lost......end up on the wrong side of the fence, the gate, the rails.............they bleat and the Mums go crazy trying to find them! All very noisy too!

Little Girls last two have had it pretty tough  being so cold with the little boy VERY touch and go there for a day and night. We actually didn't think he was even going to survive. Very cold and quickly became too weak to feed then the vicious cycle begins. Some force fed supplement milk and a few blankets at night miraculously fixed him and although he is tiny and still very wobbly he is now in amongst the rest of the gang teetering around!

THE most protective of Mothers!

Bookends! 

Waiting for dinner??

Fingers crossed the weather picks up soon!

 

 

Happy Boy

l love watching this pony play. Maxie has Laminitis and last year foundered quite badly. (This means the main bone in his hoof started to drop down towards the soul of his foot). Worse case scenario for this is that they simply have to be put down. It will never go away. He will always have it. Grass is the killer. Believe it or not. Too much rich grass, too many sugars in these little hardy native breeds is their downfall. It's difficult juggling a horse with ENORMOUS food requirements and a pony whose needs are practically zilch. Hence Maxie spends most of his time locked in a bare yard  ( a very big yard ) with no grass. Sad, but the only way to manage what he has. In the middle of Winter and possibly in the middle of Summer when the grass has no growth (and hence no sugars) Maxie can spend whole days out with his mate. He has been out for several weeks now and is going great guns. We DO have to watch he doesn't get too fat though.

It's always a worry to think he might show signs of being sore.......

So every time he carries on like this, galloping around and loving life...........

l am happy.....

And so is he!

Last Ones

Little Girl had her lambs this afternoon. Very quickly and (as usual for her) very quietly. She always lambs last and is overly protective of her babies for a very long time!

l must have missed the birth by seconds !

But am very happy l wasn't needed!!

A slightly meconium stained little boy............

Not at the most attractive stage!

And a very sweet little girl.......

Getting the once over.

Up and standing within 20 minutes. It never ceases to amaze me...

While these two looked on in total fascination!

And l am sooooooooooo glad it's all over! Yay!!!

First Daffodils!

The lamb families are coming along in leaps and bounds. Even Lala's teeny tiny little boy with the brown legs is getting bigger and stronger (well....not MUCH bigger!)

The little breech baby is a huge big loose coated white blob!! He sleeps in the most peculiar way! Like he is dead! Both of us have come across him at different times and both of us has thought he has died. But in fact he is fast fast asleep! l must try and get a photo of what a lamb pretending to be dead looks like as opposed to a lamb who is simply asleep! There is a definite difference!

And like l said..............he still has to fit into his skin!

Louise and little LJ.................

l think little LJ was deliberately mimicking her Mummy here!

Just like these two in fact! Senny and one of her daughters.........must have been the day for it!

The rest of the day (when l WASN'T taking photos of lambs and chickens ) was spent digging out and transplanting foxgloves, lambs ears ,daffodil bulbs and Valerian.  

Now l just have to get some Lupins and Delphiniums started!

Nothing much to look at now but they will boom!

Can't wait till Spring!!