TonTon and I spent a good part of the afternoon going over all the animals and making lists as to what needs to be done and taking stock.
Queenie is in Pat’s Paddock with Hairy and there is enough feed in there to keep them going though they need a new mineral block.
Minty and Meadow are in the Potato Paddock with Mama right down the back where the lambs cannot find her. Look at that lovely round belly.
Charlotte is as happy as a pig in mud. The Shush Sisters get their new gate this weekend (John makes all the gates out of old scaffolding pipe I found) so we can start our extended walks again soon.
TonTon jumps every gate. You can barely see Blue the Mouth in the background, he always goes as far as the yards, then waits there. He is still very careful not to get too close to any of the large animals.
And look at this naughty Murphy. He and the others are in Daisy’s paddock. (Daisy grazes the Dairy Mistress field now) This is going to be a very short season for good grass, so the fatteners are already on their fattening programme. This little Murphy is taking getting fat very seriously and goes under the wire at least three or four times a day, grazing the outside, then pops back in to visit the others. Ton spends a lot of time out there with him, just watching.
He often keeps an eye on things from the water trough.
BlueMouth is very helpful when I am picking the asparagus – twice a day. I pick it into little white tubs which I sit at the end of each row, on the way back I collect all these tubs into my washing basket. Usually Blue will lay with Ton, (no dog is allowed in the asparagus beds) but yesterday I found that he had hunted one of the little white tubs and was running off with the asparagus spears one by one.
Good morning. Word of mouth is selling all the asparagus I can pick so far. Soon it will flush – then I will load up the green truck and sell it at the little farmers market in town.
Both the bee hives are behaving normally, the peach blossoms and the pear blossoms and the dandelions are being harvested for nectar and pollen so I think Cleopatra and Nefertiti are cracking the whip in their respective hives.
There is another hold up on the roof. I am perfecting my deep breathing. There is nothing I can do that would hurry the process up so I am trying to be good. It will all be done in it’s own time . There is no point getting my knickers in a twist about it.
There is rain in the forecast too. But we will see. Today I am going to take some more shots for you of the new baby kittens. No-one can feel frustrated around new kittens!
You all have a lovely day.
your friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
58 responses to “Walkabout with TonTon”
good morning miss c. happy to hear that the bees are doing fine. i seem to be getting your email updates 4 times.. what did i do? can i undo it?
I got it twice, Cat, so I expect it’s a WordPress issue, not anything we or C did.
ah, ok =)
yikes multiple posts, how dreadful, i cannot imagine why, i hope they sort that out soon, I don’t want to become a pest!.. morning cat, morning marie.. c
Yay! I love it when we get a walkabout! And hurrah for the asparagus. Ours appears to be throwing in the towel for the season, if you can believe it. I need to plant more. I want to be buried in asparagus every spring.
Uh-oh…you’ll want to nip that behavior in the bud, or he’ll be stealing things out of the garden, like my Late, Lamented Chloe did…Never heard of a dog that dug up carrots on her own before that, but I’ve learned of others since.
Happy Sunny day to you and the Farmy!
Yes he was growled and tied to the fence. TonTon and I have decided to try and sneak out to do the picking at nap time.. you know a thing or two about that i think!! morning.. c
Thank you for the delightful tour (I too got it twice!) lovely to see more ot Tonton – he’s had a bit of a back seat lately. Rather him than me in the water-trough!
Vx
He sits in the trough and kind of sways with the current, I think he may be wagging his tail slowly in there.. water dogs!! c
I wouldn’t mind getting it twice..once is never enough ..so I always read it twice.. Nefertiti! What a name for a bee Cleo was Queen of Egypt but where was Nerfetiti Queen of….anyway…lovely to hear things are jogging along..please don’t get knickers in twist..most uncomfortable and then you’ll only fall over and hurt your back all over again.. Bluemouth eats asparagus..maybe he is a veggie…. Oh you are having such fun over there…going to the Farmer’s Market as well..you really do live the ‘high life’.
Makes my life seem so dull!
at least with the farmers market it will only be when the asparagus is running and only if I have a crop that exceeds demand! c
That Blue is something else!!! Just love his pic with the asparagus! This is the first year we are getting asparagus, which I’ve never grown in my life. Very exciting! Not nearly enough though, so we have put in more to double the harvest next year. Will the Shush Sisters follow you around and not run off? I’m pretty sure our big girls wouldn’t stick with us. The piglets are adorable now. You can rub their bellies and they’ll roll over and beg for more!!! xo
I walk them inside the fields, hence the gate, however they do pretty much go home with me when i do, but sometimes charlotte lags a bit, sheila sticks pretty close though.. I am not sure I am brave enough to trust them in the open fields quite yet.. c
I enjoyed the tour this morning! Have a great day Celi!
Morning missie!.. c
Blue is one posh dog eating asparagus tips! Ton Ton looks thoroughly happy in every shot. No wonder he needs to cool down in the water trough after jumping all the gates!
Christine
he has been trained to wait for me to go through a gate first, so i open the gate, walk through and as I am closing it he jumps it, sigh. at least he is still minding his manners.. c
Aw – life on the farmy continues at its own pace, sure enough. Lovely to see the dogs.
A wise cab driver once said, if there’s nothing you can do about it – do nothing. Very Zen.
I love taxi drivers, and what an incredibly simple philosophy.. works for me! c
Great that normal bee hive-iour is being settled down to.
Now to see the thumbikitties.
They are growing so fast you won’t recognise them, though i will have to find them as she has shifted them again! c
By the time you catch up with them they will be fistikits!
Too funny! kittens grow fast, i had forgotton! c
A wonderful day! Well, OK, except for the asparagus hound and the roof, maybe. 😉
morning Lynda, I have always said that the good thing about days is that, if you are lucky, you get to start a new one every morning. I was lucky this morning! so were you!! c
A very good thought indeed. Thank you, Celi!
Have a fab day Lynda, are you packing?.. c
Yes, and sorting too! (stuff to get rid of or sell)
I have been lurking here at your blog for a while, and enjoying it immensely. I found your link at Trapper Creek. (I know you’re good friends with MOH; I see your comments there frequently. I’ve learned so much from her.) Thank you for sharing your day-to-day life with us. It is wonderfully educating, not to mention entertaining. I can’t wait to see how the addition comes together! I just thought since I’m here every day, I should say hello.
Barb! lovely to read your comment, and HELLO!!! c
That photo of Ton jumping the gate made me smile. I don’t know if I ever told you this but sometimes in England we go to see the dog trials. The dogs are amazing but have these crazed, four-whites eyes. We lovingly call them Mad Dogs, and I’m afraid it sticks to any and every border collie we see. (And the photo of him stalking from the water trough cements it!) Love it. 🙂 If we ever get another dog – principally when we decide where we’re going to live when we grow up – it’s going to be a mad dog. 🙂
Oh i know that look! From now on I shall call it the mad dog look too! morning veronica! c
Look how Blue has grown! Does Ton ever bonk his head jumping through the gate rails? He is a remarkable dog.
When i was first teaching him to jump over the gates, he smashed right into a rail and bit his tongue, there was blood coming out of his mouth, I felt just terrible, but that is the only time it happened, thankfully he was not scarred for life!! morning sweetie!.. c
Celi, those TonTon and Blue shots are great. To catch them in action. You know how very much I am enjoying my visit to your farm today.
Ton in the water gave me a shiver and a big smile ! He has such a wonderful
attitude and a great home to express it ! He is Top dog ! Blue is the comedian
who I think will be spending time in “time out” !! Lovely walk about today.
Have fun today !