Whats going on ‘ere then? ANOTHER Ginger Tom?
Yesterday I walked into the little feed store. Do you want a cat, she said. Well actually I want some Oats and rolled Barley, but you can throw in the cat if you like, I said. The cat was found on one of those terribly hot days worn out and with blistered feet lying exhausted in a field close to her shop. Another summer abandonment I suppose.
So the barn has a new member. He is a bigger cat. Orange and white. Super friendly. We shall see if he decides to stay. He loves dogs and already has a fast friend in Boo. Once we know he will stay I think we will be needing another name. Soon.
A rare sighting of Chickpea and his Mum.
I decided not to make relish yesterday and instead to experiment with making pickled zuchinni. Though the cucumbers are growing it seems to me I should be able to pickle zuchinni as well. We will try these in a few days and see what they are like. I have made them as little discs as well. Every morning I put some kind of food in jars or in the freezer. But I only do small amounts at a time. All our plantings are staggered to fit this kind of routine. And this way the preserves themselves are a little different from day to day and we get winter surprises. But most of all I want to enjoy my preserving. It should not be a terrible chore that takes all day and leaves me in a sticky bad tempered mess.
Yesterday was zuchinni and beetroot. Today will be beetroot, beans and peach jam. The corn is only a day or two away so I will be doing corn every which way for a while.
I was preparing our dinner of roast home-grown beef and new potatoes, cleaning piles of greens from the garden when I looked out the kitchen window to see this!
Yes, you are right. There should not be piglets running in and out of the legs of the cows. Naughties! They had gone under a fence and were playing hide and seek with Daisy and Queenie. As I climbed through the gate, they squealed with delight and ran back under the fence to their un-bothered mother. Maybe she had told them to go outside and play in the traffic. I have blocked the hole with a concrete block. That will last about 5 minutes!
Good morning. On the last rounds last night I saw Pania roosting. Initially this gave me a fright. But she had called the chickpea up to this wide roost (they can fly quite high those little peachicks) and was actually keeping him warm while balancing on the long 4″x 2″. Clever bird.
Have a lovely day.
your friend on the farm, celi.
The Kitchen's Garden 
66 responses to “‘ullo ‘ullo ‘ullo?”
I’m so glad Queen Charlotte has relaxed a little in the protective mom department…I was afraid someone was going to lose their head! 🙂 Pickled zucchini…who knew? Now I have to try that..C. you are such an inspiration, in so many ways! I did pickled beets too but just the fridge kind…no processing…they are so good! Speaking of dried herbs and things,
we sat outside on the porch yesterday stripping dried oregano off the stems for our yr’s supply and I thought, someone is going to pop over here and think we are cleaning pot! 🙂
That new kitty is so pretty! I hope he decides to stay on the Farmy! Who wouldn’t? 🙂
oh I had better get the oregano drying too! and the sage come to think of it. Doesn’t the summer go fast! c
So glad you gave that sweet kitty boy a new home. I hope he decides to stay. Chickpea is growing so fast as are those piggies. How long before the piglets are considered full grown? Thanks for reminding me I have corn in the fridge…will scrape it off the cob and cook it in the cast iron skillet this eve. Have a great day!
What a lucky day for that sweet cat and it sounds as if he likes your home just fine. As for those piglets…is it my imagination or are you repairing escape routes just about every other day?
yup, just about every other day, at the moment they are being good little piggies and are fast asleep in a full bellied pile in the barn, so they are safe for a sec.. I really need a better pen, and electric fences, but soon they will be too big to get out the holes in this deer fence then things will settle down! c
The peachick–Chickpea adventure is really entertaining. I have never really been around peacocks, although, many of our neighbors have had them off and on.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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It certainly is a learning experience for all of us. fancy putting a chick on a roost at only a few days old! c
Made me laugh. Funny how you didn’t have CAT on your shopping list! This new fella looks like a cutey-pie. Hope he sticks around.
you are surrounded by cuteness.
Pania has turned out to be quite a good mother. Oats, barley and a cat for good measure. What a joy to be able to say “yes” when such an opportunity arises.
Hmm.. I’m thinking of red-headed Harry. After all it’s a rather royal time of year isn’t it, with the new prince being born? Or.. you could name him after the prince, but I hear that can take a full month to announce? Very very strange.. xx
Oooohhh.. how about George:D
This time of year Mom was always busy “putting up the produce for the winter”. The kitchen was always warm and steamy with shallow rubber tub of veggies and jars everywhere. It doesn’t quite feel the same if you buy them at the store does it?
The second picture looks like a choir master and his ladies practicing for Sunday service.
So hope the new cat realizes the farmy is home.
What laughter and joy reading the blog this ‘our’ morning! First of all I would have said ‘ullo, ‘ullo also [sorry Roger, since you surely have the right to be arbiter!]. As far as that handsome cat goes, either animals possess vibes they transmit into the ether of which we are unaware or someone two-legged has dropped him in the neighbourhood knowing you would not say ‘no’. Egoli: interesting name; I am not SO sure about Madiba – He has for decades been one of the people I look up to . . . and just at the present moment . . ? Well, you’ll have lots of hay in the barn, if no precipitation falls from these dark clouds and every time another dozen jars of homegrown produce are finished, it must give you such a blessed feeling 😀 !
good morning =)
seems like you will be/ are the cat lady where you live 😉
i still cant believe how big the piglets got! they just grow so fast.
have a lovely day all of you!
Celi oh Celi, you inspire me beyond belief. EVERYONE should have the glory of having a Celi in their life. I would like to be like Celi when I grow up. V.
WHO would abandon a poor kitty to fend for himself? SOme people…well don’t get me started. You are something…so glad you brought him home! Surely he will stay!
“…most of all I want to enjoy my preserving. It should not be a terrible chore that takes all day and leaves me in a sticky bad tempered mess.”
You are so enlightened. 😀
I like your idea of small batches. You want love and fun sealed up in those jars not frustration and resentment!
Here’s a pickled zucchini recipe to try in case you happen to have more:)
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/23/food/la-fo-calcookrec23c-2008jul23