It rained last night. Rained on my four acres of hay. I showed you the forecast didn’t I. Sun it said. But it rained anyway.(sigh.)
The daisies don’t care. 
DINNER! HERE PIGGIE, PIGGIE, PLONKER!
POPPY! What are YOU doing in there!
You are a naughty naughty girl. You can’t hide from me. I can still see you, you know.
I know, miss c. But they have such tasty food, miss c.
Poppy, the food I feed them makes them Fat. Fat pigs do not live long. Nor do they get to have babies. Now come back out here right this minute. Or I will tell Aunty Sheila.
But we want to play. Can we please play? Just five more minutes. Please?
Well, you can play until dinner time then everyone goes back where they belong. And no argueing. And no chewing on stuff you do not recognise. And no wandering off down to the creek. Ton is in charge. And if TonTon says No, then the answer is No. Don’t make me come back out here! I have writing to do!
Things are falling apart while I am working on the book. Your beautiful book.
I talked to the man at the mill and we organised a fresh feed – 21% protein – for these faster growing chicks. I probably won’t grow them again. They look like shabby crabs. And so delicate. I guess I just like a more interactive breed. These ones fall asleep with their heads in the trough! Many of you have said to take their feed away in the evening. I will. The man at the mill said that the cornish cross will literally eat until their hearts burst. Mercy. They get two feeds a day. That will have to do. I wanted to compare the breeds but I think I am done comparing.
But these really are the most glorious summer days. Not too hot at all this summer. All good. Barring the rain on the hay. Let’s hope that we do not get any more rain. It is worse when you get rain after turning the hay. So we are still in reasonable shape. Thunder storms are forecast for Monday and my hay man does not work on Sunday so it has to be baled Saturday. Today is Thursday (for those of you who cannot remember what day it is) we are cutting it close.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
35 responses to “Had to happen”
Good luck with the hay! Our windrows have been rained on and turned so many times, I am glad it’s only going to be sold for mulch hay. But on the coast the foggy humid mornings do a lot of damage as well. It is always something!
oh mulch hay, how dissappointing.. c
I love those piggies. Morning all! xx
Miss Poppy Houdini is going to miss the Plonkers! Hope the sun comes out to dry the hay. Laura
Boo, for the rained-on hay….we’ll keep our fingers crossed that there’s no more until after it’s baled.
Sure puts our grousing over rained-out fireworks into perspective…
Glad you will not be ordering the cornish cross again. Not a natural process, eating themselves to heart failure. 😦
Perhaps Sheila has been telling Poppy about the joys of getting fat and not having babies… It’s funny how the Plonkers look guilty in that picture, whereas Poppy is wearing a completely innocent expression 😉
Sorry about the rain – never trust a weather person!
You are sounding very sanguine about the hay situation, but how frustrating, lets hope it stays away after you have fluffed it. Those porkers look fit to pop. How much fat do you get on the meat when they come back? I ask as my butcher is obsessed about me not letting them get too fat (12mm is what I should be aiming for) so much so that last tme I think I sent them a bit too thin. My customers are pretty much split as well, older clients remember real pork and want more fat, younger people are usually more health concious and want something leaner. Que sera
I have no idea about fat ratios, but they are now at the size I would like them so the next few weeks I will scale back their eggs and milk and just stick with the oats and pasture.. There are so few people that want to buy pasture raised pork out here that I just please myself, plus I use the lard for the soap. Wish I had a proper butcher. c
Hmm, wish I had a fluffer, i am seriously thinking of getting one, the rake just keeps turning it into a tighter coil.. c
Good luck on the hay..!!!!
I think luck has everything to do with it. Sadly.. c
Those plonkers. They are such a happy pair of pigs, their ears flying in the air as they run for their bowls. I never did get fast enough with the milk, consequently they got milk poured on their heads as well as in their bowls since they wouldn’t back up..haha How on earth did Poppy get over there? Through the old chicken house? She’s very wily, that Poppy. I’m glad they got along and didn’t fight on their unapproved playdate. Sheila needs to step up her overseeing duties. Keeping my fingers crossed for no.more.rain!! For the nonce, anyway.
Happy Thursday
Goodness, Miss Poppy is as tall as those plonkers…how did that happen. I wish we could get some of your rain and you could get some of our sun. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just conveniently trade our weather as needed? 🙂
we should work on that betsy, you can have a little of this cool weather too, we are in the 60’s this morning, good gardening weather though!… c
Good luck with the hay and the pawky chicks. Stick with the breeds you know! It is far too hot here. I was sewing outside under the umbrella, but had to come in only to find it is 27 degrees Celsius in here. I’m struggling to finish quilting the delivery man’s baby’s playmat – he’s coming on Monday and I’m not even halfway yet.
My fingers are crossed for your weather.
Love,
ViV
I’m so sorry about rain on your hay! I know how hard and what a worry it is to get a nice lovely GREEN, full of little leaves hay bale is!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Never a dull moment, is there? Well, gosh……send your rain over to us…we are in a drought situation. Not fair. Cornish X broilers are a good example of man messing with nature. I felt sorry for ours last year. They seemed so sad and at 6 weeks could hardly walk because they grew so fast and were too heavy for their legs. Even when I took their food away at night. Some people leave on a light and give them food all night so they eat night and day. Unnatural and cruel, IMHO.
yes, i am learning all the time that is for sure, back to the red runners next year.. c
I’m still feeling grateful you and your chickens weren’t carried away by a tornado which tempers my reaction to the rain clouds a wee bit. All the same, they were naughty to show up unexpected like Aunt Mamie.
Aunt Mamie! .. have a lovely day charlotte.. c
Just pulling names out of my rather limited mental hat.
So sorry about hay and rain again, Celi.