The Turkey Project

At last the turkey eggs have arrived. These are Spanish Black Turkey eggs. A very old heritage turkey. In fact one of the oldest.

The eggs came in the post and even though I ordered eight the very nice man sent me nine. So we have one  more chance of getting it right. turkey-eggs-009

I also included the three freshest of the peafowl eggs. (Pania was gently directed back to the Peacock Palace after making a bee line for Our Johns vegetable garden yesterday morning. Peahens have long memories . We have made new laying boxes for them in the Palace because she will have to wait until the plants are a bit bigger before she is released again).

Aunty Del pulls faces at milking time hoping to attract a little more of the attention. heifer

heifer

I stalked Tima hoping to show you pictures of her burgeoning belly. But every time I turned she turned as well.

kunekune pregnant

Not a show of getting her side on for the camera yesterday. Tane has gone over to join the goats for the duration.  He is deeply unimpressed. But Tima has been growling at him a lot the last few days, trying to run him off so I need to pay attention to that.  He is sleeping outside and she is in the sun-room in the barn. Her farrowing pen in there  is almost finished. Just one more moveable wall and we are ready.

;poppy14

Poppy is postively svelte like in comparison. But she is not due until late June/early July so there is no reason to expect any changes in her belly yet. And like the Lady who knows Pigs said – it was such a dubious breeding there may only be one or two piglets in there anyway.

kunekune

There she is again. Still hiding her bulges .

Here is Lady Astor licking her mineral block. Any other self respecting cow would reach in but Lady has to climb in. Very elegant. Often she is to be found just standing like this chewing her cud and looking around the boot. It is quite a comfortable position for a cow – helps her to burp. And with all this green forage I am sure she is in need of a good burp every now and then.

cow

As the grass comes into full swing so is her cream. We are getting lots of heavy golden cream. I am making ice cream again today. Rhubarb and raisin ice-cream today.

turkey-eggs-012

Here we go again.  Mark June 6th on your calendars.

Have a lovely day.

celi

 

50 responses to “The Turkey Project”

    • Mandy, I am smiling at your comment ‘I still can’t get over receiving eggs in the mail!’ I grew up in Dublin on the East coast of Ireland – a city girl. We had an aunt on the west coast County Clare and she kept hens and geese. About every ten days a couple of Egg Boxes, each with twenty four little compartments arrived by Mail. The eggs were so much better than any we could buy in Dublin, We knew they were fresh because they were individually wrapped in the previous days newspaper with a comforting layer of chicken compost around them! Once we unloaded the boxes we returned them by mail to my aunt.

  1. I’m surprised to see that the peahen eggs look bigger than the turkeys – I hope they all hatch.
    Lady Astor in the trunk is exceptionally funny 😉

  2. Tima The Tubby, Sporting Splendid Burgeoning Baby Belly, Still Smiles Sweetly.
    Especially now that demanding husband of hers has been banished and she has the Whole Bed to herself.

  3. Oh, to be able to lick one’s own nostril! ha I am in love with all the piggies, svelte and bulging. Have a wonderfull day…better get that last part of Tima’s creep finished. It’s getting closer!

  4. I am so excited about your turkey eggs! I do hope you get a nice little flock! Ben Franklin and I are very fond of the Turkey. Did I mention we have wild turkeys running around here were I work? My office is located on the banks of the Trinity River with lots of trees surrounding us. Sadly – development is really taking off here – and we will be loosing our wildlife soon….. This property was a huge cattle ranch for over a century and when the last rancher died, his kids sold it off to developers.

  5. I’ll bet you were holding your breath as you opened that “fragile” marked, yet banged up, box. Hmmm. The nice man who sent them knows how to wrap them for safety!

  6. That first week of June is going to be a doozy! I look forward to it…Don’t tell the little turkeys, but I am rather fond of turkey!! Particularly the thighs.

  7. Rhubarb and raisin ice cream! I’d love a picture of that! Is this your own recipe? 🙂 Have a wonderful day.

  8. This is so exciting its like being an anxious parent to be waiting outside the labour ward

  9. Never thought that I would see a cow half standing in the trunk of an old car…this is priceless. Tima, the little mystery pig wants to convince all of us that her single-lady girlish figure is intact. She probably has been conspiring with another photography…learning the best angles and all to always present as slim and trim.

  10. I didn’t know that cows burped. And I’ve always adored that you use the boot of an old Cadillac (?) as a feeding spot. I do love old cars. The shot with Aunt Del’s tongue out needs to go in the possible 2016 calendar folder. She does have a lovely tongue.

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