Dorset lifestyle
The irises are looking good and the first water lilies just need a little more sunshine to make them open. Smudge likes to drink out of the waterfall which has slowed down to a trickle so the filter needs cleaning – a job for a sunny day. Cycle from Pamphill to The Anchor for coffee, and skittles in the evening. A warm sunny day with light winds.
Watching the fish in the pond, just in case one jumps high enough to escape the netting. Poppy is putting on weight, she weighs six lbs now instead of four, and she’s a lot more lively, venturing down to the stable each day, she’ll eat the donkeys balance mix if she gets the chance. Moved the electric fence to give the donkeys a strip of fresh grass. A sunny cloudy day with light winds, the balloons drifted down the vale early morning.
Looking good after the addition of liquid barley straw to combat the blanket weed, the water is much clearer so the fish are easier to see and are still very hungry. The water lily has grown and needs a chunk cutting off to give the fish more room to swim around, the cutting will move to another pond so won’t be wasted. Saw the heron fly over so will have to replace the net, the gap in the centre lets the taller plants reach full height so they can flower. A cool cloudy day with light winds.
The sheep ran down to the bottom paddock for a few hours of grazing fresh grass, remembering the route from yesterday; as the sun set they lined up along the fence ready to run back up to their shelter for their hay. Picked up more leathery oak leaves, in the wetter patches the grass needs to see the sunshine and the leaves gather together in piles to block out the light. The water lilies are unfurling new leaves under the water in the pond, fed the fish a few pellets, no sign of toad spawn. A mild cloudy day with light winds and a brief spell of sunshine.
Frozen at the end furthest from the waterfall and covered with a fine layer of snow which defrosted in the morning sunshine, no sign of the fish, they’ll be resting on the bottom. Very cold overnight, there was an inch of ice on all the water troughs, the donkeys had their bucket of warm water with their breakfast and a supplement of hay which the sheep had pulled out of their feeder and discarded. Nola in particular likes crunching the ice left on the ground next to the trough. A bright sunny day with a biting wind and a little cloud that disappeared to leave a lovely sunset.
Still hungry even though the pond is a bit murky; the fish know when you’re close, must be vibrations through the soil to the water as my shadow doesn’t reach the pond until I throw the pondsticks at them, their mouths wide open, they’re a mixture of gold, speckled gold and brown. The water lilies need their leaves cutting off before they decompose and take too much oxygen from the water. The blanket weed may be growing more slowly now and the elodea at the other end of the pond is doing very well. I’d like to grow watercress in the waterfall, just not sure how to anchor it down, may have to try the tiny pond at the top.
Somebody knocked it over….. William and Toby have been standing in the rain for the last few days and didn’t want too much attention, now the sun is almost shining they’re happy to be scratched and fussed. The morning was warmer than I expected, didn’t make it to the bike ride because of flooded roads around Dorchester. Spent a couple of hours cleaning the filter for the pond instead, the water was a bit chilly, started to rain and the wind strengthened later before a lovely sunset. Picked the last outdoor tomatoes and dismantled and stored the bamboo canes ready for next year.
Poppy likes fishing so the net has to be a permanent feature unless there’s time to watch what she’s up to, the fish are always hungry and thrash around when they see you or feel the vibration of your footsteps. The black fish gradually turn orange with age and the older orange fish become paler and their tails seem to lengthen. The water lillies have done well this year and the oxygenating weed is flourishing so there’s lots of shade and places for the fish to hide. The blanket weed is disappearing as the temperature starts to drop but the filter and pump should be cleaned before the water gets too cold. A cloudy sunny day with no rain, picked runner beans, carrots and cucumbers.
