Dorset lifestyle
Toby was swiped on the nose when he nudged Poppy, she isn’t bothered by the donkeys feet and wanders up and down between them. Topped the brown grass in the small paddock, the grass had started growing but will have stopped again with the drop in temperature. Sowed courgette and sunflower seeds, potted on the tomato plants and laid out the greenhouse with trays and pots. A frosty start to a cloudy day.
She now has a bald patch on her side where a matted area of fur has been expertly removed by one of the nurses at the vets. Stern words were exchanged, with Poppy being the loudest for longest, she’ll be going back in a few weeks to have all her fur cut short for the summer. A cloudy, drizzly day with light winds.
Soaking up the the sun and having a wash in the most comfortable place – a jigsaw puzzle lid, Smudge takes his turn when Poppy goes outside. No sign of the fish, they’ve descended to the bottom of the pond as the water temperature has dropped, and aren’t coming up for food. A pair of woodpeckers have been feeding on the lawn with a thrush and robin hopping around for company. A warmer, cloudy, drizzly day with the occasional sunny spell.
Another glorious sunset, the wall is warm from the day’s sunshine. Poppy weighs over seven pounds now, and is eating both wet and dry food, which is good. The donkeys don’t seem to like eating the remaining couple of bales of last year’s straw, may have to keep those for bedding and move on to giving them this year’s crop. Picked runner beans and courgettes. A warm sunny day, dark by 7.30.
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 much better, bright eyed and happy to sit in a warm greenhouse on the stool. She ventured onto the hard standing to have a look around before the donkeys came too close and she went back under the fence. The tomatoes are ripening quickly although the plants are looking a bit ragged. Moved the electric fence further down laneside so that the donkeys can graze more of the hedge. Picked runner beans, tomatoes plums and a few mange-tout. A cloudy sunny day with light winds.
Drinking from one of the buckets by the stable, she ventured up to the gate and meowed at Toby, he lowered his head and she watched him for a while and then wandered off, it’s probably the nearest she’s been to the donkeys. Moved the electric fence so William and Toby had more of the hedgerow to graze, had several pairs of hands to help so easier than usual, cut branches from the hedge for the donkeys and sheep. Picked tomatoes, courgettes and runner beans. A warm day when the sun broke through the clouds, rain later.
Tucking in to a beech branch, they’ll eat all the leaves and strip some of the bark, the donkeys will finish eating the rest. Lots of grasses growing in the paddocks although the donkeys don’t seem to like the laneside grass very much. Poppy is improving, eating a lot more and interested in what’s going on, her fur is a bit of a mess after several random clippings. A sunny windy day with a few heavy showers.
A chilly and very foggy start to the day with no view across the vale until mid morning when a balloon was visible in the distance, it didn’t move for ages and then eventually landed pretty much below where it had been hanging about. Poppy’s been to the vet several times this week with some kind of infection, she’s had two blood tests, three doses of antibiotics, an enema, steroids and several anti-nausea injections followed by a dose of liquid paraffin. She’s on the mend, now, which is good news. A sunny end to the day with light winds.
Cloud rolling towards Hambledon Hill, could hear the thunder and see the lightening, but no rain until much later. Moved the sheep and their arcs into Willow paddock and gave the donkeys a larger area to graze for the next few days. Picked runner beans, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, planted out a few more runner beans to replace those eaten by the snails. Took Poppy to the vet as she’s off her food, blood test results may mean an increase in thyroid medication. A warm, humid day.
Chilling on the settee before going out to watch the local wildlife, long haired Poppy collects all sorts of things in her tummy hair including slugs, ticks and goose grass. Combing these things out can be perilous as Poppy has a low tolerance and sharp claws, the last resort when the hair becomes matted is a sharp pair of scissors. Used the dagging shears on the sheep to remove soiled wool from their rear end, they’re easier to deal with, just wriggle a lot. A bright sunny start to the day, ice on the gate but not nearer the house, light winds and cloudy later.
Delivered and assembled at the end of July they’re now being filled with donkey poo and then topped up with compost. The plants in the pots are producing lots of new plants so I should be able to fill these beds before the winter. Mowed the meadow strip and moved the new grass to the back of the compost heap so that the middle section can be removed. Started painting the kitchen. Poppy went to see the vet for her regular thyroid test which came back normal so she’ll keep taking the same medication, a new early indictor test for kidney problems gave a result that’s a little high so a urine test will be carried out in a few months time. A warm sunny day with light winds. Picked tomatoes and pulled a few carrots.
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.
First pods, Poppy standing guard, picked and eaten within the hour, crisp and delicious, hope there’s more to come, runners maybe next week, although the strong winds of the last few days have broken some of the higher stems. Tomatoes and cucumbers growing fast, and have two water melon plants with tiny fruit that I’ve never grown before. Bike ride to Sturminster Newton for coffee and sausage roll, was mainly ‘wind against’ which is a bit odd for a circular route. A sunny day with no rain so watered the vegetables, found a few thistles in the border so the donkeys had a late tasty treat.
Poppy and the instructions, looks as if she has some paws missing… Frame parts fitted together well, colour matches the greenhouse, will need to fix it down. Warming up today, less wind, need to keep the bird baths topped up, the blackbird empties one every day with a lot of wing flapping. Planted out the Blue Coco beans and the courgettes. Parsley seedlings repotted, sowed iceberg lettuce and basil seeds. Getting through my seed store! Hedgerows growing really fast, lots of noisy bird activity, the thrush is always on the lawn looking for worms.
