Happy New Year!
Good health, a bit of joy in every day and may your feathers not all fall out at once! We have four chickens and a bantam and we haven't seen an egg in weeks - I actually had to buy some yesterday, as we didn't have enough to make an emergency omelette if we needed to. Bridie the Freeloading Bantam only lays when she thinks the weather is going to be right for some serious brooding, and winter is not that time. Mo the Pensioner hasn't laid an egg since she came to stay until the day of her demise. Well, she looks no different after nearly 2 years and hasn't fallen off her perch. The economic migrant kept laying last winter, but gave up in March 2023 and hasn't produced an egg since - although she now looks rather splendid. That means that all the laying work has been done by Mac and Jack, and they have decided to go on strike and to produce new feathers rather than eggs. One is starting to look a bit more sensible, but I was faced with this horror this morning when feeding them. It has to be cold round her bum!
Another change for the new year is that it has finally stopped raining! We were down near Saumur during the week, stocking up on fizz, because a house round here without an emergency bottle of fizz is a very bad thing. We parked by the Thouet, which joins la Loire just west of Saumur, coming up from Montreuil-Bellay and over the border with Nouvelle Aquitaine. It had broken its banks in an impressive manner and was travelling at speed, feeding into an already swollen Loire, so respite from more rain is welcome. However, be careful what you wish for, as it is turning colder, much colder. Colder indeed than we have known for about 5 years apparently.
Cold weather anticyclones bring an interesting phenomenon, not totally pleasant, cold weather static cling. It is annoying if one is human - it's what makes wearing a hat and taking it off and having your hair upright a thing in winter. Yes it would happen anyway, but the cold static cling makes it worse, and crackly to deal with. For cats, and particularly quite floofy cats, it is a sartorial nightmare and can be a bit uncomfortable too. This morning, Spooky obliged me with a demonstration of how rather smart black fur can look horrific in these conditions.
My way of life is changing a bit too. With no more work in the UK, I am now able to concentrate more on doing what I have been evaluating other people doing for nearly 10 years, and managing an area for wildlife. I am hoping to get a visit from the naturalists that take an interest in the ENS (roughly translated as the area of natural interest) that just encroaches on the Meadow and the Orchard. How to manage the pond/wetland area is one big question, not least as it is impenetrable due to bramble and dead man's beard, and I'm sure that allowing a greater diversity of vegetation would be better for wildlife. What to do about the meadow, with the range of orchids that sometimes thrive there, the badgers and the sea of butterflies including one that I think is a species of conservation interest for the ENS? Then getting a plan of action and seeing it through. I fear my big fish are history, but you never know!
In the interim, I will enjoy the irises, that are just starting to show, and the narcissi, when they come through too.
On the growing front, there are the first signs of the broad beans coming up that I sowed in December. Today I took advantage of a bit of sunshine to plant a first batch of garlic - as I'm a bit late with it, I had to buy a huge bag of planting garlic and have found space so far for about half. They say you plant on the shortest day and lift on the longest day - well I missed the shortest day by about three weeks I guess, but it shouldn't make that much difference. I'm prepared to wager 5 grown bulbs that I lift the crop before the end of June!
Our cheap electricity deal means that for the next week, we won't be able to afford heating in my office (when load demand is high, the unit price is three times normal, as a way of smoothing demand - when load demand is low we can light up the house like a prison yard). Running the washing machine becomes a challenge and life is concentrated in the living room. In preparation for the red day that is tomorrow, I must therefore close and go and use electricity in a wise manner. Have a cosy week!
Comments