New Pigs

Tim is back again and the house has never been so joyful. We have two, two month old male Vietnamese pigs. They are very tiny and sweet at the moment but a little nervous and speedy. My daughter Catherine is spending the summer with us and we agreed to her looking after them to see if pig keeping was for her. They are smaller than the usual pigs and we hope easier to handle when they get bigger. They are for meat and will be humanely slaughtered in winter and hopefully will give us some decent pork. I understand that the most difficult part is keeping them slim as they have a tendency towards fattiness but like so many farming activities it is all a bit trial and error and we will learn what feeding regime suits them best. She will also have to deal with their inevitable demise and so again this will be a learning curve. She is fine with the slaughtering of poultry but pigs are a different proposition. They have a large warm stable and a decent outside run and will have the best of food and attention.

They will also help us out with the egg glut which continues unabated. We have been getting some whoppers. The large one pictured weighed 102g next to a more normal sized egg.

The rainy stormy weather continues. All of the planting is held back and slugs and snails are rampant this year. The fruit trees are in blossom but I hope there are enough bees to pollinate it. We are hoping to get some bees of our own soon, fingers crossed. At this time of the year there never seems to be enough time in a day to get all of the work done, thank goodness for the light evenings, when it is not raining that is.

A Glorious Morning

In Galicia, in winter it rains a lot and this winter has been no exception. We have had a lot of rain and although Spring has sprung it has been difficult to enjoy it because of the aforementioned rain. This morning however it is glorious and made all the more precious because of the dull rainy days preceding it.

The geese are enjoying it as well. Later I shall let them wander in the forest garden, under careful supervision. Last time they were left in there they got through the fence into the neighbours turnip field and cause devastation until they were discovered.

The ladies are above with Gandalf below. He likes me at the moment but he attacks anyone else on sight but it is part of his job description to be a homicidal maniac.

The vegetables are still providing plenty of food and there are flowers hidden everywhere if you know where to look for them. I keep adding to the bulbs a few more every year. A garden should satisfy all of the senses and on a morning like this it certainly does.

Coming Home

Tim is coming home for more than holidays and it has made our year. He has been working in the UK for four years out of necessity and after many tries he has been offered a job which will allow him to split his time between the UK and here. It has been hard on both of us but now he can take part in the many activities that Galicia has to offer such as Fiestas, animal care, barrowing muck, banging in fence posts, and many others. Talking of banging in fence posts Catherine and I are making tree guards for the many trees and shrubs in the forest garden so that we can get a couple of sheep in to graze it and keep the grass down and we will have meat for the freezer at the end of the year.

Making them ourselves means that we can vary their size according to the type and size of tree or shrub. We hope to get the worst of the brambles cut down and then the sheep should eat any soft new growth that they make. It will also protect the tender trees from the beaks of the geese.

The sheep will be from the flock shown here, they are native Galician sheep, a small breed which are known to be hardy and able to cope with rough grazing. The weather here continues to be very variable but Spring is marching on with bulbs in flower, the usual egg glut and a frisky Errol the cockerel.