A Cat's eye view

Greetings from Silver the cat, and of course my friend Ginger

Boris is still away so he asked me to pass on the week's news. He did a pretty good job but I think we cats have a better overview of the place. As you can see from our picture we are shy and retiring creatures, it's a good cover to keep, so no-one suspects us when there have been overnight visitors in the pantry, mind you whoever invented cling film has a lot to answer for.

We're still enjoying lovely autumn weather with cool, misty mornings when the children come out to feed the calves. They mix up the creamy warm milk and there's always enough left for us - the perfect way to start the day.

Those piglets are growing fast and getting more adventurous by the day. No sign of the next litter yet but we'll keep you posted. We've got our eyes on that heat lamp, hoping it stays there once the piglets have grown up, I reckon that could be a good spot for a cat in the winter.



At the moment our favourite place is the veg garden, I know, not what you'd expect for us meat
eaters, but it's sunny, peaceful and like a jungle for exploring. On a chilly morning there's always the cosy polytunnel and there's a great bit in the middle where someone is growing a range of berries very popular with birds. Now you may not know this but Ginger and I are very fond of birds.....

Vegetables in every direction....













































Talking of which, six new ducklings have moved next to the geese, they're still rather shy but I hope to get to know them better soon. And by the pig sties, twelve turkey poults have moved in, once they're settled they're having a large pen in the orchard so they can enjoy the autumn sunshine too. Apparently it's only a short-term let and they will have gone by Christmas.















When it all gets too hectic with 30 children out working in the garden or mucking out the pens, then we wander down the drive to spend some time with the Gloucester cows, it's always calm and peaceful in their field.

Anyway I'm off to meet Ginger in the fruit cage. Next week it's over to Oakey the lurcher who's very keen to pass on her thoughts on farm life, expect fast-action, lots of enthusiasm and plenty of reference to rabbits.

Silver

Boris the Boar's Blog Wick Court, September 17th (Boris is our Middle White boar)

Autumn is here and the first school has arrived with that lovely weather we always get once the holidays are over. Lots of excited voices and faces peering over the wall as they bring us our meals. It has been a quiet summer for us pigs but the exciting news is that I am a father - seven beautiful piglets born on Monday morning and within a day all were out running around the yard. Their mother is an Old Spot gilt but I have to say they have inherited their father's looks - not a spot between them. Her sister is due in 2 - 3 weeks so we should soon be overrun with my offspring. In the back pig sties the Berkshire boys are quietly eating and growing and the Old Spot weaners born in May are looking positively enormous next to the new arrivals.

The cattle are all still out in the fields, the barns are full of hay now, finally cut in August after all that rain, so plenty of grazing for cattle and sheep while the weather holds.

The geese have had the luxury of having a pen all to themselves for several months - although they do have many invading mallards who try to share their meals, but they will soon have 6 new Khaki Campbell ducks moving in, in time the children should be collecting duck eggs aswell as the chicken eggs they currently find - and apparently enjoy for breakfast.

And the other hot news in the poultry sheds, 12 turkey poults are also due any day, apparently it's a "seasonal enterprise", at least they're no threat to us pigs, they eat completely different food.

Round at the stables there's a lot of washing and shampooing, two foals off to the sales tomorrow as this year's young ones are being sold on before the winter. There has been a lot of comings and goings over the summer with ponies off to shows around the country, and plenty of new rosettes for the feed shed wall. I'm sure we pigs could win some prizes if only someone would give us a lift to the shows...

The orchards are full of fruit, a bumper year for perry pears apparently. A group of learned men spent the day wandering around this week with special books, identifying the different varieties. Apparently a very rare Arlingham Squash has been discovered to great excitement. They all taste good to me... The children have been picking blackberries and cooking crumbles, there have been lovely autumnal scents wafting across the yard.

The vegetable garden is also proving very fruitful, the children are coming out with laden boxes and baskets. Now this is great for the pig population as we get all the outer leaves and there is even a row of fodder beet just for us, well we all need our 5 a day.

Anyway, I shall hand over to someone else for the next update as I'm off to the egg farm across the road where there's a Tamworth sow who wants to meet me.

Bye for now

Boris the Boar