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Visitors and New arrivals |
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Written by Nigel
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Tuesday, 15 April 2008 |
It’s a beautiful spring morning here at Alledal. There is a line of mist just hanging at tree top height crowning the Svinstibacken. The geese are out grazing across the orchard, it’s a beautiful sight and one of the major blessings of living here. After several false starts spring has most definitely sprung. I have blue tits nesting in a hole in the old apple tree and sparrows under the eaves of the barn. The red kites are doing aerial displays and more cranes are flying north. I’ve already seen tortoiseshell butterflies and some brimstone and quite a few big fat bumblebees.
| We have some new arrivals too, the duck eggs hatched and we have five little ducklings, less than I’d hoped for but they are still a joy. There is something about ducklings that makes in you smile. Along with Blommehöna chicks they are a real sign of the turning season. |  | Steph had last week off work, so we took the opportunity to do some jobs that whilst not necessarily requiring two people, the extra hands certainly make it easier. Baldr got his official SJV [the Swedish Equivalent of DEFRA] ear tags. New regulations meant that he had to have two, one in each ear. We also attached an RFID chip to one of the tags. New regulations for 2009 mean that all animals will need an RFID chip [like the microchips we put in dogs and cats] from January so we thought we’d get ahead of the game. This was our first time ear tagging livestock. I thought it would be difficult – it wasn’t. A moments discomfort and the not-so-little Baldr was the proud owner of some new funky earrings. |  | Sticking with the goat theme, milking is going very well. Foxglove alone produces around half a gallon of milk per day. The milking machine certainly has made this a lot simpler and the goats seem to prefer it. It’s also a lot more hygienic, the milk never really gets chance to be exposed to any contamination. It’s straight from the goat to the churn – simple. It’s all routine now, the goats know what’s about to happen and come out expectantly to the milking stand. The food in the trough keeps the happily distracted while they are milked. The cheese making is going well. This week we have got to try the Haloumi – great toasted; the Caerphilly – lovely and sharp and good in a salad; Soft goat’s cheese – fantastic on freshly baked bread. We’re still waiting on the Feta and have a Lancashire on the go too.
|  | The bird table has been attracting a lot of visitors including this lovely little female siskin. She was around for quite a while vacuuming up the hemp and sunflower seeds. She was a welcome visitor amongst the more frequent visitors; great tits, blue tits, chaffinches, green finches and the ever present sparrows
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 April 2008 )
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