A Midnight Rescue .... We're Back!!

It should have been a straight forward simple task, locking up and going to bed but it wasn't. Just before midnight I remembered Bean was still outside so I shouted her and waited for her to come back. Not long afterwards she scratched on the door to come in and that's when it started. I opened the door and there she stood looking extremely pleased with herself and barged past me into the kitchen. For a split second I thought she had a teddy in her mouth, I could just see two little white furry legs hanging down but then I realised it was a baby rabbit and despite it being clamped tightly in her mouth, the poor thing was still alive.

As soon as I took a step towards her she took 4 steps back. I took another step, she took 4 more. Great, she thinks it's a game!! I shouted for her to drop it like a lunatic which did nothing!  I told her calmly to drop it which also failed to work! By now I was close enough to see it's back legs kicking at one side of her mouth and two tiny black eyes and little nostrils flaring at the other side. I was petrified that she would crunch it there and then because I knew Bean was not going to give up this tasty snack by choice. I ran at her and with her tail wagging she turned and ran. 

Shrieking 'Bean, drop it' like a lunatic I set off after her round the kitchen then outside which was pitch black and pouring down in my pyjamas and slippers that helpfully slipped off my feet every other step I took - enough was enough and I lunged at her to grab her tail as she turned and wrestled the 10 stone lump to the ground and eventually got the rabbit from her mouth!

It didn't look good and I grabbed a towel wrapped it up and put it in a box with a heat pad underneath. Shut the door and finally went to bed.

If I'm honest, I can't see it being alive in the morning.

The Ups and Downs at Nunnery Farm in 2011

Now as those that have been following me in my attempts at moving ever closer to partial self sufficiency, which is to grow fruit and vegetables to accompany the free range meat I already produce, will already know that Dave the Lamb lost the plot last year and thwarted my attempts good and proper.

 For those that don't, Dave the Lamb was one of last year's lambs that I hand reared in the house after his mother died after giving birth to him and his twin Poppy who sadly I didn't manage to save. Dave was one of the porliest lambs I have ever dealt with and I fully expected to lose him too. Dave, however, had other ideas and is alive and well on Nunnery Farm. In fact Dave has become somewhat of a local celebrity as he always comes with me on the dog walks around the valley and has been known from time to time to accompany me in the Landrover! Dave's problem is he has no idea he is a lamb!

Dave would go out in the garden as he was slowly getting better and would always be with me during the day outside developing the veg patch and all was well. I imagined chutneys and fruit wines. Dave however had other plans which included eating everything in site and if he didn't like the taste of something he would make his bed in it. Dave the Lamb went berserk. It was so late on in the year when he did this (just as everything was getting ready to be eaten by ME!) that I actually thought I would have very little to show for my efforts at the end of the year. I am happy to say I was totally wrong!

The plants grew back in no time, my strawberries and raspberries grew in abundance, I couldn't move for blackberries, the hens laid plenty of eggs, in fact we got so much out of the veg patch that I couldn't have been more pleased.

This year I have already started outside and will tell you about that again but I intend to leave out the things I didn't make much use of and replace them with more of what I did. When the year ended I had made so much fruit vodka I thought it would last me a lifetime  and I was certain that Christmas would be a very merry one indeed.

        

The meat I produced on the farm last year meant that I did not buy a single piece of lamb, pork or beef. The sausages were split into 3 flavours pork/leek, pork and spicy pork which unfortunately other people have now discovered and my stocks have depleted!! 

I made lots of chutney and I still have lots left so at last I have a little home produce larder and have a small pile just aging nicely.. Unfortunately I didn't manage to save any of the vodka and considering the amount I produced is a little bit of a concern - I will simply have to make more this year!

 Dave the Lamb was forgiven and still spends his days playing with the dogs and joins in chasing the cats and he still gets into bother. The dogs are ok, the cats are still going and Kyle who is 2 now is having the time of his life and becoming quite the farmer!

This year I will produce twice as many vegetables and twice as much to drink - well, that's the plan!

Preparing To Lose A Friend

How do you do it? Is it possible or is it best just not to know?

Last year, the last Bank Holiday in May to be precise, Bean my Newfoundland  was sleeping just outside the front door after a long dog walk. A few hours later it struck me that Bean hadn't moved and I thought this strange so I went out to see how she was doing, she was fine just in a deep sleep. It was a warm day and so not unusual for the dogs to collapse around the garden and sleep for hours on end after a dog walk but there was something about her that I just did not like.

Once she woke up she seemed to be fine but I decided to book her into the vets first thing Tuesday morning anyway for peace of mind. When I got to the vets I told them that I might have imagined events as Bean appeared perfectly fine and I felt a bit silly. I was convinced the vet would agree with me and say I had nothing to worry about but she didnt. Bean was referred to a specialist after the vet discovered an irregular heart beat.  I still wasn't overly concerned because Bean gets checked regularly and has had her heart checked lots of times and nothing has ever been found to be wrong so I agreed to take her to the cardiologist but fully expected the all clear when the time came.

Appointment day came and the 3 of us (Kyle, Bean and myself) jumped in the Landrover and set off. When we got there Bean was taken from me and lead into the surgery and I was told to collect her in an hour which I did. When I went back I had a chat about what had been found and it was that Bean had developed a terminal heart condition - she needed to go on medication immediately that would need to continue for the rest of her life. I asked how long Bean would survive without medication and the answer was about 4 weeks. Even with her medication Bean's life expectancy was only 6-12 months but with luck on her side she could live as long as 18 months - that takes us to 6 November this year .... .6 weeks 5 days away. In total shock, with tears streaming down my face, a confused toddler in one hand and Bean in the other I set about loading my two passengers back in the landrover for the drive home trying my best to appear to both of them that nothing was wrong.

I was advised to stop Bean's walks and all her activities in the hope that this would prolong her life and I thought long and hard about the advice given to me in the tearful days following diagnosis and came to the conclusion that I owed Bean more than that.  Although I was aware that Bean's life could end at any moment - she was not - and she would only get a sense that something was wrong if I changed her routine and the life she knew and loved so much.  Bean has always been a very special friend to me. She was a character the day I bought her and she has never changed - to me she is one of the most beautiful dogs I have ever known with the most beautiful eyes .... I swear when you look into Bean's eyes you see her soul. Bean is the best four legged friend anyone could ever have.

So I took the decision that as far as Bean was concerned nothing would change. I would not cut down her walks and on the days I ran around the valley with the dogs she would still be allowed to come if she wanted to. If her and Minnie had a mad hour then I would not intervene because I felt that if I changed anything then I would be trying to prolong her life for my own selfish reasons and in doing so I would be cutting down the quality of it for her .....  and so the decision was made - Bean would continue the life she had always known and I had to get my head around the fact that one day very soon my friend would be gone, but this is my problem and not hers. I have also made Bean the promise that should things get uncomfortable for her then I will do what is right by her as she has always done by me.

Bean is 4 years old.

But .....on a positive note Bean is still going strong and is enjoying her days as she has always done. All I can wish is that her happy life continues for a good while to come.

My Friend, My Bear, My Bean!