Tag: Farm (page 1 of 1)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Yesterday we left our little farm cottage and headed home, back to our own cottage. I grabbed my camera from the kitchen table, while Foxy was finishing his packing, as I wanted to take a few more photos before we had to catch our train.

So, goodbye to the morning mist across the fields, that dampened my face as I spread our leftover pieces of toast onto the bird table in the morning. Goodbye, to my little moo cow painting that greeted me while I had my tea and goodbye to the teddy bear face hidden in the beam, that smiled at me while I sat in front of the fire:

The Teddy Bear Beam

Goodbye Mr. Bumblebee, I will miss your buzz, buzz, buzzing in the herb garden while I go about my day:

Mr Bumblebee

Goodbye my evergreens, I can’t wait to come back so I can collect your miniature pine cones to decorate my own little cottage with:

evergreen

Goodbye Spring blossoms and Mr. & Mrs. Robin, who sung so sweetly to me in the light of dawn and as the light faded into dusk:

Mr. and Mrs. Robin

Until we meet again, goodbye little cottage in the countryside, I shall miss you!

Joining the Herd

primrosesGiGi & Foxy wanted to stay indoors yesterday and so, I decided to head out on my own. I took a lovely six mile stroll around the countryside and happened upon a field full of wild primroses.

So, I wandered in to have a little munch, they were so sweet and delicate, they tasted of sunshine and Spring.

I walked through the field, grazing as I went and then meandered down to the stream. I came across a small herd of cattle and decided to join them for awhile.

molly moo

We drank, chattered, rested by the stream and took in the beautiful day and the fresh country air. They even invited me back to their barn for a spot of tea. It was delightful.

A Walk in the Country

image (2)The rain that was pouring when we arrived subsided early in the morning and we got to spend our first real day in nothing but sunshine! It was still very windy, it made my fur ruffle, but it was lovely nonetheless!

We got up yesterday morning and Gigi went to work making everyone breakfast from the breakfast basket in the cottage. We had fresh local bread and bacon with scrambled eggs, it was heavenly.

After breakfast we got ready, put on our wellies and headed out. I wanted to do one of my favorite walks. It is the long way round to the pub, but on the way, you pass fields you can cut through, an adorable village hall, a charming stream, an old church that has been there since medieval times and lots of farms and fairytale-sque cottages.

village hallWellies on and bundled up, we headed out across the fields with the mud sticking to our boots, we soon washed that off in a huge puddle and headed for the hall. It was just as I had remembered it from the Summer. Quaint. From there is was down the stream and across the fields to walk the tree lined avenue up to the church.

It was still decorated for Easter with brownware pottery vases that hung off the pews filled with wild flowers and daffodils! I sat down by my favorite stained glass window in there and in the cool of the church and the silence, I just reflected.

stained glassWe moved on after that heading back down the avenue but this time walking under the old gatehouse and came across a field with a big fat pheasant in there, who just studied us, while we gazed at him.

Next through the storybook village, where people sell their fresh jam, eggs and vegetables from their doorsteps and then on to the pub.

After such a long walk, I was ready for a pint! It is a local pub with a good micro brewery attached and I was more than ready for my favorite ale from them, however, “Lovely’s Fair” was not in season, so we tried a pint of “Stella”, a single hop pale ale that had a little bite at the end, but went wonderfully with my sausage and mash. Our bellies were full, my whiskers were covered in gravy, so Gigi helped me clean them.

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We headed out to go home and cut by one of the big farms, their paddocks full of new mamas and baby lambs, all running around soft and fuzzy looking. Their little lambikin ears sticking out and raising up as we spoke to them, adorable! We took the long way home to enjoy a bit more of the countryside views.

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We spent the evening, listening to music, dancing around and staying cozy by our little fire. We all went to bed deliciously happy as our lungs were filled with country air, our bellies filled with good food and our hearts filled with the love of life and good company!

Gnome by the Fire

To the Fair we go…

Foxy to the FairGoose Girl and I have had a bit of a hectic October and I have yet to have a chance to post anything. One thing that has been keeping us very busy is our pumpkin patch. We annually grow pumpkins, cultivating them to be monster sized gourds that we enter in to our local fair every year for the “Giant Pumpkin Contest”.

We have been keeping a close eye on our patch since the weather turned, protecting them when it got too cold at night, we didn’t want a frost to ruin our chances!

The big day was fast approaching and GiGi and I selected the pumpkin we would take with us and kept a very close eye on it as the flesh turned a delicious sunset orange.

On the day of the fair, she helped me tie carrying ropes to our pumpkin as I climbed onto our tractor and drove down our little country road to the fair.

We arrived just in time for the big weigh-in and we came in at a whopping 105lbs. We walked around after that, enjoying a few rides. I love the glimmer and sparkle of all the lights you see at the top of the ferris wheel. I got some pink cotton candy, which stuck to my whiskers and GiGi bought a colossal sized candy apple and a frozen lemonade. We slowly made our way back to the judging tent to see if all the gourds had been weighed in.

They had and there was a prodigious sized blue ribbon on our pumpkin! We won! In all of our worries to make sure we got the pumpkin to the fair safely we forgot to bring our camera. But, I can tell you we were jumping up and down and dancing, some friends took pictures of us with our pumpkin, so as soon as they send us the prints I will post them…

The First Pumpkin of the Season

Gnome and PumpkinFoxy went to visit the little gnomes in the valley today and picked a gorgeous pumpkin for me from their patch!

Gnome and Foxy with Pumpkin

I just love it, it is sitting on our front porch now, right next to a huge pot of rust colored mums.

Fall happiness, is a bright orange pumpkin!

Chickens

Foxy’s first thought when he spied the chicken coop was dinner. But then
he remembered that chickens are friends. So instead he pulled out his
camera and snapped a few delightful photos of the lovely hens and
rooster.

Checking out the Chickens

(This post was written by Mr. Michie, because he was the one who took a stroll with Foxy around the chicken coop in Suffolk, GiGi and I stayed inside and read our books)

Greetings From the Road

greetings-from-pittsburgh-pennsylvaniaI have been doing a little travelling on my own at the moment. One of the places I ended up going to, is a personal favourite of mine: Pittsburgh, PA.

Soergel FarmsI checked in on some family I have there, went to Soergel’s Farm one of my most cherished places to go and see. I am a farm girl myself and I feel it is truly important to support your local farmers. Eat with each harvest and taste the best of the season. I drank some apple cider, picked up a pie from their bakery counter and had my picture taken on the wheel of an old Amish buggy.

GiGi WagonWheelIt was pretty hot while I was there visiting and one night after dinner we headed out for a drive and ended up going to Dairy Queen. There is nothing better than a Dairy Queen dipped cone. I prefer getting mine in a cup, that way you get more “dip”. I decided to get the cherry flavour, it matched my apron and is one of my favourites! It was delicious and definitely cooled me down.

GiGi at the Dairy QueenI also had the chance to do a little antiquing. I went to a store that I had been dying to visit and boy, did I have fun! I must have spent 3 hours in there wandering around. I came back with a few surprises, one in particular! I think she will fit right in to our little home. I will be introducing you soon, but at the moment, she is getting over her jet lag…