Other-worldly ducks during the eclipse last night

It’s cleared! Getting great view!

Not just a stable, bit a Farrow & Ball stable 🤣 Colour matched shed paint in Pavilion Grey and Charleston Grey, vinyl sheet flooring and - your eyes do not deceive you - a dado rail = poshest storage stable in Herefordshire. #smallholdingdream

Last ducklings of the season…. Do you prefer the group photo or the cropped in view? Hatched by a friend who has a massive pond/lake and a bachelor group for any boys! #smallholdingdream

A splendid example of the genre! #NHSSigns

Finally managed to hack out on young Fell pony Lily with my other horse escorting us ridden by her sharer Josie. We have meant to do it for ages!

Very pleased with this new shadow-framed canvas print…. I told ChatGPT to turn a photo taken at a recent show “into a painting influenced by Stubbs & Munnings, in Herefordshire countryside under an oak tree”

Well this is just great. Put in our water meter reading (last read in November) and £900 in arrears with our water bill #whereistheleak

A weekend timeline cleanse: so many of you enjoyed last month’s little blended family of ducklings being raised by a chicken that I thought I’d share a second one! This silkie chicken belongs to a different friend but she has just hatched ducklings from the same parents. She is a very proud mum!

The new chickens Blondie and Greta have been here for two weeks now, and are hanging around happily with Brian and the final surviving ex-commercial hen, now called Ginger. She is however a bit mean to poor Greta indoors and the new girls have decided to roost on top of the Eglu rather than in it.

Lily the Fell Pony is displeased. Usually I move the electric fence to give them a strip of new grass to eat before I stuff haynets. This evening I did it the other way round 🤣 and she glared at me over the door of the cat-and-hay stable

I don’t think Blink camera’s AI descriptions have been trained on Shetland ponies 🤣

I bought two new chickens today. An Easter Egger and a Vorwerk - probably going to be Blondie and Greta. Our little bantam cockerel Brian legged it over to meet them at great speed.. he was down to only one wife (the last of our ex commercials) and seemed very pleased to see new ones arriving!

… and after pony rides are poultry interactions! The duck on the right, Eggstra, has twigged that visiting children = extra popcorn and so she is super attentive to her little guests!

Saturday #smallholdingdream timeline cleanse… 7-month old Archie squealing with delight on his first ever pony ride! Brandy the Shetland now lives with us, but used to belong to Archie’s mum’s family so a lovely full circle moment…. N/1

Remember the chicken and her adopted duckling babies? They’re now too big to fit underneath her but she is still “fiercely protective” of them 😍 Anityer

Tuesday Timeline Cleanse: Remember the broody hen who was raising a clutch of rubber ducks? They are doing great! I just had an updated video 😀

Pleased to report my friend’s blended poultry family are doing great 😍

Siri, why are horses walking vets bills? These two are normally the best of friends, brought in from the field into this playpen to reduce their access to grass. And Chip the Appaloosa (pale coloured one) decides to threaten to kick Lily the black Fell pony 🙄 No obvious harm done to pony 🙏🏼🤞🏼

Sunday timeline cleanse… a friend of mine commented she would love some runner ducks and separately mentioned that she had a broody hen. So that was easily fixed with a box of eggs 😂 Chicken foster mummy is very proud! #smallholdingdream

Horses are designed to get up and run away quickly. Lying down is another matter!!! #smallholdingdream

It’s too hot to strim. Deploy Shetland (who is refusing to go into shade so may as well put her to use) supervised by the bloody beagle in a cooling coat that is far too big. #smallholdingdream #fosterfail #howdidIendupwithabeagle

Ceilidh made her modelling debut yesterday, she was picked by an equine photographer who’d been looking for an “unusually marked spotted horse”. It was hot but interesting, Ceilidh loved the carrots/polos/treats used to pose her. After the photographer left I took her plaits out and got this pic

If you see this, post your getaway vehicle

… and I am very grateful to have wonderful friends who came to help install fence posts using my very noisy new toy!!!!

… whilst Alfie the #fosterfail #bloodybeagle had a lovely time too…

And giving my friend’s puppy a lift across the field when it got tired…

Today at the #smallholdingdream I was learning how to make pilot Holes for fence posts 😂

Advantages of conferencing from home… checking out sheep visitors at lunchtime and making this video update for their mum! #smallholdingdream #RCEMAC26

Afternoon session of day 2 of #RCEMAC26. One of the cockapoos has joined the beagle…