Spice: a final goodbye

Yesterday morning we had to say a final goodbye to Spice at the vet. We knew since last Summer this day would come after some diagnostic tests then, but the initial symptoms abated and she maintained her lively disposition over the Winter. But some symptoms recently returned and her ever-present vitality began to ebb away.  

Spice spent all of her eleven plus years almost entirely on the smallholding and the surrounding fields - an idyllic life for her. A gentle soul who rarely barked and who adored, and was adored by, visitors.

Her close comapnion of the last two years has been little Zelda who, for the moment, appears mystified by Spice's absence and has searched everywhere for her and has been looking out for her.

It was a sombre start to Ash Wednesday.

Planting garlic

I'm a little bit later than usual in planting out garlic. This should be okay as I have a soft-necked variety this year, Ashmoor White. Unlike the hardier hard-necked varieties, which benefit from a period of cold and so are ideal for planting in November to over-winter, soft-necked varieties of garlic prefer a milder climates. They also keep longer.

I bought three bulbs of Ashmoor White which, when split into individual cloves, was more than enough for a twenty foot row.

We regularly use garlic in our cooking all year round so for us it is more or less a staple. 

Planting for the future

As a sign of our commitment to the future I planted three new fruit trees today, each barely three feet tall above the ground. A fair old wait before we are able to enjoy any fruit. The feeling of optimism was encouraged by the bright sunshine on an albeit cold day. A change from the gloomy, grey and rainy days of late.

The trees were planted on a patch of ground where some fallen tree trunks had for some time been piled up. These have now been used as an edging at the back and reclaimed telegraph poles used at the front. 

Two of the trees are apples: Spartan and Pixie. They are both pollinators for each other. The third tree is a self-fertile Conference pear. We have not had much success with pear trees that we have planted elsewhere on the smallholding. So we decided against any fancy varieties and chose an established variety which is usually relaible.

I used some lengths of gutter downpipes cut long ways as rabbit guards.

Some years hence I will report back on the quality of the fruit from these trees!

Oak tree in winter

My attempt during 2025 at making a regular post 'Following a tree' lost momentum, overtaken by life events. I had chosen a willow tree which looks good in different ways throughout the year. Anyhow, here is a, possibly one-off, post on another impressive tree.

I took some photographs of our recently re-freshed driveway to share with our daughters. When I looked at one of the photos it captured the large oak tree by our main gate and it effectively became the unintended prinicipal subject of the photograph. Its leafless branches form an evenly arrayed crown and it looks quite majestic.

The cable detracts a bit from the image. That is our electricity supply.

 

Life and Tradition in Suffolk

I recently came across this book by Norman Smedly: Life and Tradition in SUFFOLK and NORTH-EAST ESSEX. It was published in 1976. 

Norman Smedley was an archaeologist and museum director, notably of the Abbotts Hall Museum aka Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, Suffolk (now the Food Museum). He established a large collection of farm implements and was particularly interested in Suffolk's rural heritage.

In this book a range of rural crafts and practices are detailed with reference to the tools that were used. Farming practices in pre-mechanisation days are described as well as the work of  the farrier, cooper, thatcher, saddler, cobbler, brick maker, basket maker, flint knapper, wheelwright, a number domestic tasks, and many more. The chapter on buildings and building materials was very interesting given the absence of stone sources in Suffolk. Written in the 1970s it was possible to interview and, in many instances, often observe prractitoners of these trades at work.

Here are a few photos copied from the book.

Mechanisation, mass production, socio-economc imperatives and convenience have overtaken many of these skills but some still exist. Now they are often specialist service providers rather than being an essential presence in virtually every village.

New litter

We had a new litter of Saddleback piglets yesterday evening. Ten born and they seem to be doing well. In the photo below you can make out a straw barrier mum had built to keep her babies close. Picture was taken when they are about one hour old. One of the piglets already took advantage of the upper deck.

The resilience of Winter Aconites

The first Winter Aconites are a beacon of woodland beauty even in a gloomy January. They are in a small wooded area; and some daffodil shoots are showing through too. The long-term presence of this independent-minded flower is something to admire and respect.   

But their dominating neighbour is a large poplar tree. The poplars along here are continually threatening to expand their territory and colonise the area. Its a threat that the aconites, daffodils snow drops and other peace-loving plants have to regularly contend with. The poplars send out thuggish suckers to intimidate the surrounding plants even though ultimately they share the same ecosystem. 

However, the poplars' behaviour has long been bounded by established management routines that oversee the area and aspire to promote balance and harmony so that all get along together in partnership. Even if these rules ever get over-ridden by the poplars the aconites are resilient enough to survive one way or another.

The poplars undoubtedly cause a lot of havoc, often in unexpected places. Of course, they are not all bad but just because the they provide some summer shade you'd think they expect a prize for this one thing whatever else they do.