MOURNING IN THE MORNING

This morning we found sadly that Hilda (AKA Hermasetas or Humphrina) had died in the night.  We suspected there was a problem but before we could deduce what the problem was she passed away.  She was made as comfortable as possible before we went to bed but it was in vain.  

Hilda on a better day..

So we will not be eating her as we have no idea why she died.  I feel quite sad about it as I began to get quite attached to her.  She was a sensitive soul.  We will not get more turkeys until July or August - so we have SPACE for something else perhaps?? hold that thought.

The rain is relentless here in Sa Pobla, everything is sopping wet, which for the fields isn't a bad thing as November and December were very dry months.  It is also very cold and there is now snow on the mountains.

View of snow capped mountains from Campanet

So today Ruffa went to the vet to have his ears looked at, he's got terrible itches in them and it's been driving him bonkers.  He apparently has a fungus in there - yuk but now we have some drops for him, I am hoping it will ease his insane scratching.

C & I have stocked up on straw and sawdust bedding for the chickens and I will be cleaning them out tomorrow morning.  I am also hoping to get the turkey pen thoroughly cleaned out and sprayed with disinfectant before anything else goes in there.  We are also trying to finish off a smaller hen cage, so that when we go to pick up some new ones we can keep them separate from the rest of the flock, just for a few weeks, in case they are carrying any diseases!  Our girls are laying quite well, but since the snow appeared on the mountains they have slowed down! 

Looking forward to more marmalade tomorrow morning, C said he was planning on making some, along with a marmalade cake, lemon cake and a pear and ginger cake.

Tonight there was a lovely sunset and I caught it's reflection  on some big clouds with the moon.  

Winter trees 18:00hrs

MARMALADE AT LAST

We finally have a small batch of marmalade.  

Made from a few of the mandarins off our only two mandarin trees.  This was a test batch to see how it would turn out.  It seems that many people struggle to get their marmalade to set properly here but C used extra pectin this time - bought in from the UK.  We only have a few jars but one went to our local taster, who reported that it was the best flavour he'd ever tried! However, it was a little too sweet.  So the next batch will be altered slightly with the amount of sugar used.

The trees are now completely groaning under the strain of fruit, we need to get picking pronto!  C is going to make another batch or so of mandarin marmalade and obviously several batches of orange marmalade.  I think we will have to order in some more pectin as without it the setting process seems to be a failure, and runny marmalade just isn't the same!  So, much more to come in the marmalade department.

Today is Ruffa's birthday - he's 2, where does the time go?  He is now classed as an adult, although he still behaves like a puppy most of the time.

Not a good shot but Ruffa was trying to climb onto the bed for cuddles whilst we sang happy birthday to him! - He is definitely NOT allowed on beds or sofas in our house.















Whilst doing some writing this morning, C came in from cleaning out the hens and Hilda, with a whopper of an egg.  We now have two whoppers and three much smaller eggs - I might have an omelet at lunchtime!

We are hoping the two on the right are double yolkers - hooorrah!