2017 Goals ~ Let’s go with Healthy, Wealthy and Wise… and a couple donkeys

I absolutely adore that the advent of the New Year gives one a sense of renewal, a chance to reflect and consequently focus on ones short and long term goals.  We have lots of changes planned for 2017 and, I must say, yes, I must, that we are very, very excited (and a teeny bit scared).  We will be putting all our eggs into our  entrepreneurial basket and focusing our time specifically ~ Pumpjack’s to our new wine business Terroir au Verre and me, Piddlewick, to my Pumpjack & Piddlewick  Shop and the life that goes on behind it, so our blog will get a bit of a face lift too this year.

Welcome 2017! It’s make or break time.
(Hmmm, maybe not a good euphemism when talking about entrepreneurial eggs.)

Can Ducks be Pets – Duck Tales and FAQS

I posted a picture of our duck Maggie sleeping on Pumpjacks shoulder on Instagram a little while ago. Lots of likes and then a comment to the affect, ‘Ewwww, there is just something wrong with having a duck as a pet’. It got me to thinking.  A year and a half in with Maggie, can  ducks actually be pets? The answer is a resounding and surprising ~ Yes! But, the more important question is ~ why?

Walkies! Walking our dog, cats and ducks

I am new to having a dog, and new to the ritual of dog walking. With the advent of the grape harvest and Pumpjack working as an Oenologist in Chablis it fell to me to walk our young Chewie in the mornings. I wasn’t looking forward to this, particularly as the days closed in and the weather turned colder, potentially wetter, not to mention the time it would take away from my day.  Turns out, I must say, I love it.I have always wanted to be a morning person, and the animals have definitely cemented this  reality with their dawn (if not earlier) to dusk lifestyle.

Animal Antics – Birth, Death, Amputations, Games of Spies and a retarded duck (Part 2)

This is the continuing chaotic saga of the animals antics that abounded this summer. Please do read Part 1 first, if you haven’t. Then follow the link at the end back to here.

From Death, we come full circle back to Gigi. With our attention diverted to the rabbits, our very pregnant Gigi was not getting all the right type of attention she would have liked and spent most of her days lounging under next doors sun umbrella. Much more tranquil, no other animals. Our neighbours texts kept me up to date with her location. Then she went missing for 3 days and returned one evening skinny, and starving, demanding to be fed. She ate everything in sight including the dog food, hissing in passing as Lapsong and Chewie watched. This set up the pattern for each night.

We were certain she had had the kittens in the neighbours garden, under their shed or in the garage. They were certain she had had them under our pool house. We decided we would try to follow her and see where she went. What ensued were a series of evening manoeuvres Special Forces would be proud of, but with maybe less favourable results.

Animal Antics – Birth, Death, Amputations, Spy Games and a Retarded Duck (Part 1)

WARNING! Animal Antics are not for the faint hearted. My nerves and emotions are just about settled now. Thank goodness. This  two months have been a bumper roller coaster ride of happiness and sorrow, frantic activity and chaotic wonder in our little animal world. Not even a moment to blog a morsel of cheese for a mouse.

Our Gigi leads the pack by getting pregnant, again, and very, very sneakily. What we didn’t know was when her kittens were not even quite 6 weeks old, she tarted herself up and went on the prowl. First time lucky we figure since she appeared to be with her kittens the whole time. About a week after giving away the last of the kittens (at 9 weeks) we finally noticed she was a tad pudgy around the middle. Our first reaction was ‘No way!’, but Yes way and we had to cancel her sterilisation at the vet. (Honest, we had tried not to let her know what was in store for her.) By the next week we knew for sure as her appetite soared and so did her telling us about her day. It was like living with an opera singer on full non-stop vocal.

Who Says the Countryside is Quiet?!

Life is never dull here.  Who needs the excitement of city life when you have the countryside and all it offers…

We took over the Gardien’s cottage in November 2013 and have been enjoying the dramas of its garden, and animals, ever since.  Every day some new adventure comes our way, but with 8 animals initially, now up to 16, and that’s not including the wild critters who reside in and around, how could there ever be a dull moment?

A fox went out on a humid night – causing chaos in our duck world

Last night we lost a young male duck to a fox. We knew something was up when we heard lots of chaotic duck quacking. I went out to find one of our little females on her own, very obviously upset. I walked her down to the other ducks, to find them running over from the other side of the garden. In counting there were only 5, including the little girl by my feet. That left 3 more to find.

Bad Mummy Duck ~ or ~ Making the Most of Grandparents?

Spring is a time or replenishment. A time to plant the garden, a time of rebirth amongst the animal kingdom, and a time – thank goodness – when we can move some of the off-spring out.

Now I can’t claim to understand, possibly sympathise, but not truly understand what it is to raise children. But I can tell you about ducklings, that is about ducklings that live in your house. Having raised Maggie from her hatching to the hatching of her own brood – of 13! – I can debate with myself that I am starting to get the hang of it. And then I think…. nah.

Mother Nature goes to town dolled up in hat and handbag

This years spring has been like an old woman entering the cold sea, a tentative toe at a time. I’ve been told it is an El Nino year, so hence the strange lengthy cold and wet spell. Whatever the excuse, I am not bothered, I just wish it would come! The odd sunny warm day pops in, like a friendly neighbour for a cup of tea, but once drunk, disappears again and we are back to grey, damp days. And this is France! Tsk, tsk, tsk is what I have to say, pull your boot straps up Spring and get on with it! I am ready to garden.

We’re trying something new in our garden this year, building truly raised beds, using pallets. (No more bending and kneeling, and less weeds. Hopefully.) There will be more details on this in a later dedicated blog, but suffice it to say, its a slow project as I work between boughts of rain. Yup, I am a fair weather gardener and not ashamed to say it.

But what I really wanted to talk about here is how this year Mother Nature has gone mad. The garden may be delayed in its growth, but this has definitely been made up for in animals. We figure it is the colder, wetter, consequently darker days that have made the animals bored and looking for something to do. But, honestly!!!

Make your own dog (and cat) food – easy peasy and cheap!

We like good food, real food here at Pumpjack & Piddlewick, so when we got a cat, and then a dog we felt it only fair that they get good, real food as well, e.g. no preservatives, fillers, etc. so we took the decision to give them natural, home made food.

With our cat, as a consummate carnivore, it was quite simple~ fish, chicken or beef. When I cook for us, I make sure some is set to the side for her (which I simply sautée up). When I buy for us, I simply buy extra for her. And when we have vegetarian nights? I often make double batches of meat and store in the fridge/freezer ready.  And the difference in her! Her fur in particular, amazing! So beautifully soft and shiny. And then life got easier when we got a dog.