 Hello All So here i am again in a hospital looking at my daughter who is the worse for wear having had her wisdom teeth wrenched from her gums only 9 months after the removal of her tonsils. we are in the cheap but effective Libourne General Hospital this time having been caught out at a clinic in Bordeaux for the last intervention which left us with a bill for 500 euros. I think the bill must cover the cost of the very comfortable seating for family members waiting for their loved ones at the clinic as I am in my 7th hour here and have yet to find a comfortable chair. Emily did offer me a portion of her bed but i think she needs it more than I today. This week is looking like it is set to be a long one. I have already spent a long day yesterday with the accountant finalising all the papers so our balance sheets (or whatever they are called in english) are ready now for presentation to the powers that be...the bank. My main meal yesterday was a Big Mac and a cappucino and thus far todays lunch is an apple. So kind of half nutritious, half fuel, not food, over a 2 day period. The tummy grumbles are starting to shout so I am figuring the fuel bit has nearly run out. Tomorrow through to Saturday is looking like butchery and markets routine. Then over the weekend we do a looonnnng drive, 2000km, to get the new puppy. Number 3 child is overcome with excitement as she is coming with Gavin and me/I. Can't work out that grammatical connundrum today, so there's a choice pick which ever you prefer, I must be suffering from sleep deprevation. Unlike the cat!  Our baaing lambs in the kitchen have been thinned out as some have gone to the shed. Medium sized was just too jumpy and I was fearful that she might take a liking to jumping on and off the sofa. We have had some new ones in the last couple of days twins and triplets though sadly one triplet did not make it. Btw this is not our main lambing event of the year theoretically that is during april-ish. These ones now are the products of older sheep who need more care, sheep who were sickly and now aren't and naughty escapee sheep, who all hang around close to the house where they can be watched so invariably they get caught by boy lambs who like to go out exploring . Patrick is still at home thank goodness so I am able to do all these extra curricula activities without returning home to a tired husband who hasn't had time to cut the wood or hang the washing out. With regard to the latter I am about to fall out with meteo france who insist on telling me that one day the sun will shine, but keep moving that one day further and further away. I may have to resort to buying more sheets rather than clog up the ordinary washing circuit. I was even seen browsing the tumble dryer aisle at the supermarket the other day gazing wistfully at potentially my white box to feedom. However I dragged myself back to reality once I remembered how much they cost to run and carried on my merry way. Which is what I am hoping will happen again if the Doctor ever arrives to give us the nod to be released. See you all soon if we ever get out of here, we are entering our 8th hour. Helen 
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 Hello All Normal people with normal lives wake up in the morning and I guess have a quiet cup of coffee or tea slowly make their preparations for the day, then dress accordingly for the jobs or tasks they will be tackling. Well we have once again entered that time of year when our days and nights are dictated by newborn lambs and gliding slowly into the morning is not a major feature of our day. We have 3 lambs in the kitchen named Big, Medium and Small, no prizes for guessing why. They are all girls and Small is the noisiest. So often the case with the smallest. Last week Gavin was banished to the sofa so he would wake up for the 3 o'clock feed without disturbing me. (I figure I have done my bit with regard to middle of the night feeds.) My turn is often first thing in the morning and that is when the dilemmas begin, getting up and have to deciding what to do first. If I am crafty and tiptoe, turning as few lights on as possible, I can manage to make tea and have a quick cuppa before B,M and S wake.
The problems arise if the fires need tending urgently, creating the inevitable noise of the grates being cleared and the doors, which all squeak, being opened and shut, not to mention if there are no mugs in the cupboard which means releasing the creaky springes that hold the dishwasher door. If the dogs decide to take the route by the lamb cage to get to me to say hello in the morning then that means we have air turbulence and crashing on the sides of the lamb cage. The other option is that Number 3 is awake first and then she likes to go and say "cute lambies" and chat to them in the morning. All of these things conspire to thwart me from having that elusive, quick, peaceful cuppa.
So now the 4 legged ones are awake then we ascertain if the bottles are clean, is the milk mixed what clothing am I wearing is it suitable for feeding lambs. Should I have wellies on rather than slippers to protect from the morning ablutions. Should I in fact ditch the dressing gown for overalls incase there is poo involved..... What do I mean incase....they are babies there is always poo involved. But no, too many decisions for 6.30 in the morning we will opt for a large towel, a mop and bucket and a great deal of care where I place my slippers. Peace is achieved once the babies are fed then some semblance of normality is resumed such as it is here. I asked the kids this evening whilst we were competing with baaing lambs, the washing machine on spin cycle, the television blasting out laughter from some American sitcom and all 5 of us talking at the same time (sorry Gavin, 4 of us as you gave up competing 20 years ago when Patrick was born) if all houses were noisy like ours? The response was "No,mostly they make no noise at all, in fact they are so quiet it as if no one is there". Well not much chance of that at Franklin's Fabulously Feisty Fiercly Abnormal Quirky Farm. See you all soon Helen |
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February 2024
Helen FranklinI am farming sheep and goats on the Dordogne/Gironde border with my husband and our 3 children. We have an on farm butchery and sell our meat direct to the public via the markets and delivery points in our local area |
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