Ahhhh a Day of Rest

Well I've done almost nothing today.......and to be honest I've enjoyed lazing around and not having to do much. I even had a nap on the sofa which is totally out of the norm for me!

We did have a few drinks last night which was the cause of the quiet day but sometimes you just need to let your hair down, drink a few and get the poker game going, not that we play for real money but we still have a laugh. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday (Velik Den) so the eggs have been dyed and look really nice.

The eggs at the back were brought round by our friend Jordani who also provided the 3 large goose eggs for the kids. It'll be fun watching them bash eggs tomorrow to see who's is the last to break. 

This page tells you more about how Easter is celebrated in Bulgaria and the traditions Velik Den 

I hope everyone reading is having a lovely weekend, where ever you are

Bonus Post

Since I'm having a good day I decided to post again...... Spring really is here and since going out to the market this morning there have been a couple of developments here.

One of the bantam hens had decided to sit on eggs yesterday, so after checking we've found she's trying to hatch 6 eggs. The turkeys have decided to sit on eggs also and so far we have one female on at least 12 eggs. Plus as a final bonus one of our older layers is sitting on approximately 6 eggs so in 3-4 weeks we could possibly have a lot of new arrivals. Yay - I love chicks!

The garden is starting to dry out again so I've had a wander around to see which parts may be workable and after a quick check on my small winter veg patch I've realised that the red cabbage the donkey ate twice last year, that I left in because I couldn't be bothered to pull it out, and has been growing well again (surprisingly), may even turn out to be purple sprouting broccoli after all! Ha so much for my garden plan and remembering what I've planted......

I'm hoping to get some pea seeds planted today and possibly more onions in later when the onion patch has had a bit more sun on it - If I can do it the timing will be good because we're forecast showers tomorrow, so they'd get a good watering in.

I've also started yet another blog, about the village we live in this time. It's in the infancy stages right now so once I've added bits, taken some photos and generally beefed it up a little I'll post a link here.

Right back to the garden I go! Have a good day whatever you are doing :)

The Joys of Spring

 It's a lovely morning, sun shining, cockerels crowing and the village sheep and goats have gone out for their daily grazing. The shepherd walks through the village blowing a horn and people open the gates to let their animals out to go with him, they'll be back tonight just before sunset to go into their respective gates and sleep for the night, then the process starts all over again tomorrow.

Everything has suddenly gone very green here, the grass is growing like mad, buds and leaves on trees are opening and the plum trees are in bloom. My small gooseberry bush has survived the winter and seems to be doing ok, I'd like to try and get some rhubarb this year too as I really miss those winter puddings and crumbles.

This year our fruit will be jammed, pureed and frozen or popped into alcohol to save for special occasions. Any excess usually gets fed to the animals and they don't ever refuse! We really do get a lot of fruit here, more than we could ever use no matter how hard I try.

Yesterday we discovered one of the bantam hens is sitting on eggs, great apart from they're bantam eggs and the last thing we need are any more small cockerels - so today I'll try and replace the eggs with layers eggs (fresh from their coop) and avoid getting pecked if I can! It's also time to put the collected turkey eggs back and see if our oldest turkey hen will sit on them..........fingers crossed that in 3 weeks we'll have chicks, and a week after that turkey poults.

Best sign off for now as it's market day and the highlight of the week here.

Storming!

We've had a huge storm here tonight - thunder, lightning, wind, rain and golf ball sized hail stones! Although it seems to have calmed down now. We do like to watch a good storm and since it's so open here the field really lights up and looks fantastic. I'm really glad we got the animals in before it started too as it's no fun being dragged around a field in a storm by a scared horse.

Means I'll be wearing my wellies for a bit longer than I expected and the garden is now waterlogged again and still no good to rotovate..........I'm going to be behind with this years planting but there's not a thing I can do about it.

I've been out and about today into town with some lovely friends and managed to sort out a few things that needed doing. Our year end accounts were due and luckily I just got them sent off to the accountant in time and also got into a bank and paid him for the work today. We need to re-register the company this year too but that can wait a month or so.

Here's a more recent pic of Charlotte and her babies out enjoying the sunshine and getting a taste of freedom in our garden before planting starts. They're really getting big now and are eating loads but still having an occasional feed from mum when they can convince her to let them.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Well we're ready for guests arriving later this evening and have worked hard all day to get the bungalow ship shape and decent. I must admit that the place does look rather nice now and the kids want to move in there!

The dog is also looking much better and her swelling seems to be going down, inside her mouth there are 2 small puncture marks on the gumline which must either be the cause or where an abcess has broken through. She's still in no pain and happy for me to poke and prod at it so we'll wait and see what happens tomorrow before going off to the vets.

The rain had stopped by lunchtime and we've had glorious sunshine this afternoon, helping to lift everyone's spirits. It's amazing the change in people when the weather is good!

It's time to go get the horses and donkey in for the night and then make a quick tea - omelette's all round tonight as we have a load of fresh eggs from our hens. Then I best have a shower and make myself look less country bumpkin before setting off to pick our guests up from the bus station in town...........might actually get to sit down and chill out by about 10pm tonight but at least it will be worth it.

And The Heavens Opened!

Today has been miserable, dull and rainy.......just to remind us that it's not summer yet although we've had temperatures of over 20 degrees C. So we're back to squelching about in the mud, filthy tiled floors and drying washing inside.

My garden that was drying out quite well will now be back to looking like a mud hole with small streams flowing down one side that take ages to go away, at least I have an excuse for doing absolutely nothing outside today! I did though manage to get a few onions planted yesterday.

Preparations have been made today for guests to arrive tomorrow who are staying in our bungalow, it still needs a clean but that can be done tomorrow when I go to put the fresh bedding on etc. It's not too bad considering it's been closed up for the winter but after hubby did some minor work there today I'm sure it's muckier than when I last looked!

One of our dogs, Sasha, will have to go to the vets this week, probably Tuesday - she resembles a hamster at the moment and we think she may have a bit of wood/twig stuck in her gum causing an infection...it hasn't put her off her food and doesn't seem painful but needs attention so I'll let you know what happens.