Dentist Time

Recently a horsey friend living not too far away recommended a mobile vet who was newly trained and looking for new clients in Bulgaria. He'd been to visit her horses and floated (rasped) their teeth so this week I've had him here to see our 2 girls and of course Maggie the donkey.

We've been asking locally for a couple of years to find a vet who had the right equipment and knowledge to come and make sure our girls were comfortable to no avail. In fact the locals just laughed at the idea of a horse needing a dentist! As time went on and hopes faded of finding someone our lovely donkey started having a bit of trouble eating her hay and keeping weight on, which usually mean there is a problem with the teeth.

So when Thursday arrived I was quite looking forward to meeting the vet and watching him work. I wasn't disappointed either. He was very nice, professional and kind to the animals. They were sedated and had probably their first ever teeth rasp done without any major hiccups. Then it was onto the cat - who was castrated on our dining room table!

All went well, everyone came round from their sedation and even the poor cat was back to normal within 12 hours and shouting to be fed again. I'm not even sure he's realised that certain parts are missing, but he's already in winter, lounge lizard mode and spends most of his days curled up with the dogs sleeping. Lucky animals!

A Funny Old Week

After the rain and dull skies last week I'd half hoped the weather would be nice, and so it has been today and yesterday. But we woke up to snow on Tuesday morning and boy was that a shock! Yes, it had been colder than average but that's when the realisation that winter is coming actually hit.

Every year it's a battle to try and stay ahead of the weather. And each year we seem to get a little better at it thankfully. The central heating system is up and working correctly, the barn is full of straw and hay for the animals and we have plenty of firewood chopped but not all split yet. That doesn't worry me though as it's good exercise and can be done even on cold days.

In other news, I've been a bit poorly, but think it was just a bug and I'm almost back to full strength now. Plus one of our dogs bit me during a fight so I've had a sore leg too. Nothing serious and she certainly didn't mean to bite me.

Hubby has some red wine fermenting from grapes he was given by a lady he recently did some work for. We're not huge wine drinkers but I think it will be nice to have something different for a change.

And we have another workaway volunteer arriving at the weekend too. So more help for me and someone to ride the horses for a while. When our last volunteer left I joked that she should write a blog post about all of the new foods she tried while travelling - but I bet yorkshire pudding and scotch eggs wasn't to be expected in Bulgaria.

Fudge, the dog above, will be leaving us in a few weeks to start a new life in the UK. He's my sister in law's dog and has been staying with us for about a year until she got settled and his passport and paperwork were in order. A strange but funny dog (in the nicest way), who was used to being pampered and living in the house until he came here. Since he's been here he's adapted very well and loves to live outside with one of our other dogs, Butch. It'll be all new to him in the UK but at least he'll be back with his owners and little miss will be delighted to have him back.

Fingers crossed the weather holds out a bit longer. I've been trying my hardest to get the horses and Maggie's (the donkey) feet into shape and this morning managed the donkey's 2 front feet on my own - I was amazed at how well she behaved! Tomorrow morning is village market day (and also the mayoral elections) so I'll see if Maya will be good for at least 2 feet trimmed then. Slowly does it, but I am making progress and they look better than when the village so called blacksmith comes :) I'll post some photo's when I'm finished.

Bloggers Block

Do you ever get stuck for something to write about on your blog? Some days I just don't feel like writing, others I don't get the time and occasionally I feel like I must be droning on about all sorts of rubbish, and hope that my readers don't get bored.

I know it's impossible to be entertaining all of the time and to be honest we don't live an excitement filled life here, but that's through choice. But I do like my life here and wonder if we hadn't moved abroad what we'd be doing now if we had stayed in the UK. I very much doubt life would have changed much but who knows? I don't have a crystal ball.

Recently I've got back into reading and am currently working my way through a stack of books sister in law couldn't take back to the UK with her, some good, some not so good. Once the winter really sets in here I'll appreciate the not so good ones more and I hope there are enough books to see me through the quieter months. I'd love to have a go at reviewing new books so if any companies would like to send me some through the post I'll gladly do a write up once I've read them!

Animal feeding time is a little quieter now without Vasko barking at the window for his tea, and as the weather is cold and wet again I'm glad he's at rest and not suffering. His kennel has already been moved into and Baba the dog, has claimed it as hers! Makes a change from the cat sleeping in it lol.

Today is wet and windy although the weekend has been quite mild. The donkey has spent the last 3 hours shouting to be brought inside as she hates the rain, in fact she hates most of the seasons and can be very vocal when she wants to. She's a great alarm clock during the winter and shouts every hour from first light until you feed her. Not that we get to lie in that often anyway. This morning we were all up and out of bed at 5am due to my son deciding he wasn't going to school and he was set on having a huge argument about it and how unfair life is to him etc etc etc. Teenagers grrrr, sometimes they drive me mad! So it'll be an easy tea and early night for us all hopefully.

Worn Out

Well what a week we've had! Friends and family have been here for a holiday so it's been busy non stop and we've had some great laughs. There have been birthdays to celebrate, drinks to be drunk and some hilarious times to boot, it's been lovely seeing them again and I hope they all had a great week. Some people think we live in a town and can get quite a shock when they realise how rural it is here and how far it is from our old lives.

In other news, the kids are going to school again and never missed a day. I think it was more of a lack of language and communication on all parts but am glad it's now sorted out. The piglets are all ready to go to new homes and we have had some enquiries and reservations already. Charlotte is due a well earned rest from motherhood and time to pit some weight back on and chill out. Maggie the donkey is now back home after going for grass cutting duties to a friends house for a few weeks. All of the animals are starting to get their winter coats in as the nights draw closer and temperatures drop. Soon I'll have to bring the houseplants and cuttings indoors before we start to get overnight frosts.

Sister in law and I are off to a car boot sale again tomorrow, and hopefully coming back with an empty car as she tries to sell of the last things she needs to get rid off before returning to the UK. I'll be sad to see her go and will miss her loads.

Hubby has some work to do over the next few weeks and I need to sort out winter accomodation for all of the animals, get everything mucked out and fresh bedding sorted and make sure they'll be snug and dry for when the colder weather comes. This year all of the manure is going onto the top of the garden to try and help improve the soil. I'll spread it out and let the frost break it down ready for the growing season next spring. The pool needs emptied, cleaned and packed away this week as it's not warm enough now to use it. Another summer over and done with!

Right now it's raining and the ground desperately needs it, everything is parched and very dusty. Let's hope it's stopped before morning otherwise we'll be wearing wellies to the car boot sale lol

Busy Bees

Once again we've had a few busy days so my internet time has been shorter than usual. We had friends arrive in the village last week who have finally made the move here full time and I'd forgotten how much of a pain and time consuming it is trying to sort bills, materials and other stuff out. A short trip into town quickly becomes an all day thing, nothing gets done quickly here and paperwork mounts up fast. The heat doesn't help either, summer is truly here and the temperatures are set to be in the high 30's for the next few days.

Charlotte and her mob of fantastic piglets are doing really well, the babies are starting to investigate everything and each time we open the sty door they make a run for it! They're extremely friendly already and have realised that humans are great for getting tummy rubs from. I've already stocked up on starter feed as they'll be getting their first taste of solid food next week. They seem to be bigger daily and have already at least doubled in size since birth, mum looks well still but is getting extra rations to help keep her milk production up.

We have yet another new addition to our menangerie, well to be truthful not so new but different! When hubby's sister bought her house in the village she "Inherited" a rather sweet mixed breed dog, who was promptly named Baba. The dog then gave birth to 4 puppies, one of which is our original outside dog, Butch. Well after 2 years living here, sister in law is returning to the UK and needed homes for all of the animals she has. Baba does tend to spend half of the week here anyway and seems to like to be here so she's moving in for good. She will be living outside with Butch as that's what she's used to. There will be no more puppies as she was neutered last year and she's not a bother to have around at all apart from liking to bark at horses and carts.

Vasko is doing much better and we seem to have the fly problem under control. I bought a spray from the vets that seems to be working well and also has antiseptic and antibacterial in it so that is helping him heal quickly. We're being extra vigilant and also making sure that all of the animals have clean water at least 3 times a day to help them cope with the heat. Lucky for us there is a water spring just outside with an abundance of fresh, cold and best of all free mineral water, makes life so much easier!

We're donkey free at the moment as Maggie has gone to our friends place for a few weeks to help control their jungle of a garden, I'm sure she'll enjoy the attention she'll get (and extra food rations) and be home before the winter sets in. Tomorrow we have 2 pigs going off to their new home which will help free up some barn space for Charlotte and her babies to move into next week. As the piglets are growing so fast they'll enjoy the large part of the barn and will be able to run around a lot more.

Hormones!

There's something going on around here this week and I'm betting it's hormone based! Maggie the donkey who's usually quite amiable and happy has managed to get loose twice today and wander off to visit a male donkey down the street - Oh and didn't she give me the run around when I went to catch her, she's normally not known for speed but believe me she can move when she wants to!

She's not the only hormonal one here at the moment, my horse Maya was in a foul mood tonight and refused to be caught to come in, she managed to get loose and went careering off down the track at a flat out gallop, so that's 3 times today I've had to round up unruly animals! Pah, all on my own too as hubby has gone fishing, maybe it's a hint and I'm hormonal too although I certainly don't feel it.

My cart is still waiting for a puncture to be repaired and hasn't been used at all this year so far, usually we get Milka on the cart during the spring and autumn and go for a jaunt around the village. It amuses the locals and helps keep the horses weight down a little. Admittedly it's not a very comfortable thing to ride in but I do enjoy it. Horses or donkeys and carts are still used a lot around the village for transport and are an everyday sight. Next month there is a huge horse fair at a neighbouring village, Kamen, and we'll probably go for a day out.

Let's hope the hormones have calmed down a little tomorrow and things will be back to normal.

Flowers Galore

This year is proving to be rather good for my flower garden. Admittedly I'm probably more comfortable growing vegetables and not exactly a flowering garden guru. I find it hard to remember the varieties of flowering plants, how long they last and how they should be treated etc. Some of the non-edibles growing in the garden I only know the Bulgarian names of and really should look them up on the internet and see how to care for them properly. One of the species I do know is Calendula and they are in abundance this year and looking wonderful. So many different shades of oranges and yellows and they always seem to brighten my day, I love taking photographs of them.

Most of the Calendula and different varieties of Marigolds growing this year are from saved seeds, which I randomly scattered around the flower beds to create and haphazard effect.  I'll save seeds again from them all later in the year. My Vinca Minor and Vinca Major (variegated) are doing rather well now too, the latter hanging very nicely over the garden wall although they haven't had many flowers bloom this time. The geraniums and pelargoniums are coming along well and starting to flower now, they are cuttings saved from last year's plants that have overwintered in the house.

Of course the Lavender is doing well and I love the smell of it every time I pass close. Cornflowers are opening now and adding a touch of blue amongst the foliage and predominantly yellow and orange flowers. And I've finally decided what one of the Bulgarian mystery plants that were given to me are - it's a Dahlia and should flower in the next few weeks hopefully. I'll have to remember to dig it up for the winter.

The weather right now is very strange for the time of year - we've had more storms than ever, temperatures have dropped around 10 degrees C into the mid twenties, and the rain today has been awful, almost violent! All of the animals were inside early and happy to be somewhere dry, poor Maggie the donkey looked utterly miserable when I went to get her in and decided to fore go her usual roll in the building sand that is part of her daily routine! Hopefully things will brighten up again over the next few days and get back to normal. What's the June weather like in your part of the world?