That's a thought, I know someone who does go there and she would certainly pick me up the odd dozen if I asked. Not worth my while to go just for that as it takes me quite awhile to finish a dozen eggs. Must find out.
On Stronsay we are fortunate in that there are no predators (foxes etc) so fowls can be left out at night. However, most fowls prefer to go back into their huts at night
Ack it won't let me in, not sure why. They were originally Russian hunting dogs, used mainly for water work. They would trim their wool and leave pom poms of wool over joints that could become arthritic. The ladies of the French court saw them, thought they were adorable and imported them to France.
He was the smartest of all our dogs, we couldn't think of more tricks to teach him, it was so easy, just position him into what you wanted him to do, once, then he would work for food lol We called him Froggy which was an embarrassment when David brought home an officer from a French ship which was in port :)
I called the police one night when he started growling and snarling (David was at sea) and when they arrived they caught two men exiting the house next door.
I believe there was a list of dogs and how intelligent they were, poodles were amongst the leaders with Afghan Hounds on the bottom.
NOW, Sheena,
I know you were in UK during WW2.Eggs were severely rationed as everything else. We had a "battery" of 5 cages in the summerhouse. The birds were named..Alice ( after my grandma), Beth ( from Little women) C0nnie, (my favorite teacher age 5), Denise my best friend and Edith( my aunt).
My Dad kept a record of who layed an egg each day... and the non-layers were eventually turned into chicken stew.
In those days any food was food!I have to giggle when I hear the American side of the family talk of food rationing! They didn't have a clue how bad it was on the left side of the pond!
Gill
Our hens didn't care what we did with their eggs. We tried letting them set but they would get bored after a week or so and we would find ice cold eggs in the morning when we went out to feed and check the water. :-)))))) Since we have an incubator in the house if we really want to hatch, it was to our benefit to have chickens who didn't mind when we reached under them to remove the eggs. :-)
Liz from Humbug
Remember powdered eggs - now I wish I hadn't ! I laughed like a drain when a good friend here gave me a copy of her mothers War Cake - only 2 oz of butter, 2 eggs and then a whole string of currants, raisins etc !!!
My grandmother had some chickens (to this day I like a stewed hen but they don't let them live long enough anymore) and she used to have a wonderful, huge crock into which she put dozens of eggs in the spring and summer and then covered them with isinglass to preserve them. They were sort of okay, but only used in something, not served as an egg.
The gardener (he was too old to be called up) used to shovel the chicken shit into a huge barrel in the courtyard and add some water to make fertilizer. Came the day when my brother convinced me to poke the bung out of the barrel with a stick. Oh boy, out came my grandmothers bamboo stick and I couldn't sit for awhile :)
It's funny though Gillian, for all they were terrible times, I remember my childhood very fondly. The adults rarely had time to bother about what we were doing, we usually roamed free for hours on end. That stopped a little when the daylight bombing started but even so my mother said that they reasoned that 'planes didn't drop bombs on parks so they shouldn't restrict us too much ! Imagine mothers today being so accommodating !
Do you have a rooster as well ? Are they fertilised eggs they are leaving ?
My mother was a Sergeant wireless operator in the WRAF during WW2. She told me that it was an eye-opener when she and 2 RAF Corporals were detached to a new USAF airfield in Lincolnshire for USAF/RAF liaison duties in 1942. The USAF mess was serving fresh eggs and bacon for breakfast, roast beef, roast pork, chops etc for lunch; there was also "real" coffee with every meal.
I know what you mean - they requisitioned the house next to my grandmothers. My brother had this theory they were really spies and spy on them we did. We were intrigued by their food, especially when they had plates of blood, probably tinned tomato soup. My grandmother wrestled her Staffordshire Bull to the ground and took a leg of lamb from his mouth when he came home with that. A quick soak in vinegar and she declared it safe to eat !
Two of my aunts were WRNS and my grandfather was Home Guard - though as my aunt said recently, had our safety depended on the Home Guard it would have been pretty rum :)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..... I'm always thankful to have been evacuated, as I would probably never have known the joys of living in the Welsh countryside, and getting to know nature really well. As a very poor city kid, I never even had holidays in the country, though we knew the sea, as we lived near enough to hop on the bus when we had a couple of pennies, and go to the beach.
Yes, rationing in the war was very severe, but at least it was well-organised, so that I never knew of anyone unable to get their rations. I was a child, however, so didn't have the burden of providing meals with such restrictions.
Here I've learned to tell truly free-range eggs by the brilliance of their yokes, which sometimes makes the resultant eatables artificial-looking! Bright orange cakes and mustard-coloured lemon curd are not the most attractive foods, but at least we know the reason for the colour!
Joyce in RSA.
Have sent it to you off-list. If anyone else wants to read it, just email me.
Interesting. I never heard they were Russian or the reason for trimming them like that!
??? Another naval/sea reference with which I'm not familiar?
I love having a dog, especially in the country. Jaz was growling about 2am one night so I got up and looked out and there were 2 guys that had gone in the snow-filled ditch in front of our house. We watched them for awhile then called the sheriff. We think they were probably drunk. It might have been interesting to see just how long they would have struggled. LOL
Jaz is almost 8...time to start thinking of getting another dog. Maybe I'll suggest a standard poodle, since DH seems to have developed some slight allergies to dog hair. Do poodles require a lot of brushing? Although I'd miss a lab (I think they're *the* best dogs!), it would be better than having no dog. And he'd still be able to hunt!
Joan
Here's a link to some history. Certainly the origin of the name is German from pudle (cognate to the English word puddle)
No - Frog or froggy are (very old) derogatory names for a French person.
MargW
I received it thanks, very interesting.
Not really, it's what fine English people call the French, 'frogs' I imagine because they eat frog legs lol
I kept Froggy in a lamb clip. Snout, paws and tail (save a pom pom on the end) shaved and the rest of the coat short, like a lamb. We never brushed him, just clipped him again when the lamb part got too long.
As you know we had a lab too and I would be hard put to decide between a lab or a poodle if I had another dog. Definitely for allergies, a poodle. Have they decided what breed the White House dawg will be ?
How about a labradoodle?
I buy the cage-free humane certified ones - my animal cruelty thing. But, they're usually from producers who do organic as well, and I suspect are similarly fed. Anyhow, the eggs I buy are the vegetarian fed, no growth hormone type.
Ellice
LOL - I can see that. Puckster has taken to overseeing the various counters and table of late. He will let food drop - and won't touch anything until we say it's okay- but we do marvel at his amazing control - quivering nose and all. He does eat about anything - and seems quite intent on being fed with the pack leaders leftovers, and will sit, quivering, tail wagging, while we eat dinner - so we usually give him some tidbits of veggies or whatever, and he's then quite happy. I think it's just the idea the the pack leaders are sharing with him. A couple of carrots, brussel sprouts, beans - whatever - and he'll then just go lay down.
OTOH, throw anything else in the house, and the retriever in him definitely will grab. He's just not the typical food oriented as his first goal.
Ellice
Depends. Check out the humane certification stuff.
Ellice
And that link would be....????
Joan
Frog legs are something I've actually tried. Tasted like chicken! English people don't eat frog legs, then?
And did you spin the hair into yarn? How often did you have to clip him?
Will definitely have to mention this to DH.
No clue...I don't keep up with the "gossipy" stuff. I barely keep up with the political stuff!
Joan
On Dec 30, 10:41=A0am, "Bruce Fletcher (remove dentures to reply)"
Ummm, no thanks! :) I'm a definite believer in only buying purebreds. This "designer" dog thing is ridiculous...paying high money for what's essentially a mutt! IMO.
Joan
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