December was a month of many colours , most of it glittery and shiny ! As far as me and Lauren are concerned, Christmas starts going up the first weekend in December so by Saturday 2nd we were pretty much done !

Even the pigs got decorated , they became “Reindeerpigs “.

This is Edna sporting a lovely set of antlers.. The pigs were a bit of a focus as they were almost at the right weight for slaughter , we had had a few enquiries about the meat and ..

 

 Three (not so) little pigs

were accounted for , so it was time to sort out a butcher.. Meet Tom the butcher.   As is usual we researched our topic and chose the best Butcher (it all came down to bacon and sausage – these being paramount in the Hunter household). Tom is Tom Grierson as in Grierson Brothers butchers of Castle Douglas , four generations of knife wielding, chop chopping chaps must be doing something right apparently since 1834 ! We came up with a plan  and a date was fixed for January 22nd 2018…  the girls were on their last month at Grobdale  and

Tom was sharpening the knives !

Time to really give the girls a lovely last 4 weeks..We had found that the pigs love a run out every now and then, so most days you could find us taking a stroll up the lane or accross our fields. They are quite short sighted having ears this big, makes for quite poor eye sight so they never strayed, and were always happy to stay with us..So a pig walk became one of daily jobs (and a popular one it is).

Our Besties were the  next visitors  to Grobdale with a couple of things on their list , as well as walking the pigs ..One was a walk up Ewe hill, a steep incline up about a mile to the top of the world where we find a breathtaking 360 degree view.. And the other was to cut their own Scottish christmas tree to take back to Mossley (not the best tree but apparently a perfect fit for a tight space )..

The  walk up Ewe Hill became a popular jaunt and we managed to get the nanas up there , for the

Spectacular 360 degree view

I think this is my fave photo from the top of the world, It’s a lovely place, and we have quite a few photos now..

Yumcious Food..

We had quite a housefull over christmas , the best way to celebrate we say. Everyone came armed with their favourite culinary delight, Nana made glazed ham , Robert brought cocktails ( most of you know thats my weakness) and Wendy made the

Biggest breakfast

known to womankind .. So all in all it was a pretty spectacular yumcious first Grobdale christmas..

Robert not only brought cocktails, he took us foraging on the beach and after a brisk fun hour or so collecting mussels he set to, making a wonderful starter moules marinere  .. You have very talented boys Irene (though I have the best one 🙂 )

And we have the best beaches.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           shame my photos are a bit pants..

 

Anyway..onto Livestock and SNOW !!

We, like most of the country, got snow but I’m sure ours was the prettiest ! All our livestock are hardy breeds, we have no thoroughbreds needing straw lined stables..all of them can cope fine and dandy without a blanket so the pigs(nearly a pun there) and the sheep took it all in their stride.. However it seems that Lolly sheep (the lightest in colour) had a sore foot. Apparently with sheep they have three things you have to keep an eye on .. known as

The three ‘T’s

So its Teeth,Tits and Toes , I’ll leave it upto you to work out the boy version.. and Lolly had a problem with her feet, my problem was I knew that I couldn’t catch her to check, so I called on my shepherding buddy for a “sheep lesson”, cue Tom the sheep (as opposed to Tom the butcher) and Flash the sheep dog .

Tom very quickly got all the sheep in a pen, the next thing was to learn how to tip my sheep. Tipping or flipping is getting them sat on their bums, with all 4 feet in the air so they can’t move, and you can check their them over. Now Herdwicks are big buggers and I’m only kind of average in height etc so this was going to be fun (I wish I had a photo here ) . Anyway, after a bit of wrestling, and a lot of huffing  and puffing I got the hang of it , sort of… and practiced on them whilst I had them cornered . They all got a pedicure and ‘limping lolly’ got an extra buff and polish , a shot of anti biotics and an extra tip since she was the biggest. Turns out she only needed a nail clip , and after a couple of days was as good as new.

The husband got a demo when I showed him my new skill… no I didnt tip him , Teal drew the short straw though 🙂 .

It was a busy old month, and ended at Hogmanay with my sister Amy and husband Murray (the only true Scot in the family) . Amy and Lauren have a brilliant relationship and I’m not quite sure who the kid is in all of this , true to type Amy turned up with a heap of pressies mostly for Lauren and the funniest ever costume ..

Turkey too large for the oven me thinks..

 

The year was a VERY eventful one and we hope that 2018 is as fun packed, but hopefully a little less stressful..

We don’t want to have to go through the house buying process again for a REALLY long time,

 

 And where else could you go for a walk with your very own pig!