Swimming pig...

Peppa was a nightmare yesterday, she was having one of her Im not staying where you put me moods, which is fine if she was smaller. However, she is rather large now, which means that when she has her temper tantrums the whole world hears about them. She not only smashed her way through her pen, but also discovered that if she run againgst the side orchard gate that springs open.

Now Peppa being loose in the orchard is a nightmare enough, but Peppa being loose in the drive is a completely different matter! Not only do you have to contend with the pig, but also the 60+ chickens that follow her! It was a complete scene of chaos, chickens everywhere, ducks going frantic as Peppa is attempting to break through their fence to get to the prize.....the pond!

Ok, her mud pit is getting small for her ever expanding arse, but leave my pond alone, it is not for you in any stretch of the imagination. Thankfully we intercepted her just as the first trotter was entering the water, with the ducks frantically flapping to try and stop this large, smelly creature from joining them. Back she went like a small child that has been caught doing something they shouldn't be.

Now the issue of the chickens who were running in every direction, like prisoners who have escaped from the POW camp were the next problem. Food wins every time, and part from a few stragglers they all followed the bucket back to the barracks. The few that thought they were being clever, soon discovered they were on the wrong side of the fence when it can to feeding time....and after sulking happily joined the other chickens.

This cat and mouse game happened four more times, thankfully the chickens were having none of it, just Peppa the rebel. Eventually I expanded her mud pit, and chained her door firmly shut with a huge chain, so she was staying put.....for the moment!

Why I do what I do.....

One of the most heard statements from people I come into contact with is "oh it all sounds so idyllic  when they hear where I live, which amazes me as does the name Casa chaos not give you an indication of my life. I think people have this image in their heads of a cross between little house on the Prairie and Emmerdale Farm. Trust me it is neither and it is incredibly hard work every single day, however, there are some moments within the chaos that make it pleasurable.

One of the reasons I love it so much, is that the possibilities are endless, however, with those possibilities comes decisions. Some people consider me to be crazy, which I am slightly, but I am also practical, therefore, this finca has to make money. Therefore, many of my decisions have to come from a business prospective. I know we will never get rich from Casa choas, however breaking even would be nice!

People often refer to all of our animals as pets, which is the first wrong statement as many are not pets, and have to earn a living whilst they are here. We love them, feed them, name them and treat them well however, in return I expect them to serve their purpose. I think this is the difference between business owners, and people who keep animals as pets.

I do have a heart, although it is well hidden, therefore, it is difficult to say no, when people keep trying to give me all their abandoned animals. However, I have to remain practical, and at the moment I feel we are to the limit of what we need at Casa Chaos. People looked shocked when I tell them that Peppa will be going in November, and that Jack and Jill are here to produce babies to sell and eat. That the chickens will be dealt with when they no longer lay and that the cockerels will be culled soon.

That is farm life, and I am not an animal sanctuary, I am a working farm that needs to pay the bills and never want to let my heart lead us to bankruptcy. So is it all about the money......no far from it, it is that feeling when you can walk through the orchard and pick your own fruit, or when you go to collect the eggs and there is a bounty. Those small things in life are free, and can make a huge difference to your day.

I'm famous....

I enjoy writing the blog and begun when my life changed and I wanted to document everything that happens here in Casa chaos. Some people ask if writing it is a chore, and that confuses me, as surely anything you enjoy is never a chore! Other people question how I have the time to write the blog, again it takes very little time, as I am simply writing what happens on a day to day basis.

The support and amazing messages that I receive are incredible, and I didn't realise that the mad ramblings of a crazy lady in her mad world, would attract such attention. However  it seems i have caused a stir, and even the local papers want to get involved. The Canary News approached me and asked if I would allow them to publish the blog, with some ground rules in place I could see no problem.

Therefore, you can now read about me here in my blog, and in Canary news which is rather good, and even I am shocked to see it in full page spread. My Dad always knew I would be in the paper, however  he was concerned it would be in the most wanted section! I do feel a sense of pride, and amazement that people enjoy the blog, and will continue to write it as I'm sure the chaos will get larger and larger, as my quiet day the other day was short lived!

Chickens in trees.....

When I was younger and we had chickens, I remember the task of having to put all the chickens into the coop before it got dark so that the foxes didn't have a midnight snack. If you were to ever open the coop at any stage through the night, you would discover them on perches asleep off the floor. This is normal all over the world, however, in typical fashion here at casa chaos nothing is ever normal.

My chickens don't get put away at night as there are no foxes, and as far as I am aware no predators which will kill the chickens through the night. the mums and chicks have boxes to sleep in at night, but that is to keep the chicks safe. Therefore, there are no perches in my coop, and this ponders the question where do the chickens sleep.

It didn't take me long to work out this question as one night on walking through the orchard there was a deathly silence other than the slight rustling of trees. As I looked up I could see feet and feathers and realised that the chickens and roosters were in the trees. This was an incredibly strange sight, and I moved quickly away, not because I was shocked, but because I was concerned I was going to get chicken shite on my head!

The next day I went down earlier to watch how they got into the trees as I was curious now to see if they flew, but they didn't. The chickens performed a strange movement of climbing using their beaks, which was incredibly affective. They all seemed to know when they had to head for the trees, and within minutes they were all safely out of the way.

I found this amusing and mentioned it on some chicken website (sad I know) where the "expert" chicken owners doubted my claimed and named 101 reasons why this was not possible. They made out that I was either a) clinically insane b) drunk or c) making it up. Now I would admit to one of those, but the other two not at this point.

Therefore I set out to prove them wrong, so camera in hand I marched to the orchard and begun taking pictures of my equally insane chickens. back I stomped to the office and uploaded, frantically trying to post pictures, and write sarcastic replies all at the same time. When finally I had posted and had they proof they wanted, I received a short answer back of "well they are obviously a native breed to your country, as normal chickens do not climb trees" I had it confirmed my chickens like me are not normal!

Calm before the storm.....

Yesterday was a very calm day in Casa Chaos, so much so that I kept checking that everything was still alive. There was no disasters, escapes, or broken items, the chickens laid where they were supposed to, and the noise was kept to a minimal. Does this mean that we have broken through the wall of chaos, and are through to a calm place, or more likely this is the calm before the storm....

Talking of storms, Nadine didn't really come to much, a lot of rain one night but that was it, no week long event as we were promised which was disappointing. The trees are looking brighter, and the dust levels have subsided, however, it wont take long for the dust to return.  As we approach winter we are in unknown territory as we have no idea what winters are like here, but we are always up for a challenge.

There are loads of projects going on at the moment and whilst the to do list doesn't appear to be getting any shorter, things are slowly developing. Operation duck extension had to be put on hold as we thought it was going to rain for longer. However, as the ground is now drying this could be this weekends project, and allow the ducks some more room.

Without the daily chaos there isn't a lot to write, and although I should be pleased that I had a "normal" day Strangely I missed the chaos. I'm probably going to regret that statement, and today will be double the madness, but hey with that comes double the fun!

Quick Sand.....

We had a major panic yesterday as Charlie went missing, and for two hours we searched for him without any luck. Unfortunately, Charlie is a wanderer and regardless of the amount of fences,walls and methods of defence we put up, he finds a way out. Being a small dog, Charlie can fit in the tiniest of holes, therefore, you have to keep an eye on him at all times. This didn't happen, which resulted in him taking him self off for a wander.

Typically when Charlie wanders he returns quickly, or when we notice he has gone we go and retrieve him from the barranco/road/neighbour. There have been many discussions about Charlie, and the fact that one day he will get hit and killed on the road, or someone will snatch him as small dogs are popular with the Spanish. Therefore, when he didn't return, these were the two scenarios which we thought had happened.

My husband was sent out on road kill duty, but there was nothing, which although I was relieved, meant he had been taken. My heart sank as I knew that although he was microchipped, if someone had taken him, they would not take him to the vet. We searched high and low for over two hours, before I decided that he was gone.

Just as I was beginning to prepare the information of a missing dog for the websites, and ringing the vet to notify them that the chip needed an alert placed on it, I thought I would have one more search. Thankfully I did as I found Charlie, looking very sorry for himself stuck in wet sand in the baranco. With the rain through the night it has made the barranco a combination of wet sand and uneven ground.

As Charlie had made his bid for freedom his little legs had got stuck in the wet sand, and unable to move he begun to sink. The more he struggled the more he sank, until he had got himself firmly wedged in the sand, with only his head poking out. When I saw him my emotions went from anger, to relief to loud laughing as he did look incredibly funny. I pulled him out, took him home and told him off in-between laughing at him. Lets hope that stops the wandering for a while.

Time to build the ark...

Its raining...which for many people would not be a cause for celebration, however, the island needs it so badly that we are dancing in the rain. It has been a long hot summer with no rain for the last 18 months making it the driest winter since 1947. Again if you live somewhere that has rain a huge amount this would seem like heaven. However, once you live on a finca on a hot island you begin to dream of rain, and this downpour is much needed.

We are in fact experiencing the tail end of Hurricane Nadine, and altough we don't have any of the wind that goes with a hurricane, we are experiencing rain. Yesterday was hit and miss, it started to rain, but soon stopped. Facebook was alight with comments from all over the island with statements of "its raining" "its stopped" "not where I am" it does make me chuckle that regardless of where you are in the world the weather is a top topic of conversation.

The rain has now been going all night and the trees are looking fresh and rejuvenated, the ducks are loving it, the chickens not so much. Jack and Jill are sheltering under their house, and Peppa thinks the mud pit god has arrived. There is one small issue with the rain, apart from the muddy footprints that are coming through the house...I live on the other side of the barranco!

For those that don't know what the barranco is, it is a very basic form of storm drain designed to filter the water from the mountains back to the sea. Now, for all the time we have been here the dry bed has been dry allowing us to drive our car to and from our property. People have told us of tales of the barranco filling and previous occupants being stranded! Up until this point these stories didnt bother me, however, its dark, raining and I cannot see how much the barranco has filled.  I have to wait until daylight to see if I will need a boat to get my son to school. hmmmm where did I put those plans for the ark....