Rarer than hens teeth.

It is now over a year since we last had pork, this is due to one single fact, it is just about impossible to buy free range or organic pork in a butchers, certainly not in the west of Ireland. The way pigs are farmed is to our view barbaric, even more so than battery hens, so it was exciting to find an advert for Free Range Pork on the poultry site that we read.
A phone call later and I was well assured that this gentleman knew what he was talking about and that his pigs do indeed have the best life possible. A quick dash over to a friend who had offered to lend us a spare freezer and we were set.
As they say, 'It's a long way to Tipperary' which is where this farm is, well it's more a smallholding, John, I know he wont mind me mentioning his name, has a bit of everything, a few sheep, a share in a cow, plus all his lovely chickens, geese, and goats, who of course had to show off and broke into where his young apple trees were growing.
These goats had had a very close friendship with the pigs and we were shown lovely photos of them all living as one big happy family.
When ever possible we buy Organic meat, but as I thought about this I realised that the pork from John was in fact far more environmentally friendly, raised on locally produced grains and fresh fruit from a wholesalers, the pigs are slaughtered by a local butcher, so no trauma to the animals of being transported miles to a factory. It's a shame that it is so far, but it makes for a day out. I am looking forward to dinner tonight.

Our trip out also gave me a chance to see a Dryad's Saddle fungi, it's been a long time since we had seen such a good example.

The ducklings are doing well and are now in the big brooder, now we know that our incubator is not working as it should, hopefully we will be able to get it repaired and get better hatches next year.

June was apparently the wettest since 1910, I really had not noticed, I have had no problems in getting washing dry, which is rather how I define wet or dry weather, but as I walk around the garden I realise that the grass is very tall and needs cutting, an elephant could hide in it, never mind a fox, the veg continue to produce and the flowers don't seem to mind it either.

There are now five table birds up to weight and awaiting their fate, they have put on weight well with the sprouted grain so depending on taste this will probably be the way that we will finish our birds in the future.