There are only 19 days, 15 hours, 2 minutes and 26 seconds until Christmas....

.....PANIC!

However, Christmas did make a little, early appearance at JGHQ a few days ago with us indulging in a, if I do say so myself, scrummy roasted goose....

Although admittedly not our biggest specimen, the goose was juicy, tasty with a crispy skin, and very easy to cook - and if I say that, it means ANYBODY can cook a goose! The roasties cooked in the goose fat were pretty spectacular too!

It definitely got us in the festive spirit – a day later we caved in and bought out tree!

So, if you are after a lovely jolly goose this year, let us know soon – we only have a few left!

Call 07890 688 948 or email jollygoose@live.com

.....tree pictures to follow!

Happy Christmas everyone!

Nice Weather for Ducks

Hello!

I know, we've been naughty and neglected the blog for an absolute age, but we have been up to all sorts...

Firstly, we casually went to America....! We had a fantastic trip round California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada - it definitely made us want to start up a San Francisco office for The Jolly Goose Co! The weather was beautiful, the people were delightful (though some were a bit nutty) and the sights were unbelievable!

We arrived back home and suddenly it was Autumn... what a shocker! So we set about pulling ourselves out of our post-hols blues by digging out our knitwear and getting excited for Christmas!

Job #1 - Blackberrying

What better way to warm our cockles than with a little home made blackberry gin....? We picked quite a bounty and ginned it up ready for Christmas and New Year. It smells so delicious, I can't wait! Just fresh blackberries, sugar and gin. Perfection.

Job #2 - Pumpkin Soup



Hallowe'en means one thing at JGHQ - Pumpkins!

Pumpkin + onions + apple + ginger + chicken stock + cinnamon + nutmeg + cloves = yummy winter warming soup.

Job #3 - Ducky Dealings

Finally, we acquired ourselves some ducks. Our beautiful Aylesburys are so much fun to watch and listen to and we had a pair of Muscovys and Cayugas thrown in for good measure too. They're enjoying this weather....though they may be the only ones!

So now the countdown to Christmas has begun - only 52 days to go! The orders for geese are coming in thick and fast so if you fancy a goose or a pork, lamb or beef joint for the big day, get in touch now;                                       jollygoose@live.com                     07890 688 948



The Golden Oldie!

Like most farmers this year, we've been struggling with our harvest - rain + rain + rain + more rain = very frustrated farmers! So, when we finally caught the first bit of sustained sunshine last week, we were all go....until the combine sunk. Twice.
That's right 18 tons of combine harvester stuck in the middle of the field. Twice.
All the rain we had over the summer had left our fields too soft and squidgy to hold the beast of a machine up, despite the crops drying out to the right moisture percentage. We were in a bit of a pickle.

So just when we're about to give up on Harvest 2012 the Gods handed us a olive branch in the form of a 1967 New Holland Clayson beauty!

Weighing in at a svelte 6 tons, painted a glorious yellow and well oiled, this sixties sweetheart was just the gal for the job! So coaxing her out of retirement, we set her to work on the wheat.





With a dinky 10 foot header and no cab it was long and dusty work but she battled on!

Two days in and she's still going strong .... let's just keep everything crossed that the sun continues to shine and this Golden Oldie can bring home the harvest!



Finally, what we've all been waiting for.... a goose!

Hello all! I have finally got you the picture we've all been waiting for... that of the elusive Jolly Goose! This little girl got papped en route to the water trough this morning ... by the looks of things she had a pretty heavy night - look at those bleary eyes!


Oh no! I haven't put my 'face' on!



When the goslings first arrive they are bright yellow with pink beaks and black eyes (check out the photos of on last year's posts) but now they have started turning white, their little beaks are turning orange and their eyes are a lovely blue. Pretty little things!                                          

They're enjoying the rich grass in their paddock and seem to be growing bigger each day! The first mini honks have also started - in a few weeks it will be no more tweeting and a lot more honking. Do not be afeard, this paddock is full of noises!

And the geese have just had some new neighbours move in... 71 lambs! Both sides of the fence are pretty intrigued by the residents...

Neighbourhood Watch

So now that's geese, pigs, sheep and calves....what ever will be next for The Jolly Various Livestock Co? Oh yeah, the turkeys arriving in two weeks time! Uh oh!

                                                                 

Hello there! Well we've had a busy few days since our last post so there's plenty to tell you about in this one!

 At last the sun has shone on Jolly Goose HQ and the beetroot is loving it - as are we! The only problem is the gastropod invasion we've endured recently......luckily we've got an army of toads and frogs in the garden to fend them off our lovely veg! We're counting on you Captain Croak!

The beautiful Cilla has been sunning herself this week with the other piggies. Look at her peering over the fence - she's probably planning an escape so she can seek and destroy the beetroot - naughty Cilla pig! We're looking for a handsome husband for Cilla at the moment so she can have some lovely littlies so if anyone knows a brooding boar please get in touch - though Cilla is quite the catch so only the best please. Mr Darcy Pig - we know you're out there!

In honour of Cilla and her chums, I donned my apron and baked some of these piggy biscuits.....though with all the hype surrounding the Olympics a few turned out as Olympigs! The Olympigs went down a storm on Twitter (we're super technical .....!) and ITV and Channel 4 Food retweeted the pigture (too far?). It's only a matter of time until Cilla runs for Primeminister at this rate.....

Pigs aside, the sheep are having a fantastic time out in the fields. This year's lambs are just about up to weight, so if you fancy tucking in to a classic roast lamb or maybe spicing the barbie up with some delicious lamb joints, just email or phone us (details are on the right hand side)

Talking of the hard sell, (sorry!) we have finally erected Miranda The Marketing Sheep! She's patriotic in red, white and blue so hopefully she'll send Team GB some luck and sell some sausages! If you're here because of Miranda, thank you! We hope you enjoy hearing about our little adventures around the farm!

Next week - Geese, Sausages and Harvest update!!!

Hello! Sorry we've been so AWOL recently but as you can see - we've had our hands full! Here are our newest lovelies - 7 adorable calves! This is Hungry Horace - he's posing for the camera!

This is Horace's chum, Joey.

The bigger boys aren't sure what to make of the silly little ones though...............not impressed!