Feeding the beasts

Oh, it`s not all beer and skittles running an Ark as I`m sure the original Noah would confirm. When you think of the amount of supplies he had to embark without hope of a port to re-provision... well, I`m glad I wasn`t in his shoes!  Even in my own case, keeping the animals fed and healthy is not a bagatelle.
   The cats and dogs are relatively simple. The cats mostly eat the cheapest croquettes available mixed with a bit of cheap cat meat for taste.  Gremlin as an invalid has the right to a sachet of higher class cat- food to persuade him to come in for his medicine. But the sheep are a bit more complicated.
  We originally got them to keep the grass in the field under control, which they do.  Trouble is, grass doesn`t grow all year round and they need hay in the winter and maybe even in summer if we don`t get some rain soon. We ran out of hay last winter and found that our regular supplier had none and said he wasn`t doing hay any more cos it was more trouble than it was worth. He suggested a couple of possible suppliers who said they had none as it wasn`t the time of year. What to do?  As usual, we consulted Sylvia , our Maire`s Secretary, who knows everything. She turned up a supplier, in fact one of the men we`d rung earlier. He delivered a bale the next day and said he hadn`t realised who we were. He wouldn`t take any money for the bale saying it was not of salable quality, though our sheep ate it happily enough!
      Warned by this fright, I made sure to order two of the round bales at the proper season, which is now. M. Migné delivered two fine bales ok and I made sure I had the price in cash, much preferred for such transactions for tax reasons no doubt. But as you can see the bales fill up the barn, leaving the poor car out in the open. So I have spent most of the day re-arranging the wood stock and the remains of the old hay so I can push the bales back. They are MUCH heavier than you would think, I have rolled one into place but will have to ask my neighbour Phillipe, who is strong as an ox, to give me a hand with the other.  It has occurred to me it would be easier just to cut the grass with a mower but it wouldn`t be as much fun. I have never kept sheep in the UK !

      Bye for now!