We'd not been there for a year or more, and not regularly for many years, but some friends were going to do the car boot element of the local monthly clearout sales at Ffairfach, Llandeilo, so we went along for a wander round. There is always a poultry sale, and always the male of the species tends to outnumber the female, whether it be chickens or ducks.
A nice pair of Muscovy ducks. We used to have several, and Mathilda, the matriach, would have her breakfast and then fly to the top of one of the Ash trees in the paddock and sit up there all day until it was time for their evening corn, and bed . . .
Crested Cayuga ducks. We had one Cayuga in our original set up (Esmerelda). Unfortunately she and the two white Aylesburys (puddle ducks) wandered into our top field the first week we had them and were taken by a fox. We found Esmerelda's body and - remembering the old maxim waste not, want not - she went straight into the oven in a casserole, and very tasty she was too . . . She had been bitten through the neck, poor soul.
Numerous boxes of house clearance stuff was on offer in one of the outbuildings. I found a box with a desirable (to me!) piece of Torquay pottery in it, but my husband soon said if I thought he was going to wait around hours for THAT lot to come up, I had another thing coming!
The only bit of colour in the place!
Many of the car boot stalls were similar to this one (one of the smarter!) Lots of tools, and useful "manthings" cleared out from garage, farm and shed.
A choice of locally-made chicken sheds were on offer in the deadstock auction.
More, ahem, useful deadstock offered in the auction. There were actually people checking out that mid-field loo . . .
But as much of it looked like this corner, we didn't linger long. We spent just £1 on a Millers Collectables Guide for 2006 which we didn't think we had, and were correct in our surmising. I doubt we'll be there for another year now, although the May sale is always very very busy with the poultry side of things, and that's when they bring the best money, as you have a season's laying ahead of you.
The decluttering and hardening of heart over books continues. Today I have removed a dozen good archaeology books (some quite collectable now) from my bookshelf in here, and will see if the good bookshop in town will express an interest. Mostly Prehistory, with some Medieval and general archaeology. Contact me if you would like a list. (I live in hope!)
P.S. I've had a restful afternoon and tomorrow evening's meal already cooked, and plenty to portion up for the freezer - I picked up an M&S recipe card and made Spanish chicken with Cannelini beans. It has lots of smoked paprika, so should be nice and warming for a cold winter's day. My OH and I have just watched Red2 which was entertaining. Not sure if we will bother to get up to wander round the car boot sale tomorrow as it will probably be virtually empty - the forecast is dire (more wetness of the rainy sort). I have decided today that it's GOOD to rest!
One day, when the smallholding gets too much for us to manage, we are hoping to move somewhere near to an auction place like this where we can go and have a real poke around in interesting boxes every week. Lovely fun!
ReplyDeleteAre there not many auctions your side of the country then? I think we've always lived in places where there were plenty, so tend to take them for granted. Mind you, I miss the Saturday produce auctions they used to hold at Cottees in Wareham, where you could buy plants, flowers, fruit, veg, eggs etc. by bidding for them.
ReplyDeleteLove Red and Red2 just so humorous and a great tale of friendship behind all the fun. Well done for only spending a pound and resisting temptation of more Torbay pottery.
ReplyDeleteAh, but I failed this morning Suzie, as I bought two old jugs (£1) each at the car boot sale. One is an 1820s beautiful Hydra head handle Gaudy Welsh jug and quite collectable . . .
ReplyDeleteEnvy you the chickens and chicken huts, you wait when I move I shall have a good dozen....
ReplyDeleteYou can''t beat proper free range eggs from your own hens Thelma. We used to have primrose yellow pancake batter using ours. Scrummy!
ReplyDeleteBB, the difference between the "eggs" the supermarket sells and those which come from a live chicken that eats the family's table scraps and has outdoor time to eat bugs every day in the sunshine cannot be expressed with mere words. The flavor is phenomenal and as you said the Color !~! Oh my stars, the brightest yolks, the firm whites, I could give up meat if I had a steady source of freshly laid home grown eggs all year round-that'd be the best protein source i could imagine.
DeleteThanks for the pictures of the auction/boot sale; we have nothing nearby to compare and I miss it for it was near to where I grew up. The auction holds two precious memories-being bitten by a horse for the first time and my mom's dad dropping dead there the same time JFK was getting killed in Dallas. Strange day for the world, doubly do for a bewildered six-year old who couldn't figure out how the auction had killed my Granddad. And why everyone went home from school just cuz my grandpa had died. Talk about a weird day.
But yeah, good eggs are the best food out there and I am glad that some of us still have access to them.
I have just been catching up here. Sorry to hear you have been so poorly, I hope you feel better soon. Goodl uck with all your plans.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit concerned what might be meant by 'deadstock'--[surely not chickens or goats which had keeled over]--it seems to refer to the sort of clobbery clutter which males clear out of sheds [?]
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