Walking backwards in wellies is harder than it looks!

It’s been quite a while since we got this here page up and running again with the promise of frequent blog “updates”. Those updates have so far been somewhat less than frequent, but I have finally figured out how to connect our website to our email (or is it the other way around?), which “should” enable me to get updates out without too much copy and paste and double sending action. So be warned. More information may soon your way come.

In other, perhaps more interesting news, our new Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) puppy, Bree, is settling in well. She has spent her first few weeks here on the ranch in a pen close to the house with a few chickens, our lone duck, the rams, and our two goats - it’s kinda like a holding area for all things Skyelark, but she is getting used to the sounds, smells and general activity of the day-to-day activity on the ranch. It’s critical for her success as a guardian, that at this stage she is exposed to and bonds with whichever animals she is to spend her life protecting. And for us here at Skyelark, we have learned (the hard way I’m afraid) that all but the pigs need to be guarded at all times. So, with that in mind, she is doing pretty well at not teasing the goats too much, avoiding the rams, and learning that ducks are not chew toys. She has also met, and chewed the tails of all four of our other dogs, with no serious consequences and is has seemingly been accepted into our pack. In the next week or so, she will be joining Bean out with the ewes and laying hens. We will give her a “safe house” where she can go at night, but we’ll slowly let Bean train her in her duties as a guardian dog. We will, as always, try to keep you updated on her progress.

Mid-week Meatloaf Recipe

adapted from Ginger Pig Meat Book by Tim Wilson and Fran Warde

This is a great version of a regular mid-week meal for us here at Skyelark. We often substitute out various ingredients depending on what we have around, always with great results. In the original version, there’s chicken livers and ground chicken or turkey, here we omit those with the addition of ground lamb.

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

2 oz butter
2 onions, peeled & finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed & peeled
3 1/2 fl oz red wine
1lb bacon
1lb ground pork
1lb ground lamb
2 eggs, beaten senseless
3 bay leaves, parsley, salt & pepper to taste

Melt the butter over low heat and saute the onions and garlic gently for about 4 minutes, then add the wine and simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, grease a 2lb 4oz loaf tin with oil and line with the bacon, allowing it to hang over the sides so you can wrap it over the top of the meat loaf later. Preheat the oven to 325F.
In a large bowl, mix the pork, lamb (or whatever meats you are using), eggs, bay, parsley and seasonings. Mix with your hands to get an even blend, then add the wine mixture. Fill the prepared tin with the meat, flatten the top and wrap the overhanging bacon over. Cover with kitchen foil, seal well and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Remove the meat from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Turn out the meat loaf, slice and serve with lashings of ketchup.

A personal favourite thing for meatloaf leftovers is to make sandwiches wit bbq sauce - toasted or otherwise, it always gives lunch a bit of a boost in the day.

Enjoy