Disney & Pixar

Disney and Pixar are our first pygmy goat twins to be born at Hill Top. They were born on the 20th of January, 2015. We purchased our first pgymy goats, Bracken and her twins Sasha and Brando, in 2010. Now we have our own little herd of seven, plus the twins. Pygmy goats originated in the Cameroon Valley of West Africa. They became popular in the 1950s. They are extremely friendly and make excellent pets. You can learn all about pygmy goats at www.pygmygoatclub.org.uk  where you can find all the information you need.

Narnia - our beautiful snowy owl.

You will recall that one of my last blogs in 2011 showed Narnia, the small, grey, fluffy baby snowy owl, who was running around in the house. Well Narnia has turned into a beautiful, beautiful snowy owl, who is absolutely besotted with Ross. These pictures say it all!

Kolo

Last July Ross bought his first ever little dog, a cockapoo puppy, who he named Kolo. I was bitten by a Red Setter when I was a teenager and was very reluctant to have a dog, although I grew up with family labradors when I was a child. Roy's parent owned kennels, so he was very happy to have a dog.However, after much nagging and persuasion from Ross, we took the plunge! Gosh, I have to say that Kolo has turned out to be a wonderful addition to our family here at Hill Top. Having a puppy is just like having a child. She is full of fun and has fitted into a regular routine. She is always so happy to see everyone and loves helping with the animal feeding routines in the evening. We are so lucky to have so much land and she enjoys running around the lake, exploring the fields and loves to watch the pygmy goats. How could anyone not love this little dog!!

We're back and blogging again!

It occurred to me that the blog has not been written for a long time and that it was time to start again. So much has happened since I last wrote, but I thought it would be good to start with a beautiful picture of the lake on this cold frosty morning. The geese are swimming around in a small patch which is the only part of the lake which is not frozen.

The geese returned in December last year - very early as they haven't arrived until the end of January or beginning of February over the last couple of years, but we are very happy to see and hear them again. Two have been on the island and will no doubt be preparing to make their nest some time soon.

The moor hens are busy dashing around and the ducks too. 

It's good to be back and sharing Hill Top Tails with you. I'll update you again tomorrow.

www.hilltopholidays.co.uk

Keep warm! Kaye

Narnia

Hello! Two week's ago Ross and Roy went up to Bristol to pick up the new addition to Hill Top. He is named Narnia and is a beautiful baby snowy owl. He was just two week's old when we bought him and is now four week's old. He was a ball of fluff when we picked him up, but is now losing his fluff, and his feathers are beginning to come through. Narnia is absolutely gorgeous. Ross is hand rearing him and as he is on his school holidays he is able to spend a lot of time bonding with him. He is very tame and even passing a ball backwards and forwards. He is a real joy to watch and is changing every single day. We hope you enjoy the pictures. More Hill Top Tails tomorrow!

The Finished Thing!

Hello! Following on from my previous blog, I'm now posting some pictures of the finished lake. It has been a brilliant experience from start to finish. It was such a muddy mess to start with and we just really couldn't imagine how lovely it would be when it was finished, but believe me it has been fascinating to watch it change every single day. The Canadian Geese are lovely and we have been so lucky to keep them all. It looks so perfect, as if it has been there for ages! Hope you've enjoyed the pictures, we'll post a few more over the next couple of days. All the animals are good. Rossi has been flying Mars this evening and the pgymy goats are enjoying being out in the sunshine, in the field again.


More Hill Top Tails tomorrow. Goodnight!

SHE IS BACK!

Hello everyone! We are sorry that we haven't written our blog for such a long while, but as you will see things have been really busy here at Hill Top. In January we started digging our conservation lake.

It was finished and had filled up by the end of February - it was just amazing how quickly it filled, but we had drained the field into the lake and before we knew it the landscape had changed for the better! But the most exciting thing of all, was that as soon as the lake had filled we had a pair of Canadian Geese come to live on Owl Island (named after the island in Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, and very appropriate as the two owls fly around it every evening).

Even better than that, six week's ago they had five little goslings. It's just wonderful to watch them every day. They are really growing now and are even getting brave going out onto the lake on their own. We hope you like the attached pictures of the lake being constructed. Tomorrow I will show you picutres of the completed lake and the geese. Thank you for reading - it's great to be back!