Today I arrived on site at lunchtime armed with a cool bag full of food. After a busy morning at home, I was looking forward to having some time outside. Even the most boring foods taste so much better when eaten outside. Liz and Sarah appeared and we set up the table. With the stove going, the sausages frying and the sun out, we all declared it to be excellent weather.
Whilst we munched our way through two rounds of hot dogs, we watched Roxy and Trixy scratching in their mini run. It’s very useful to have a small run which I can move around the plot. Chickens are fiends for weeds and I decided to put their skills to good use! Tomorrow I will move the run to a different part as Trixy had dug halfways to Australia by the time I decided to go home!
About half three, Sarah appeared with a round of ice creams. I joined Liz, Sarah, Cliff and Koko as we discussed Liz’s upcoming exam. It was rather amusing seeing Cliff test Liz on all manner of different questions on coroners. Sometimes the topics of conversation on site are hilariously obscure. As we finished up, Koko retreating from Liz who offered her the end of her ice cream, Sarah suggested we move the chicken run from Steve’s plot. There were four of us, it seemed simple provided we could lift it around an obstacle course of sheds, greenhouses, trees and beds.
On Steve’s plot, we all took a corner and heaved. Granted it did move off the ground but there was no way we could manipulate it past sheds with just the four of us. Cliff disappeared off and came back a few minutes later with Bill. Yet again, we spaced ourselves out and lifted the run up. As we approached the clubhouse, Cliff, Bill and myself lifted our side of the run high so the bottom of the run would clear the roof. On the other side, Liz and Sarah were battling to stop the run smashing into Steve’s greenhouse. It was a tight squeeze and more than once I was convinced we would smash the panels. Fortunately, we got past the clubhouse and Steve’s greenhouse. We decided to have a break whilst we worked out a plan of action for the next section. Someone suggested leaving it on Phil’s plot and moving it tomorrow but it would still need to be moved so we carried on.
Bill took the front, bearing the majority of the weight of the run on his shoulders. Marvelling at his strength, we struggled along the length of Phil’s plot, narrowly avoiding Tracy’s shed and pausing only to get the wire tangled in one of Phil’s trees. Finally, we got to the bottom of Liz and Sarah’s plot. All of us were exhausted. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Will. Cliff gave a shout and Will arrived to provide an extra pair of hands to move the coop the last few feet into place.
Bill headed off with our thanks and it occured to me afterwards what watching Bill carrying the run reminded me of. In Greek mythology, Atlas was condemned to hold up the Earth and the sky for eternity. Maybe next time, the Greek gods should make Atlas lug a 2 x 3m metal chicken run through an obstacle course? Either way, it goes to show what a little determination, an excellent team and Atlas Bill can do!
Before I left, I quickly fed the chickens and put Roxy and Trixy back in the greenhouse. I stopped by Leia and Lilja to inform them that they would be moving house this weekend. I can’t wait as their current run is really designed as a broody enclosure and isn’t big enough for them. Leia looked at me with a beady eye and I got the impression that if we don’t get the new coop up and running, I would be in serious trouble!
So tomorrow, provided no one has damaged themselves moving the run, we need to rotate it into the correct position. Then, backs permitting, we need to move the nest box from Rachel’s plot to Liz and Sarah’s. In theory, this should be easier than moving the run but I have my doubts. I will also be setting up our new Omlet Eglu Classic coop and run to move Roxy and Trixy out of the greenhouse finally.
The Good Life Crewe 
Leave a Reply