Today was incredibly exciting. There really isn't anything quite like the excitement of waiting to see if a broody has been successful. When I first arrived this morning, I spotted one eggshell so I knew Leia has managed to hatch one. Considering how she mucked about at the start, I was amazed she had got... Continue Reading →
Chick Newsflash!
Upon my arrival down the allotment this morning, I discovered Leia's eggs were beginning to hatch! I have managed to spot two chicks (just) and we are hoping for a couple more. Further update to follow!
Still waiting…
Today I ambled down to the allotment armed with 8 beautiful salmonberry plants. A fellow allotmenter was selling them - they are rather like raspberries and grow best in pots. Upon my arrival, I found Tracy and gave her a couple as well as a handful of tiger nut seeds. Its quite late to plant... Continue Reading →
In between the showers
I dashed down to the allotment in the rain this morning. I don't know how the weather instinctively knows when I am stepping out the door but it always saves the heaviest rain for me walking to the allotment. By the time I arrived, I was fairly soaked. I stopped to have a chat with... Continue Reading →
Rained off
After spending the entire morning waiting in for a delivery, I got down to the allotment late. There weren't many people down, just Geoff and a few others briefly checking on chickens. My first job was to put in the pond pump. The instructions made it seem absurdly easy. Put it together, put it in... Continue Reading →
Bog Building Continued
Today was another long but exciting day at the allotment. Upon arrival, Tracy dragged me to see her new idea for her pond - a toad house made from an old pot, covered in turf. It looked amazing. She also gave me some Mind your Own Business plant which should spread over the logs at... Continue Reading →
Building the Bog Garden
I didn't plan on spending all day at the allotment today. I had a few jobs I wanted to do which I took my time over and before I had realised it, it was nearly 6 pm! My first job when I got down was to feed the chickens. The chicks were nowhere in sight... Continue Reading →
Logs, Rocks and a Skip
We were down on site early this morning, ready to help load up the skip with all the rubbish on the car park. The pile has been steadily growing for weeks and I wasn't sure even the world's biggest slip would fit it all in! Our first foray down to the car park found no... Continue Reading →
A new bee suit
This morning I walked down to the allotment in between heavy rain showers. The chickens ran to meet me, some of them looked like they had sat out in the rain. Georgie in particular looked especially bedraggled. Quickly, I topped up their food and water and collected an egg. Next, I checked on the new... Continue Reading →
Pond plants and water snails
This afternoon we popped across to a local aquatics centre to browse their pond plants. It's important to ensure you have a range of plants in and around the pond to suit the purpose of your pond. Our pond is for wildlife, so we were looking for plants that would keep the water clear, provide... Continue Reading →
Feeding the bees
This afternoon I walked down to the allotment again to check on the chicks. Rey is almost completely fully integrated but the chicks are still keeping away from the others. When I arrived I couldn't see them as they were hiding under the nest box. I decided to weed a section of the plot. It's... Continue Reading →
Rain at last!
Waking up this morning, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Surely it couldn't be rain? Thankfully it was! The temperature has dropped significantly as well which is a relief. I grabbed my allotment kit and headed down, enjoying every drop of rain. Upon arrival, rather unsurprisingly, only a few people were down. I said... Continue Reading →
The day when everything happened
I walked down to the allotment this morning, never dreaming of how much would happen. There are weeks when nothing much happens then everything seems to happen on a particular day. Today was that day! After saying hello to everyone, I began to clean out the chicks. Steve dropped by and said they looked a... Continue Reading →
An evening stroll
After dinner this evening, we walked down to the allotment. Although it was still warm, it was considerably cooler than a couple of hours earlier. Upon arrival we met Tracy, Andy and Steve all busy watering their plots. My husband did most of the watering as I had a chat with Andy about turning the... Continue Reading →
A day of chickens
I walked down to the allotment very late today but satisfied at managing to get two beautiful plants for the allotment plus a pair of ankle wellies to go with my new bee suit (still to arrive much to my annoyance!). First I checked on the chicks. As per yesterday, they were drinking from the... Continue Reading →
The Great Escape
We arrived down on site mid-morning to be greeted with the news of a jail break. Millie had apparently managed to escape her isolation coop and had been wandering around the site! Fortunately, Liz and Sarah spotted her and with Cliff's help, caught her and put her back in the main coop. It's very lucky... Continue Reading →
Chicken treats
This evening, I popped down to the allotment to water the plants. It was still very hot. As I quickly checked the chicks, two of them looked very hot. Remembering a tip I had seen somewhere online, I fished about for a shallow tray and partially filled it with water. Trying not to spill it,... Continue Reading →
Millie goes to Jail
The dreaded heat continued so I walked down just to sort out the chickens. Other jobs can't wait until it's cooler this evening! I stopped for a chat with Geoff, Andy and Tracy until it was too hot. Then I retreated into the shade of the main coop. Rey is getting braver although she is... Continue Reading →
A quiet evening
It got even hotter today. After a night of little sleep, my husband popped down to feed the chickens in the morning. I decided to hide in the house in front of a fan until the relentless heat dropped. The morning report from the allotment came back that all our girls were doing well, Leia... Continue Reading →
Beaten by the Heat
Late morning, we walked to the allotment excited to see how many chicks Cliff's broody had managed to hatch. The heat was already climbing significantly and we knew we would have to wait until evening for it to be co enough to do anything other than feeding the chickens. We arrived to find a few... Continue Reading →
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