Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Late this morning I walked down to the allotment ready for a full day's work. The weather has been so fickle lately that it either has been too hot or too wet to do anything productive. The mix of sunshine and rain has meant the proliferation of bind weed on an industrial scale. Everyone has... Continue Reading →
This morning, we walked down to the allotment determined to get through the massive list of jobs that I have been ignoring due to the inclement weather. We made a start by feeding Leia who seemed quite perky this morning. I put her out and left her happily exploring while we went down to the... Continue Reading →
There are many different types of rain. Some comes at you sideways, finding every gap in your clothing and flooding it. Another is so light it's like walking through a fine mist. Today's was the British classic, drizzle. Unless you have lived in the UK, drizzle may need a little explanation. Drizzle is always accompanied... Continue Reading →
Today the heat was still horrendous but the temperature had dropped a little. Even better was the slight breeze which occasionally gave a brief break from the relentless heat. Due to the heat, I have been leaving the greenhouse door open to allow through flow of air overnight for the Plymouth Rock chick. I managed... Continue Reading →
Today was hot. Boiling. Rapidly approaching the temperature of the surface of the sun. At 5 pm, it was still 32 degrees. It's inhuman. I ran down to the allotment to refresh the chickens water. In the main coop, the water bowl was nearly empty. I refilled it to the brim and for good measure,... Continue Reading →
Late this afternoon, my husband and I drove our Plymouth Rock chick to the vet. We had an appointment not with an avian vet, but a vet who had a specific interest in poultry. As it turned out, he is a fellow chicken keeper and enthusiast. This morning, our chick had been standing a bit... Continue Reading →
For the last few days, our Plymouth Rock chick has been struggling to stand and walk. At first, I thought it was because the other two chicks were picking on her. They were but her legs don't seem to be in the correct position and she seems to be in pain. On Tuesday morning, I... Continue Reading →
Today I went down to the allotment ready for a full day of work. In the afternoon we were expecting Steve's bee mentor to arrive and I wanted to make sure that the plot was clear of weeds before they arrived. I joined Cliff and Michael at the clubhouse for a chat. It wasn't long... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I went down to the allotment determined to make good use the dry weather to tackle the mass of weeds the plot has turned into. Upon my arrival, I discovered all the usual suspects in the clubhouse. I joined them briefly before heading off to the main coop. All the girls were there... Continue Reading →
Today I ambled down to the allotment in the sunshine to feed the chickens. I started off with the main coop. The girls were all busy enjoying the sunshine with Snap and Holly bagging the best spot. They jostled for position but eventually settled down to some serious relaxing.I topped up their food bowls -... Continue Reading →
This morning I ambled down to the allotment to check on the plethora of chickens. Yesterday must have been rather stressful for them all and I was keen to see they had settled overnight. As I arrived, I caught Geoff who was heading down to check on the rescue chickens. They were all there and... Continue Reading →
This morning I dashed into town to pick up a carrier to prepare to pick up the new chickens. Armed with two large carriers, I walked down to the allotment and put them into the greenhouse. I spotted Geoff in the clubhouse and stopped by to say hello. Upon arrival at the clubhouse I discovered... Continue Reading →
All through this busy week I have been looking forward to tomorrow and the picking up of our new rescue chickens. We have reserved four from a charity that specialises in rehoming ex-commerical chickens. Geoff has also reserved two birds and we are off tomorrow to pick them up. Geoff has been working hard to... Continue Reading →
Yesterday I did something a bit different. I went down to my grandfather's house in Plymouth to collect cuttings from his legendary apple tree. Legendary not in any great sense but because it was the only plant that he managed to grow successfully in his tiny back yard. The bathroom in his house overlooked the... Continue Reading →
Early this morning, I walked down to the allotment determined to get lots done before it got any hotter. The temperature over the next week is supposed to rocket up into the high 20's/low 30's.As I arrived, I opened up the greenhouse, fed three hungry chicks and a grumpy Emily before making a start on... Continue Reading →
This evening after work, I ambled down to the allotment to get Emily and her chicks in. Poor Geoff had tried to get them back into their run and they had led him a merry dance. Understandably, he gave up and left them too it. Upon our arrival, they were all happily chilling out in... Continue Reading →
This morning I decided to take advantage of the temporary pause in the rain and walked down to the allotment earlier than normal. I arrived to find several people already down including Steve who was busy with a saw, hacking apart the huge milk container by his greenhouse.As I walked down the plot to see... Continue Reading →
After work this evening, I walked down to the allotment to check on the water levels. I arrived to find the site empty but I found the flood levels have dropped. In some places, the water had completely drained away and even the larger areas had drained significantly. I went into the greenhouse and found... Continue Reading →
This morning the rain had finally stopped although it looked like it would start again at any second. It has rained throughout the night and all of yesterday so we were very concerned that the entire plot would be under water. We arrived to find the flooding was significant on our side of the site.... Continue Reading →
The notoriously fickle British weather has played it's trump card over the last 24 hours. Rain. Lots of it. In some places, a month's amount of rain in 12 hours. Everything is wet, flooding of motorways, roads, pavements as well as allotments. It has been raining non-stop since yesterday evening and I was intrigued to... Continue Reading →
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