This evening I arrived home from work to find an important parcel had arrived. A few days ago I ordered a chicken jumper for Evie. Her utterly ridiculous insistence on loosing almost all of her feathers have left her extremely vulnerable to the cold. By our reckoning she must be 6 years old and older... Continue Reading →
Balding chicken
Today before the rain set in, I managed to get down to the allotment and do some jobs. The allotment is half ready for winter now, with the beans removed and onions picked. I had hoped to finish clearing the plot of weeds today but I settled for just over half. I shifted the greenhouse... Continue Reading →
Winding down for winter
At this time of year, the allotment is a hive of activity. Everyone is busy preparing their plots for winter, efficiently using the last few rainless days before the notorious British rain commences in earnest. I have been busy hoeing the top section of the plot, trying to clear some of the ground of weeds.... Continue Reading →
Bumblefoot
Today I went down to the allotment and ended up staying to help Geoff and Cliff operate on two of Geoff's chickens! I got busy feeding and cleaning up after our girls and went round to talk to Geoff. He really does have a magic way with chickens - I found him sat in his... Continue Reading →
Hello Hedgehog!
I ambled to the allotment today to feed the chickens and sort out the apple tree. I had barely started feeding the chickens before I spotted Cliff on his way past the coop holding a trap with an animal inside. Fortunately it wasn't a rat, but a gorgeous hedgehog! Cliff released it near the allotment... Continue Reading →
Run, chicken, run
So today was eventful. In fact it wouldn't be far removed from the most hilarious escapades of the Good Life (the 1970's sit com). I got down on site and had an amble down to the chickens. When I fed them I noticed that Daisy was not quite herself. She was opening and closing her... Continue Reading →
Bee inspection
After minimal sleep last night, I dragged myself down to the allotment to sort out the chickens. Upon my arrival, I spotted Steve and Phil checking the bees. I quickly suited up and joined in. All the hives are still busy but they are struggling to produce a decent amount of honey. The plan is... Continue Reading →
Winning the war on weeds
Today I had a spare couple of hours to go down to the allotment and tackle the second half of the weedy section of the plot in front of the fruit bushes. First I fed the chickens and I am pleased to report that Emily continues to lay eggs! I am astounded as this is... Continue Reading →
Overcast but not raining!
Today I took full advantage of the lack of rain (although the clouds threatened it constantly) to make inroads into the abandoned section in front of the fruit bushes. For the second year in a row, our potato crop has failed seemingly without reason. Everyone else on site has managed to produce a good crop... Continue Reading →
Rain stops play
So the last couple of days have been well and truly rained off. It means that the weedy section up to the fruit bushes is still weedy and again the bees go unchecked. I have managed to hoe the top section of the plot which looks distinctly better now. Steve and I tried to check... Continue Reading →
An evening walk
We ambled down to the allotment this evening to pick up eggs that I forgot to take home earlier. We found six of them asleep on the top of the nest box. This morning, I went down am fed the chickens. Daisy looked as if she was increasingly integrating with the rest of the flock... Continue Reading →
RIP Squeak
This morning I was off doing an event so my husband popped down to the allotment. Sadly. He found that Squeak had died overnight. After Park Run, we both went down again to sort out the chickens legs with Sudacrem. It took quite a while as the Vorwerks and Cream Legbars were very resistant to... Continue Reading →
Cleaning the coop
So today was the day for the long overdue cleaning of the coop. I always dread this job as it usually takes me a couple of hours to do it properly and includes time for drying. As far as I can remember, I haven't explained how I clean the coop. So here it is... The... Continue Reading →
And then there were 10…
Sad news today. After looking a bit sorry for herself yesterday, my other half went down to the allotment to feed the chickens to find Nelly had passed away in the night. So sadly we are back to 10 chickens. Seems that despite our best efforts, we can't keep more than 10 chickens at a... Continue Reading →
Nursing a poorly chicken
I got down to the allotment this morning to find Squeak sitting quietly in the corner of the coop. It's rather unusual behaviour for her and even more so when she showed no interest in bread. She is always the first one to get the first piece as she elbows the others out of the... Continue Reading →
Riddling gravel
Today I overslept and went down late to sort out the chickens. The weather has returned to being unbearably hot again so I decided to just do the chickens then retreat into the shade. I was greeted with grumpy clucking as I checked the coop. Both Nelly and Daisy were hiding under the coop again.... Continue Reading →
The end of the jungle!
The overcast weather today left me hopeful for overdue rain. No such luck. But still, it has been cooler and the wind has helped keep the temperatures down. First I went to sort out the chickens. Nelly and Daisy looked braver today although they still spend the majority of time hiding under the nest box.... Continue Reading →
Clearing the jungle
Today I ambled down to the allotment ready to get cracking with the messy section at the bottom of the plot. First I checked the coop - I couldn't find either of the new chickens! I checked in the nest box, around the coop and recounted the chickens. Eventually, I spotted them hiding under the... Continue Reading →
New additions!
This morning I decided to take advantage of yesterday's rain, and start weeding the plot. Upon arrival and after the first 5 minutes of attempting to remove weed roots baked into the ground, I realised that the rain had only penetrated a mere inch into the soil. I gave up in disgust and went to... Continue Reading →
Rain, glorious rain!
I woke up this morning to a sound I knew vaguely. I pondered it a while, trying to think what it was. Then it struck me. Rain! It was finally raining! The rest of the country has had rain and spectacular thunderstorms in the last couple of days but there has been absolutely nothing here.... Continue Reading →
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