Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Why is it that whenever I go to feed the chickens, the heavens open? Even the merest thought of "I'll go and feed the chickens in a bit..." seems to send out some invisible signal to the clouds to ready themselves for a full monsoon. Usually this phenomena is limited to my leaving the house... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I walked into the New Coop and couldn't find Winnie. I looked everywhere. Worried that meant nothing but bad news, I lifted the top of the next box up, expecting to find a body. To my surprise, the next box was empty. No bird to be seen. Or was there? Crushed between the nest... Continue Reading →
I love lunchtimes at the moment. It's an opportunity to let the chickens at home explore the garden. I find watching the interactions between the different groups fascinating. The silkies are the first out, always keen to destroy another patch of the lawn. Cirrus is always first out and she usually wanders near to the... Continue Reading →
Sometimes, I swear there is something in the air that makes the chickens go loopy. When I arrived down on site this evening, there was so sign that this would be a rather eventful visit. Stopping by the Nest House, I collected four eggs which made a total of ten for today! I organised the... Continue Reading →
Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief that we had come through Storm Eunice unscathed, along came Storm Franklin. This storm is gusting at nearly 90 mph and has caused quite a lot of damage on site. I received a phone call early this morning from Derek informing me that two panels had... Continue Reading →
The last two days, I have been woken up by Gordon doing his best impression of a cockerel. Despite having very accommodating neighbours, I just couldn't keep him in the garden anymore. The fact he set off three times yesterday shows he is getting more confident in his voice. So my plan was to move... Continue Reading →
Up and out early this morning after making a few phone calls. The sun was out again although the temperature was distinctly cooler than yesterday morning. On site I found Derek busy clearing Plot 8. It's in a dreadful mess after a couple of years of flooding and minimal cultivation. I joined him but didn't... Continue Reading →
Today we walked down to the allotment in the glorious sunshine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. All three bantams were out enjoying scratching and dust bathing. It was interesting to see Trixy outside after her attempt at being broody yesterday. Yesterday, I had to extract the eggs she was determinedly sitting on. The... Continue Reading →
After the end of a very long and tiring week, there is nothing better than heading to the allotment for a day in the fresh air. Happily, it wasn't raining and the sun even put in a few short appearances! I checked on all the girls quickly before spotting Tracy with one of her grandchildren.... Continue Reading →
Up bright and early this morning for my Covid jab and it seemed churlish not to go down to the allotment straight afterwards. Sporting a rather dead arm, my plan was to feed the chickens before watching the world go by from the shed. The bantams greeted me with shouts, complaining about the lack of... Continue Reading →
The skies were blue, the air crisp and there wasn't a rain cloud in sight when I arrived on site this morning. Lots of people were down, making the most of the dry spell before the inevitable rain forecast for the entirety of the rest of the week. I said hello to Geoff and Andy... Continue Reading →
Today was a plottering day at the allotment. One of those days where you arrive and don't really have much of a plan and spend the day drifting between little jobs. When I arrived, I immediately went to check on the girls in the new coop and say hello to Liz, Sarah and Andy. To... Continue Reading →
An early start this morning saw me down the allotment and sorting out Roxy and Trixy wondering how on earth the nest box would be moved. To be honest, this is the panicked thought that has haunted me over the past few weeks. Will appeared around the shed door and said he and Cliff were... Continue Reading →
After spending this morning working, I dashed down to the allotment to feed the chickens. My plan was to just pop down quickly. As it turned out, I spent a manic four hours running around the site trying to complete several jobs simultaneously! The British weather has decided to try to emulate the Mediterranean climate.... Continue Reading →
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