Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Today, the sun was out and the sky was blue so I headed out to the allotment armed with a huge list of things to do. As I arrived and walked towards the plot, I heard a loud buzzing ahead. As I passed Phil's plot, I discovered the source of the noise - one of... Continue Reading →
Everyone was on site today - another sign that it's definitely spring! I chatted with everyone as I walked across to my plot. Cliff was down with his beautiful dog, Dolly. She's nearly a year old and despite being much much bigger than when I last saw her, Dolly remains an energetic ball of fur... Continue Reading →
I pottered down to the allotment this evening for a quick visit, just to collect eggs and check on the chickens. I was totally unprepared for the carnage that greeted me on my arrival. As I walked down the back path, I pondered the loveliness of the weather, despite being windy, the sun was out... Continue Reading →
Leia was a princess chicken, not only because she was born on Star Wars Day but because she demanded (and received!) the best treats and companions. Ever dramatic, we nearly lost her at two days old when she caught hypothermia from being lost outside away from Emily and her siblings. Mere weeks later, we rushed... Continue Reading →
I leapt out of bed this morning and dashed downstairs to check on Cirrus and her chick. From the frantic high pitched cheeping I knew that it was hiding somewhere under Cirrus. Cautiously, I lifted Cirrus off the eggs to find a tiny white ball of fluff. Unsurprisingly, Cirrus was not impressed and pecked me... Continue Reading →
This morning when I checked on Cirrus, I heard quiet cheeping coming from underneath her. Gently, I lifted up her feathers, hoping to see a chick. The eggs were there unchanged but I could definitely hear the chicks inside the eggs. I left it for a few hours and to my delight when I checked... Continue Reading →
I ambled down to the allotment at lunchtime today and sat with Geoff and Mick the Greek discussing the events on the site. There had been major works on the bottom of Plot 35 to prepare it for the new tenant. It looks amazing although there is still a little more work to go. When... Continue Reading →
After work, I pottered down to the plot to feed the chickens. As usual, as I approached the shed, Roxy's loud shout went up, quickly followed by Trixie and Foxy. You really don't need a guard dog to alert you, just have chickens! They refused to quieten until their beaks were buried in their refilled... Continue Reading →
I ambled down to the allotment this morning, not really sure what I planned to do. For good measure, I brought down one of the trays of potatoes to plant and of course, the chickens needed cleaning and feeding. The sun was out and although there were some dark clouds, there was enough blue to... Continue Reading →
This morning I dashed down to the allotment to help load up the skip with broken glass. The three back to back storms caused absolute havoc with everyone's greenhouses. Most of us lost some glass and a handful lost all their glass. To keep everyone safe, we have been storing the broken glass in designated... Continue Reading →
After lunch, I pottered down to the allotment, determined to finish planting in the greenhouse and to clear some of the weeds from Geoff's raised beds. Last year Geoff kindly let us grow some vegetables on his plot and I have been meaning to clear the beds for him so they were ready for him... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, we dashed down to the allotment to drop off supplies for the chickens and compost bags for the greenhouse. My husband dumped the food outside the main coop and got busy digging over the beds. Periodically, he threw some weeds into the Omlet for the Little Weed Destroyers. The lack of Trixie caught... Continue Reading →
So over the past few days, Cirrus has been in the indoor coop. She has been properly broody for about a week and as broody hens need their own space, I brought her into the house. Cirrus is sitting determinedly although she keeps moving around the coop as if to find the best place. This... Continue Reading →
When I opened up the Nest House this morning, I made a sad discovery. It was Lilja, laying on her side on the Nest House floor. I suspect she passed away in her sleep last night. She showed no signs of being ill over the past few days so it was quite a shock. Lilja... Continue Reading →
This morning, something incredible happened in the new coop. We had no idea that something momentous had happened until my husband came back from the allotment carrying it. As he put away the morning's haul of eggs, he pointed out a small white-ish egg. He had found it in the nest box in the new... 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 →
Today was a day spent running between home and the allotment. Our first job today was to get the roof on the shed in the garden. In order to improve the strength of the roof panels, I added some extra batons to the edges. My hope was that this would not only stabilise the roof... Continue Reading →
Today was a very exciting day. A day that for us chicken keepers means the end of months of lugging gallons of water down to the site. On days when the coops needed cleaning out, I would occasionally have to do two trips, one for the chickens drinking water and another to collect enough water... Continue Reading →
I sprung out of bed this morning, threw on my wellies and headed out the door before breakfast to feed the chickens. The sun was out, the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue and although it was still a bit nippy, it definitely felt warmer than a few weeks ago! In the Omlet, I... Continue Reading →
Finally today, the weather cooperated which meant we could put up the shed! Between us we spent a while shifting around the different sides of the shed to work out the best way to orientate it. After some discussion, we decided on having the window facing the house and the door facing down the street.... Continue Reading →
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