At lunchtime, I dashed down to the allotment for a very unusual but exciting event - I was going to be teaching a group of home schooled children about bees. The family on Plot 1 home school their children who adore outdoor learning and forest school. As it turns out, they were learning about bees... Continue Reading →
Tackling a Swarm Solo!
As I was wrestling with a new stitch in my beginners crochet class, I received a message from Andrea informing me that there was a swarm in a tree at the bottom of Bob's plot. Understandably, she wasn't sure what to do but knew that I helped Steve and Phil out with the bees. I... Continue Reading →
Mid-season Tidy
It was a long day yesterday and I barely had time to stop let alone complete the blog. So here it is, very late! I walked down early to make a start. The greenhouse and the shed needed cleaning and tidying, weeding and general sorting amongst other jobs. It was going to be a busy... Continue Reading →
Evenings at the allotment
After work today I ambled down the allotment. Although it's been a lovely week, it has been exhausting and I was glad the week was over. When I arrived, my first job was to water the loofa plants. I can't believe how much they have grown since I last came down. I am sure if... Continue Reading →
Unexpected Fish
Upon my arrival on site this morning, I was greeted by Phil who asked had I seen the fish? Fish? The only fish we have on site are the three that Cliff rescued and live his in pond made from a converted bath. There are no other fish on site. Phil was quite insistent that... Continue Reading →
Buzzing along
Today I got down to the allotment early to check on Leia and her chicks. It was just possible she might have an extra chick or two. When I got to her coop, I counted five chicks and spotted three eggs remaining. With Tracy's help, we removed the eggs. It's important to remove them so... 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 →
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 →
Bees in Trees
My husband popped down to the allotment this morning to sort the chickens. He found Leia off her eggs. We hoped this was just her daily break from sitting. Later in the afternoon we both went down for a little fresh air. Upon arrival we discovered Leia sunbathing outside. Idiotic bird! Unfortunately, this probably means... Continue Reading →
Of bees and olive trees…
I don't know what it is but suddenly there seems to be a day a week that the local wildlife goes temporarily AWOL. Last week it was Jack the Jackdaw. This week, the bees. As we opened up the shed, I saw Phil and Steve busy down in the Community Garden. We walked down to... Continue Reading →
The Queen arrives
The sunshine continues! We walked down to the allotment today with a list of jobs to do. The most important was to add more wire to the greenhouse door to stop any curious cats getting at the chicks. As we walked up to the greenhouse, they were all hiding in the bottom of the nest... Continue Reading →
A day of chickens and bees
This morning I strolled down to the allotment to see if the ground had dried out. It hadn't. I give up - the weather either bakes the soil to a crisp or it's 6 inches under water! I went to the greenhouse and watched the chicks. When I arrived they were roosting in the nest... Continue Reading →
A plethora of Queens
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 →
Musical Chickens
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 →
Parcels in the post
It was a very exciting day today - I had an unexpected parcel arrive which contained two stunning chicken jumpers! A friend from home who is a knitting whizz has made them for our new rescue chickens. I ran down to the allotment to put them into the shed, ready for use at any moment!... Continue Reading →
Painting a Queen
This morning I walked down to the allotment in the glorious May sunshine. Everyone clearly had the same idea, and it was lovely to see everyone out and busy. First job was to open up the greenhouse to make sure Emily and her chicks had some fresh cool air. I topped up their food and... Continue Reading →
A matter of life or death
I had to run into work this morning quickly before going down to the allotment. Upon my arrival, I was met with some bad news about one of the chicks. Cliff had checked on Emily this morning to find her and only two chicks. No sign of the third. After several minutes searching he found... Continue Reading →
A day of two halves
This morning we ambled down to the allotment, armed with the last few bits for the shed. We dropped off the final bits outside the shed before looking at the shed in the daylight. All the paint had dried and after a short discussion, we decided to do another coat on the top panel and... Continue Reading →
Back with a bang!
It's been a busy couple of weeks and now that technical issues are finally sorted, I can recommence normal updates!The last two weeks have seen huge growth down the allotment as we have (very unusually for Northern England) had two weeks of glorious sunshine! Our daughter's tree has been planted and looks perfect in the... Continue Reading →
The allotment goes bee-serk
Today I ambled down to the allotment determined to do something more productive than just feeding the chickens. I arrived to find the site busy, the warm sunny weather has brought everyone out. It was good to see Mick the Greek back after a short spell unwell in hospital. Chickens were fed and seem very... Continue Reading →
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