Adventures in the life of an English allotment
It's that time of year when the plot and life on the site slows. Although there are still lots of people on site, the cold and rain have more than a touch of autumn which will drive everyone else away over the winter except for us chicken keepers. But due to being away quite a... Continue Reading →
When I walked down to the plot this afternoon, I knew what I would find. Storm Katherine came through yesterday evening and overnight, bringing with it a torrent of rain and high winds. I knew the plot was going to be awful when I let the Topknot Gang out in the garden this morning to... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, we both strolled down to the plot to get going on some jobs before the forecast washout for the rest of the week. It's frustrating as the plot is only just beginning to drain after the last deluge. Our first job was to check on the new girls in the Main Coop. There... Continue Reading →
Today was a brilliant day on the plot. At lunchtime, I was joined by the Lea family. It has been a couple of years since I last saw the children and it was lovely to spend time with them all on the allotment. The children all love the outdoors and were very keen to help... Continue Reading →
Yet again, I got beaten back by rain. The only difference this week is that it was accompanied by thunder and lightning. It was forecast to start at 4pm. As usual I took no notice of the forecast as I headed down. Seriously, how often is the forecast right? I thought to myself, looking up... Continue Reading →
Despite the humidity, I forced myself down to the allotment this morning. The heat was oppressive even though the sky was beginning to cloud over. My first job was to open up the shed and put up the sunshade. I checked on Maude and Mavis who were clucking loudly, demanding some treats. I headed across... Continue Reading →
Winter in the UK is wet. Not full monsoon for weeks on end but a persistent drizzle interspersed with heavy rain accompanied by howling winds. You may wonder why Brits have no problem going outdoors in this depressing weather. It's simple. If we waited for the rain to stop, we wouldn't leave the house for... Continue Reading →
So here we are again, loading up the car with wood to attempt to shore up the main coop roof. Thankfully, the rain has held off for most of yesterday which means we could actually catch up on jobs at home for the first time in three weeks. However, lunchtime saw us jumping into the... Continue Reading →
There has been so much rain this week that I have been obsessively checking the main coop roof each time I have been down. I couldn't get down yesterday so I dashed down before work this morning to check on the girls (and the roof!). Most of the roof has coped well with the relentless... Continue Reading →
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 →
Just before lunchtime, I headed out to the allotment. The weeds have been taking over and the Nest House needed cleaning out. Stopping for a quick chat with Liz and Sarah, I quickly checked on Gertie, Winnie and Coco in the New Coop. Gertie was in the corner and the other two were finally off... 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 above title is rather optimistic as it's still windy and pouring with rain. When the storm hit on Friday, it was pretty spectacular, even though we are nowhere near the worst hit areas down south. As the wind rose, I dashed down to check on all of the chickens. Happily, they all had enough... Continue Reading →
Rain was forecast for today. Not just a bit of rain, but what the news was calling 'Washout Saturday'. When I got up this morning and looked out of the window, the sun was out and the ground slightly damp. And that was it. So much for 'Washout Saturday' I muttered to myself as I... Continue Reading →
We awoke to rain this morning. A steady drizzle which lasted all day and is forecast to continue tomorrow. Fortunately, I only needed to pop to the allotment briefly to check on the chickens. I quickly opened up the shed and shoved some kale into the Omlet coop for Roxy, Trixy and Foxy. They of... Continue Reading →
After lunch I ambled down to the allotment where I caught up with Cliff and Alan. It seems there has been quite a stir about the Community Garden and two opposing points of view about what should be done about it. Our Community Garden was created several years ago and so many people put so... Continue Reading →
Another day, another downpour! It was relentless! I just about managed to dash around the chicken coops, checking on the birds before running back to the shed. As I sat in the shed, waiting for the rain to stop, I pondered upgrading the social media for the plot. Besides this blog, I have been running... Continue Reading →
Spotting the rain this morning, I delayed going down in a fruitless effort to stay dry. As I was chatting to Phil, the heavens opened and we sprinted to our respective sheds to shelter from the pouring rain. After several minutes, it didn't seem to be stopping or even lessening. Resigning myself to getting utterly... Continue Reading →
After running a few errands around town this morning, I walked to the allotment wondering whether the rain would hold off. There had been intermittent heavy showers all morning. As soon as I arrived, I set up the stove and let the weed destroyers out. Sitting watching them is always fun and it's lovely to... Continue Reading →
So here we are. Mid-May and the weather closely resembles the dark, rainy weeks of mid January. It's so frustrating as this puts a hold on so many jobs on the plot. Furthermore, it means that the winter battle to keep the ground in the chicken coops from turning into a quagmire has returned. So... Continue Reading →
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