Today we ambled down to the allotment with no real plan of what to do beyond feeding the chickens. I was a little concerned about the chicks as we had some rain yesterday and they were outside in their mini coop. We checked on them and they were all dry and cheeping away happily. My... Continue Reading →
RIP Dolly
This morning I dashed down to the allotment before my husband. Abi was dropping by to pick up another three chicks for a friend's family in Sandbach. She arrived as I was unlocking the gate which was impressive timing. We walked down to the patio, picked out three chicks and she disappeared off to drop... Continue Reading →
Georgie has a bath
Today we walked down to the allotment drenched in sunshine. It's unbelievable how long we have had with this good weather. As always, enjoy it while you can because British weather is notoriously fickle. My husband offered to start early on the digging so I left him to it - never refuse a good offer!... 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 →
Stung by a bee
Today we walked down to the allotment determined to sort out the overheating problem in the greenhouse. Although the chicks still need to be kept somewhere warm, there is a risk with all this good weather that they may overheat in the greenhouse. I remembered that we have half a roll of wire which might... Continue Reading →
Hedgehog house
Today we wandered to the allotment wondering how Leia and Rey had got on with the other girls. When we got to the main coop, we discovered that Leia wasn't coping well. She had tried to hide behind the food bins. I caught her and placed her up on the top of the nest box... Continue Reading →
The Great Escape
We had a slow start today and decided to pop down to the allotment at lunchtime. Just before we left, I popped in to check on the chicks. To my horror, I found a chick on top of the netting we had put on the top of their coop to stop them getting out. I... Continue Reading →
An early start
Today we walked down to the allotment to feed Dolly before I left for work. She wasn't happy about being caught but was fairly cooperative when I was feeding her. When I opened her beak, found a large sunflower seed and a piece of corn stuck in her beak. I managed to get them out.... Continue Reading →
Relaxing in the sunshine
This morning we ambled down to the allotment. The sunshine continues and it's so refreshing to get outside and be surrounded by green space especially during lockdown. We let Leia and Rey into their outside run and collected an egg. Leia seems to be laying earlier than Rey at the moment. We put their food... Continue Reading →
Coop cleaning
Today I walked down to the allotment in the sunshine! The British weather is notoriously fickle and after many days of overcast weather, we finally had a warm spring day. Until it started to pour with rain. On and off giving the perfect example of April showers! I checked Dolly first and she seemed reasonably... Continue Reading →
Life plods onwards
This morning I walked down to the allotment determined to finish off the painting of the shed. Unfortunately, the weather has become really quite cold and I guessed I probably wouldn't be able to feel my fingers after the first half hour. Actually, that was optimistic. After 15 minutes I couldn't feel my fingers and... Continue Reading →
Making steady progress
Today, I walked down to the plot noticing the drop in temperature and increased wind chill. It was definitely not the glorious hint of summer we had all last week. Nevermind, as long as it remains dry, jobs can be done! After discussing the cream paint issue with Sarah, Geoff and a few others, I... Continue Reading →
Second thoughts
After thinking about the paint on the door all night, and seeing it again this morning, I decided that I really didn't like the cream colour. Not one bit. It wasn't going to be one of those things where you grow to like it. The only solution was to go into town, braving the queues... Continue Reading →
Shed Upgrade
This morning I walked down to the allotment for my daily escape from the house, armed with two tins of paint and a brush. The sunshine was beautiful and I was certain that the paint would dry quickly without too much trouble. When I arrived, I sorted out the chickens food and water, letting Leia... Continue Reading →
Allotment life changes
We all received an email from the Allotment Federation yesterday detailing all the necessary changes to ensure that allotment sites can remain open. The list is long but boils down to wash hands regularly with soap, communal gathering places to close and stay on your own plot. Reasonable precautions but it's still rather sad that... Continue Reading →
Busy as a Bee
Today was the first day of lockdown due to coronavirus in the UK. No one is to go out except for specific reasons such as medical appointments and once a day for exercise. Fortunately, allotments look to be one of those reasons why you could be outside due to the need to feed chickens. Taking... Continue Reading →
It’s still dry!
This morning, the sunshine continued from yesterday with a little more warmth to it. We both headed down keen to finish off the digging and to sort out a few other jobs. As we arrived, I spotted Sarah, Liz and Andy busy on their greenhouse and bumped into Geoff in his coop. It's my favourite... Continue Reading →
Windy but dry!
Finally, after weeks and months of relentless rain, we have had a couple of dry days back to back. The wind has helped dry the soil surface and the lack of rain has also meant the pools of water have drained away. Upon my arrival, I was fairly certain it would still be way too... Continue Reading →
A brief pause between deluges
With some hope of a dry few hours, I popped to the allotment this morning to try and clean out the chickens. It's been a job that I have intended to do for the last 4 weeks however, the weather has had other ideas. I arrived on site to find the usual selection of faces... Continue Reading →
New arrivals!
This morning I dashed down to the allotment, desperate for news on Emily's eggs. When I arrived and lofted the lid of the broody box, I spotted a change! Next to Emily, half out from underneath her was an eggshell. Tentatively, I removed it, expecting a sharp peck for my trouble. I bent down and... Continue Reading →
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