Chickens

I've noticed the chickens haven't appeared here for a while, so it's time for a gratuitious chicken photo!

Actually, looking back through my pictures I can see that I haven't been keeping very up to date with the girls.  They now have a much smarter, bigger house with the luxury of 3 nest boxes (you would not believe the fighting that goes on when there's only two, I found three chickens sitting on top of one another in one a few days before the new house got installed!), and I am quite pleased that the Very Few Eggs Drought has finished and we are now getting at least 3 eggs on most days. 

The days are getting longer, I know this because my chickens tell me so with their lovely eggs!

Have a nice Wednesday folks.

Welcome to Greenhouse Towers

I've been a bad blogger.  Kind of lost the will to do much blogging lately, but Spring has gone 'boing', and thus sprung, so we have been thinking about the home grown veggies.  This year's latest addition to the garden is a greenhouse.  Please don't laugh, it is a plastic one.  But it is something of a trial run - if it goes well then we are going to look around for a more permanent option. For the meantime, we are all very pleased with our new growing space, and the tomatoes are settling in well already.

The pink chair is Thing Two's - she had earlier been stung on her foot by a bee, and needed to supervise me planting out the tomatoes.

A Useful Tip

"Stay out of the middle of the supermarket - meat, fish, dairy products, fruit and vegetables are all on the outside aisle of every supermarket.  The processed stuff is in the centre."

Bear this in mind when you shop.  I think of it often now as I plod round, trying to avoid the jars, packets and assorted processed rubbish when I do my grocery run (sorry, limp). We try to eat fresh, unprocessed food here as much as possible, and on the odd occasion when a non home cooked meal has been presented to us, really have noticed the difference.

Yesterday, we ate home grown carrots at lunch time, fresh picked from the back yard, and small courgettes with dinner.  Today, home made Shepherds pie! Yummy.  And of course, home made bread every day from this book.  So easy, even my dear husband can knock a perfect loaf out - which is good, because for the last 5 days, I've had one arm in a sling (tenosynovitus, look it up, it hurts!) and he's been on catering, child minding and cleaning duty!

Enjoy your food, we always do.

Oy vey!

I'm so sorry. I'm still here, really I am. But, you know, kinda busy. Also kinda sick lately - tummy bugs lay you out something bad .... It's those germy kids of mine. Plague-ridden really, but soon, it's the holidays - yey! And no more walking round half of Dorset to get the children to school or nursery. Days at the hut will be taken, visitors will visit and fun (YES FUN) will be had!

Goblins have moved into the garden recently:

























They have been told to move off by the children. But I'm not entirely sure they're listening. (Actually, it's great fun, my Mum made some very very small clothes and bedding, and I've found some bits and bobs that are the right size, and every now and then, I go and change what's on the line.) The children like to go and see what's happening in the goblin patch at the end of the day, (as you can see above, they put up NOTICES!!!) and if they've put something up, I can take it down and save it. I thought I'd taken more pictures. But that was my organised self who appears to have left the building. I will pay attention and do more as the summer wears on.

The Veg/Chicks are producing:













Although lately, the chickens need a swift kick up the bum, 2 eggs from 5 chickens are not enough.

And there be a fairy in my garden too:
















1 skirt was not enough, I was informed that a second layer was required!

Hope you're all having fun.

Busy, busy, busy

And cough, cough, cough. I know, it just won't go away. Regardless of this, we have been very busy painting and putting together the long awaited bike shed. It's so pretty! All the bikes and gear fit in (except the new trailer) and now that nasty salty seaside air can't make my bike rust any more. We're so happy with it - we just keep going into the courtyard and going 'oooh, isn't it good?'.

The amazing thing was that we wanted to get it done during half term holidays (as Teflon boy was off too), and we actually did. This may not sound so amazing to many of you, but when you have 2 fairly small people helping you with the paintbrushes, and the screwdrivers, and they start taking all your fittings away, it's quite good. Also, we actually fitted in with our own scheduling. Usually what happens is, we say - oh, we'll do that - and we start off with good intentions - and then we go and do a whole load of other totally unrelated things, and then get to the end of the week and notice we haven't finished what we've started.

We've also managed to get out in the fresh air, entertain the children for a week without anyone killing anyone else, clear the hundred and one bags of rubbish that have accumulated over the winter, Freecycled a load of baby stuff, passed a non-laying chicken over to someone who has more space, ordered the new Chickenopolis accommodations, and purchased two new pullets to add to the egg-producing flock.

I'm happy. But very, very tired. Today I cycled up to No 1's school with both children in the new trailer, cycled back, then dug about a hundredweight of compost up with my friend and carted it into her (very long) garden, and just this evening been to my Pilates class. I didn't fall asleep on the mat, and managed to get home without dropping off either, so I think that's a good days' work.

Children 'helping' Papa












Our lovely bike shed












Daddy with the children at Lyme Regis















New hens - Henny Penny, Baby Mavis

Chicken Newsflash

Wow, Gussie laid her first egg yesterday and, being good eaters, we cracked it open for tea today, to find a DOUBLE YOKER!!!!! If this is a sign of things to come, roll on baby, I'm mighty pleased. And Millie outdid herself with a HUGE egg - double the size of a normal one. Photo to follow soon, and I have to add, she was limping yesterday, I think from the effort. Medals all round. Cluck, cluck, cluck.

Bullfinch Nest

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Originally uploaded by rowsew

Retrieved from Teflon Boy before it got bashed into a compost bag, when he trimmed the palm tree in the front yard recently. It's been home for a bullfinch family, who fledged 3 babies this year. So lovely to hear them all chirping away at crack of dawn, and see them learning to fly, all whilst lying in bed!
For those who don't know, we own the bottom half of a big detached brick house (which luckily for us includes the whole garden too) and our bedroom is the old main front room from before the house was divided up. One day I will get around to drawing a suitable illustration, but for now, suffice it to say that the bedrooms are at the front of the house, and the living/dining/kitchen space is at the back, where the garden is - unusual, but you do get used to it!

Gussie

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Originally uploaded by rowsew

Birthday girl No 2, not such a good pic, but here nonetheless! She is also a Light Sussex cross, I think with Black Rock, but not 100% certain. Anyway, she's a big girl, and I'm hoping for many eggs coming soon!

Gertie

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Originally uploaded by rowsew

Birthday chicken No.1 posing for me on Saturday afternoon. She's a stunnah! Gertie is quite small, but she's only a young one - it'll be a while before she starts to lay, I think. She's a Light Sussex cross with Rhode Island Red, so hopefully will be a consistent layer. This is the same breed as my very first chicken (Megg) who laid an egg for us every day from the time she came into lay, until the day she died. I have great hopes .....