My Lean to

Gherkins and brussel sprouts.


Mange tout, peas, beans, sorrel, - all sorts growing.


My home made mini greenhouse made from a fish box and a plastic container that they use for 'growing' snails in! It works though


My first lot of tomato plants, I have some more needing pricking out in my conservatory windowledge.

I don't have a green house so I make do with growing my plants in the lean to. I just have enough floor space left to fit my two feet in!

Back garden photos

The chicken pen border created in the winter. There have already been a big show of crocuses, now grape hyacinths and primulas, and the clematis is growing up the chicken wire fencing - should have a treat to look forward too later in the summer. The green screening acts as a windshield and a proctection to the plants so that the chickens can't dine on them!



Maxines Garden bursting with life again - soon to be a mass of flowers


The pergola border just coming to life through the mulch.


These look like giant snowdrops. They have been flowering for four weeks. Each stem has at lease four bell flowers each flower looks like a crinoline skirt and has green dots a along the little points. This is the only clump I have and it grew out of the ground right alongside the raised bed I put in.



This is the only bit of sunshine this Aubretia gets. It survives on the bit of gravel next to the wall of our home. It gets totally neglected but this time of year it flowers its little heart out and lights up a dreary path.

Thank you for your lovely messages

Just a short note to thank you all for your lovely messages, they are really cheering me up.

I am dosed up to the nines with extra extra strong painkillers 25 in all now - but they just make me feel sick - still its a bit of a destraction from the pain LOL

OH wants to put his arm around me to give me a hug to make me feel better - then stops himself as he realises that it is like an electic shock to my skin if he touches me. - What a waste of all this affection - I am putting all the hugs and cuddles in a 'bank' so that I have plenty when this calms down.

I realised that I must be poorly when I couldn't eat my two squares of dark chocolate last night and he had to eat one for me. I am also keeping a note of that too, so that I can pig out when I am fit! LOL

It is a lovely sunny day here, the little banties are feasting on the fresh greens I picked last night - and no shrieks from Freckles. She did when I opened the back door then went quiet when I ignored her and went into the garage to get their Sorrel and spinach - do you think that my new strategy is working?

Didn't feel up to getting attacked by Dilly Dilly so will keep an eye out for when she comes out and will go and collect the egg then. I am thinking of making a nest in a hedge like I did when I first got them - but haven't got the energy yet.

I have spent the morning working on a birthday present from my lovely eldest grand daughter - but can't say anything about it or put photos up as she apparently reads this. So you will have to wait until after Monday when she gets to see it first. Only fair after all.

I am going to sow some leeks seeds in a pot - as I am getting gardening withdrawal symptons.

My smashing other half is making sausages and mash for lunch - my home made sausages -remember the fun and games I had making them? And our own onions - he is good at cooking that.

A really short posting today but I haven't a lot of energy.



Just a picture of my woodland garden taken earlier this week, so you can see how everything is starting to grow, and a couple of other photos.


The Euphorbia got hit by frost but it is still floweing its little heart out. Close up they are creamy white tubular bells - like a small version of blue bells.

Hope to be back tomorrow - enjoy the wonderful weather while it lasts - we are due rain here - which I need to get those carrot seeds germinating up the lottie.


In this photo you can seem my willow arch on the left.

The arch I made myself out of willow sticks which I pushed into the ground either side and tied with strips of willow at the top. The interwoven little odds and ends of willow sticks and cornus sticks male a pattern on the sides, and now that it has taken root and is growing, any long growing twigs I now weave in and out of the sides which will eventually be solid.

This is it's third summer. It looks wonderful later on when it gets into full leaf and grows a wonderful hairstyle at the top. I give it a crew cut a few times over the summer - sometimes a flat top - like and GI's hair cut, and sometimes a curved one, depending on how I feel. Even a Mohican hair cut.

I trim it in autumn when I has lost its leaves, and off it goes again in the spring.

I am quite proud of it really, and it was my own idea and design and when I first put it in it was a bit feeble looking and fragile. But now that it has taken root is is really sturdy, but looks dainty, and when we get really strong winds it moves about and looks lovely and I know that it will never fall down.

The birds absolutely love it - especially when the little branches grow and they sit up there swaying and bouncing on the in the wind. It cost me about £1 for the tall bits of willow and the side sticks were just bits off hedgerows and from my garden. So much cheaper than a bought one, doesn't need treating, won't rot, and it is turning into a nice focal point.



Once again - it gives me such a lovely glow to read all your messages.

Eggs Totals - To date - What have I done with them all?

I just realised that you haven't seen an egg total lately from my little flock have you - it is amazing how many eggs they have produced. I am glad that I keep a record. Here it is up to todays date.

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 415 Day:177

KoKKo 139 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 139 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 137 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 76 Day:44

Dilly Dilly 26 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 25 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 25 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

I have had to guess these pass few days who has been laying the solitary bantam egg, but as Pumpkin has been photographed snuggled up to Dilly Dilly, there is a good chance that is has been her - as Freckles is always out and about all day digging holes and shouting.

Getting on for 500 eggs - amazing isn't it? Makes me wonder what I have done with them all. I guess that more than half of them have been given away at least, some ahve been frozen, and others have been given away in presents of cakes, biscuits, lemon curd, and such like. We eat about six a week - mainly bantam eggs - more if we have visitors.

But even without eggs I would still have them.

Thanks Jools - My allotment chickens are now safely pegged down!

After a message in the comments section from 'Jools' I thought I had better double check that KoKKo, Adelaide and Ginger were safe and secure in their run up the allotment.

Last year in the bottom barn there were a family of foxes, and T had told me the other day that there were foxes up his end.

When I moved the girls up to their meadow, as an extra precaution, I pegged down the metal skirt that is advertised as fox proof - just to be on the safe side and in case the ground was not perfectly level. You can tell I am a worrier as far as my babes are concerned.

Driving up there every rut and bump was a tear jerker, but I knew I would not have slept if I hadn't have checked that I had pegged down the narrow ends by the hen house and where the wire finishes.

It was freezing with a really cold wind - we have been warned of an overnight frost would you believe.



I opened the run to give the girls a stroke but they couldn't wait to rush out to the corner of long grass, chattering happily amongst themselves.

I had put pegs in at intervals around the skirt but not at the vulnerable places so it was a good job that we checked. OH stuck some in for me - for my peace of mind.

I am pretty sure that a fox can't get to them, as they are surrounded by flexi chicken fencing, which I can electrify (but it is a bit expensive to do so at the moment) and now that the skirt is pegged, there is no way that a fox can get in - I hope!

There were three more huge eggs, they seem to be getting even bigger lately. We couldn't stay long for obvious reasons, but it was nice to have a cuddle with all of them, and they were happy to oblige - and I left them a handful of corn mix as a treat.

Whilst up there, I took time to pick some fresh sorrel and spinach for the banties. It amazes me that the rabbits haven't touched it, now that the bed has been weeded and uncovered, but when it was covered they tried their best to get at it, even chewing holes in the netting!

Back home Pumpkin and Freckles have the run of the entire pen to themselves as Dilly Dilly is definitely broody.

She is getting pretty good at attacking me now and has mastered the art of pecking the bit of flesh between my fingers or finger and thumb and hanging onto it for dear life! She makes a really scary noise too - well it would scare the life out of another bantam, but it really is intimidating and the way she fluffs herself up has to be seen to be believed.

I am going through the daily ritual of being pecked and lifting her off the nest; not to rescue the solitary egg that is there, but to ensure that she eats and drinks and gets a bit of exercise - I have to lock her out for half an hour. She looks a bit distressed at first then wanders off to eat and drink and have a little walk, before going back in.

I suppose that she will be doing this for the next three weeks - unless she realises that it is all a waste of time.

I don't know who is laying the egg, or if it is Dilly and the other two are put off by her.

I will have to have a look around as see if they have made a nest in a corner somewhere.

At the moment, apart from taking things easier, I am working on a present for my eldest grand daughter. I hope to take it on Sunday, so I just have to get well enough to make the journey.

I know that I can go another day, but I had set my heart on seeing her and the other two before her birthday.

I will post a photo of what I have put together after I have delivered it - in case she looks here and it spoils the surprise!

I forgot to mention that on Monday night at flower club I won a little bunch of flowers - and here they are at home.

Allotment Lady is feeling poorly - So posts might be a bit thin on the ground for a few days.

Wednesday was a ‘washout’

Allotment and chicken news may be a bit thin on the ground for a few days.

I have been feeling really poorly lately, and yesterday was crunch time! Off to the dentist in the morning for an emergency appointment – to replace a filling – but I could hardly walk, and breathing was so painful – even the dentist asked me if I was o.k. LOL Had to have the chair tilted and some towels rolled into sausage shapes to support me LOL - Not like me to be crook!

On the way home, I asked OH to take me to the doctors to see if I could get an appointment that evening. They were so sweet they fitted me in an appointment there and then.

I just wanted a bit of advice about managing the pain which I thought that was due to the old bones or strain – turns out that I have got Shingles! The doc thought I looked too young to get it LOL – that cream I made a few weeks ago sure must have worked then.

I hate taking any drugs for any reason, but I am under strict instructions to take things easy, take all the pills and potions and pain killers, and to ‘not be a martyr and fight it, but to rest and give in to it’ – Doctors orders.

So yesterday was a non starter - I have to admit to having to lie down in the afternoon. Probably the shock of the cost of have a filling - gone up from £4.20 to £46.20 or was it £42.60 OH paid, I had sit down! New NHS charges. I was feeling to ill to be miffed about it, even though I had had my check up a month ago before the prices went up.

The there were the prescription charges for all the drugs - that was shock, as I don't usually 'do drug' preferring lavender oil for headaches, and such like. Must be getting 'tight' in my old age.

Today, Thursday.

A gloriously sunny day. I decided to gingerly take a drive up to the allotment – I figured that I would much rather be out side in the sunshine feeling ill than stuck indoors.

So that is precisely what I did.

I walked down to the bottom of the lottie and let the chooks out – then sat and rested for half an hour watching them. It was a good tonic – out in the fresh air, watching the girls scratching around and fight over worms, listening to the geese and cockerels in the distance, with the sun on my face and wind in my hair.

Ginger, Adelaide and KoKKo had laid three eggs again – big ones as usual – and the girls have never looked better – in their prime.

I read somewhere that chickens do not like long grass - but they seem to seek it out at the edges and get quite excited at what lurks there.


Probably me humanising them, but they really do seem to enjoy it up there, running around the meadow, tucking into dock weeds, and rolling around in the grass – yes Adelaide was actually rolling around in the grass today! Having a make believe dust bath in the long grass at the edge!

KoKKo and Adelaide onto a good thing.

The pain killers haven’t kicked in yet, and I feel rather washed out at the moment, but I walked up the other end with the intention of sowing a couple of rows of tomato seeds.

It took me one and a half hours – would you believe – to sow 2 x 25 feet rows of carrot seeds! I did have to sit down on the grass and rest quite a bit! It was such a lovely day though.

I picked another basket of broccoli which is really looking wonderful – and tasting that way too. It is now in the freezer!

Home for eggs and bacon and home made wedges – perfect.

Dilly is still in fighting mode and goes at me like a woodpecker every time I open the door to the nest box. She makes really weird noises – nothing that I have ever heard a bird make before!

She did come out for a bit of sunshine and a drink and some food, so I got a chance to grab the egg that was in the nest.

Poor thing was so very cross with me, and I felt so sorry for her.

I have read that you should dunk a broody hen’s rear end in a bucket of cold water – to literally cool her off! I don’t know if I could do that though, it seems a bit drastic.

Anyone got any suggestions? It seems such a shame that she is spending hours and hours on the nest box and not enjoying the sunshine outside.

I have put some tubs in their pen, three of them with lavender, and one huge one with mint in it.

Tonight when I put them away, the mint was stripped bare. It was a very tall pot so they must have had to fly up onto the top to eat the leaves I didn’t think that they would bother. But they did – maybe they have a sense of smell? I know that Ginger, Adelaide and KoKKo loved the mint, so I should not have been surprised that Dilly, Pumpkin, and Freckles would love it too.

I have removed the pot to give it a chance to grow again – mint is as tough as old boots so will soon recover.

Only one bantie egg today – and I don’t have a clue who laid it. When I went to put the banties to bed, Dilly was on the nest already and shrieked when I opened the door to look. Freckles was on the roosting bars and complaining, and Pumpkin was outside walking up and down complaining – so I had to gently encourage Pumpkin into the run and now she had gone to roost with the others.

Off to bed. If I miss a day or two or the posts are short you will know why.

Soon be bouncing back like my old self though - I am a tough old bird.

Enjoy the sunshine - and a Bank Holiday coming up too this weekend.

Tuesday's musings

Today, Tuesday, I was out of commission for the day. No work up the allotment – by order!

I was up early as usual and went out to see my little banties. Pumpkin and Freckles were out of bed early and as usual Freckles made enough noise to wake the neighbourhood – the little blackmailing loveable monster.

So I dashed into the run and shushed shushed her and picked her up and gave her a cuddle.

Pumpkin did her usual circuit training, and they went into excited ecstatic mode when they realised that I had sneakily put something on the top of their run.

They jumped up and down and all over my feet trying to see what it was. – My left over breakfast cereal – oats and bran and some dried fruit.

I couldn’t eat it, so OH suggested I gave it to them for a treat.


I put it into a little dish and hung it outside on their run and they chattered so excitedly to each other then dived in on it. Picking bits up and squabbling over each morsel – checking out the other’s beak full in case the other one had something better than theirs.

They are looking at me as if you say 'Do you mind, we are trying to have our breakfast in peace' - So I left them to it!

Pumpkin did her usual and pinched every bite of Freckles’s and ran helter skelter around behind the hen house, then back again – whilst Freckles tucked into the raisins whilst Pumpkin had stolen a mouthful of oats. Too quick for me to get a photo though

Dilly was still in bed so I opened to door to see if she was up, so that she could share in the fun.

She was in the nest, and raised herself to her full height (six inches) and attacked my hand, with a loud indignant shriek.

Bless her, it was so funny, and her little pecks were nothing compared to those of the big girls – who peck at my rings, my trousers, my feet, in fact anything they can to show their affection – but they are a bit heavy handed, so I have stopped hand feeding them corn without my gloves on.

So, I closed the door on Dilly and left her too it. I think that she might be getting broody as she sat on the nest until quite late this afternoon, and whilst she was out eating what was left of my breakfast, I quickly popped out to retrieve two hot eggs from the nest.

When I was weeding around the broad beans I came across this.



It looks like a perfect egg – but in fact is a stone. I might put it under Dilly if she goes broody! Do you think it will work?

I took my physio specialist half a dozen bantam eggs and a sealed bag of purple sprouting broccoli which she was really grateful for. She loves the free range eggs I take and the odd slices of cake or bits and pieces from the allotment.

No results from the MRI scan as the system to the hospital had been down for a week, so I will have the 2 week wait for the written report after all. What I thought was strained muscles in my back and behind my ribs, from using muscles that I hadn’t used over the winter (planting the potatoes and onion sets) turned out to be spinal injury problems – which is a nuisance. Still I will rest up a couple of days if I can force myself and hope it eases a bit.

OH took my up the lottie on the way back, and I got to see my Norfolk lasses and make a fuss of them, and collect another three huge eggs – and to look longingly at the bit of weeding I so wanted to do.

There was evidence of a murder on the plot – white feathers – the farm cats had been on the prowl, or was it someone with a gun? Looks like it was a pigeon – not enough evidence left even for Sherlock Holmes to work out whodunit.


Freckles and me are playing a battle of wits this week. I am not quite sure who is winning at the moment.

Every time she hears the back door go, or sees one of us she goes into her loud shrieking mode. So I have told OH not to talk to her - just to ignore her – and I am doing the same. Apart from when I first went out to let the banties out in the morning.

I am not going to go in there if she is shrieking – and will only go in there if she is quiet. I hope to try and cure her of her mindset – shriek and get attention or a treat.

Place your bets now as to who gets their own way!

Titles of the flower arrangements

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. The easy one which I remember now was Cabaret
3. King and I
4. Moulin Rouge
5. My Fair Lady
6. Miss Saigon
7. Memoirs of a Geisha


Bit of a disaster sort of day - so no chance to post anything.

Will do so tomorrow

Flower Club Meeting

Another month has whizzed by so quickly and there was another club meeting last night.

The demonstrator's theme was Musicals and Theatre.

She made arrangements that depicted My Fair Lady, Moulin Rouge, Miss Saigon, The King and I. Memoirs of a Geisha and Phantom of the Opera and one other that I forgot the name of but she called it a simple design

See if you can guess which is which.

I will give you the answers tomorrow.

No.1.


No.2.


No.3.


No.4.


No.5.


No.5 (part 2)


No.6.


No.7.

Sunday and Monday up the allotment.

The London Marathon was on in the morning, and West Ham played Middlesborough in the semi final for a place in the Cup Final against Liverpool.

I always know the date of the Cup Final – not that I am a keen football supporter, but because I was in labour with my first son whilst the match was on – and came out of hospital on the day of the Cup Final five years later in time for the family to watch it! Not that I was impressed at the time!

So I left my dearly beloved at home and headed off to the lottie. A dull miserable day – just for a change LOL.

The place was deserted – I guess all the others were glued to the television!!

I got my little Merry Tiller out and went over the ground a few times where I wanted to plant the onions sets.

When I bought them loose from an old fashioned store in town, there didn’t look many. But on my hands and knees with the tiddly little things I realised that there were between 200 to 300 hundred in all.

I did six rows on Saturday and it still took me a good couple of hours to get the final two rows done – making eight in all. I had put my back out on Saturday so had to be very careful!

It sounds a lot of onions but over the year we a lot, and are using up our last string at the moment so will run out before these are ready. There are all sorts of varieties – I don’t know the names as the girl in the shop mixed them up and didn’t write what they were on the bags. But I don’t mind. I know that some of them are Sturon and I have two rows of red ones!

I spent time with the chickens and collected their eggs, and they still come when I call so I still get a cuddle. I thought that they might go ‘native’ being up the allotment and in a different environment.

I took a few photos of some of the allotments up there.


Looking sideways from my plot across seven on them

I know of 10 tractors of all sizes and styles. That is quite a high ratio out of 18 plots.




Some of the ‘tractor boys’ have more than one plot. I was watching J on Saturday, tinkering with one of his tractors, then hitching a thing on the back – a cultivator I think, and went up and down the plot a few times, Then he unhitched that and went up and down with a plough thing that made the grooves for the potatoes, then he and his father walked along and threw in a potato – just chucked them in the grove, then he hitched the other thing to his tractor and went over it all to cover them up!

OH said that the time he took tinkering with it, and attaching the different things on the back, took longer than the way I did them. I can see the attraction of doing it that way. But I think that I get more satisfaction being a ‘hands on’ gardener.

Here are a selection of some of the plots – they all look so nice and tidy don’t they.





After taking the photos, I went back to work. I hand weeded all around the broad beans. That took me an hour. I was so pleased, that despite being pecked, chewed, nibbled, and frozen half to death, some of them looked really healthy and are actually in flower. Some of the blackened frost damaged stems had re-sprouted and there was healthy green growth on the ends. I dug it all over with a hand trowel and the soil looked rather nice, so I decided to sow some broad beans in the gaps. By the time the over-wintered ones are ready to be harvested the others will be well on their way too.

Don't you get a pretty flower on what I think is such a boring end result with the pod and beans.

I ‘tillered’ around the rows of strawberries, and weeded between them and they look healthier too. The first growth got hit by the dreadful sub zero temperatures – but they are fighting back and starting to grow again. I am glad that I have a few spare to fill in the gaps.

The difference between the field ones, and those sheltered in the fruit cage is amazing. Those are green and lush and full leaved – just by being sheltered by a few wooden pallets! Still I should get two crops an early and a late one.


A few dock weeks have appeared in the last week, so I will have to oink them out when I can dig again. Or sweet talk OH to do them.

Whilst on my hands and knees it was lovely to see the little flower plants emerging. Hostas are bursting through now, crocosmias, delphiniums, rudbeckias, cardoons, salvia turkistanicas, and the flag irises are going to look a treat this year. Even some of the chrysanthemums are starting to shoot – they looked like dead sticks – hope the rabbits keep out of that area.

The rudbeckia are just through at the back against the fence and grow over six feet tall and are wonderful in the summer. There are delphiniums in the distance and in the front are the stems of lots of chrysanthemums - just forming leaves right at ground level.

It was hard to drag myself away, but I was so hungry – and it was gone 2pm again – so I collected the eggs, put the chickens in their run, and reluctantly came home.

I managed to cook lunch with all the trimmings so that OH could finish it in time to watch the football match - and West Ham won!

Monday 23th

I gingerly went up the lottie yesterday - have 'done' my back in. I just love to be out in the fresh air, so I took the car up there, and spent time with KoKKo, Adelaide and Ginger. They squawk with delight as soon as they caught sight of me, and mobbed me happily when I let them out and knelt down to stroke them - then when they realised that I did not have any treats they shot off to all corners of their meadow and busied themselves with worm hunting. I sat on my old chair and just watched for 15 minutes, did a few warm up exercises (only the chooks could see me) then went off to look for a job I could do without doing any more damage.

'Ping' an idea - just when I thought there would be nothing suitable.

I did all that hard work last week on the middle area and also where a couple of the bean trenches are.

Overwinter they have been filled with kitchen and allotment waste, topped with layers of chicken, horse, and pig muck, and then covered with the soil I dug out.

So I could just about manage to put up a row of canes. If I could find enough that is.

For the two summer seasons that I have had my plot, I used cut down tree branches, but they were rotted so I had to burn those over the winter. They are really good for the job though and being branches, the beans get lots of space to spread out and grow on the top branches.

I had a good search in my tardis of a pig hut and came up with some old tall canes, and some straw bale twine - bright orange and indestructable. I spent a good half an hour patiently sitting on a chair untangling some out of my sack and untying some knots. I did not have any scissors or a knife sharp enough to cut the stuff.

So off I went with the barrow loaded with everything (absolutely no lifting for me for a while).

I had a brain wave whilst doing the task. Because I had no scissors I could not tie the canes together sooo........

About 3 feet from the ground, I tied one end of the twine, and added more bits until it stretched from one end to the other (with about 4 foot spare that I had to wind around and around the other end!)

Then, (and this is the clever part) I managed to split the twine with my fingers and nails, (ruining a few in the process) and found that it was made up of lots of threads. (Are you still with me thus far?)

I then could make a 'hole' in the bale twine, and push the cane through it, and it held fast. The more canes I added the tighter the hold. And they do need to be held tight as we get horrendous winds all the time as we are exposed.

I had to go on the hunt for more, and took some from the fruit cage, broccoli cage, and some of the bird scarers had to be used - so I had to make more out of shorter canes.

Hey presto an hour and a half later I had one row! It would have taken half the time had I got scissors and was not injured.

I need to cut off the dangly bits - must remember to get some scissors for up there.

I bet you are wondering why I have put the twine so low down aren't you.

Reason one - the nearer the ground the stronger the support and less damage due from the winds. When loaded with climbing beans they soon get blown down (well, she says rather smugly, mine didn't last year).

Reason two - if the canes cross over that low down, it is far easier to pick the beans, as they hang down away from the canes, in a similar fashion to grapes, as you will see in the summer.

I just need to buy more canes now to slot in next to the ones I fitted - but I am sure that you get the idea. Or you will when I have finished it.

The green 'path' I put down had membrane underneath and was a bit of rubbish that was amongst the weeds. I take it up every winter and then put it back down now.

Great as it keeps the weeds down, is a removeable path and nice to kneel on when plantng and harvesting the beans.

Three lovely large eggs again from Adelaide, KoKKo and Ginger. I moved their run so that they had a different view - daft aren't I?

Oh, I nearly forgot - my treasured and hard earned purple sprouting broccoli - another basket picked today.



It tastes even better than it looks. Was it worth spending hours picking caterpillars off it all summer?

Well now that I have forgotten the 'pain' and the heat and the squashed ones under my knees, and the ones that fell all over my head and down my back and front when I knocked against the tall plants - yuk - then it was!

ALLOTMENT LADY IS BACK - SPREAD THE WORD

One very kind lady's poem to me

This poem with an accompanying photo appeared on Patsy's blog - see link to the right.

I read it soon after I had spent a few hours deleting over 300 of my posts.

It really struck home then, that all the emails and comments were genuine and that so many of you looked forward to my silly daily diaries.

So I had a rethink - and thought - why should I let one irresponsible little person mess things up. It affected not only me but lots of people.

So you all are the driving force of my being back.

If you click on Patsy's link you will see my snowy footprints.



THE ALLOTMENT LADY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

I TRACED HER FOOT PRINTS IN THE SNOW,
I STOOD BY HER SIDE WHILE SHE ENJOYED HER HAPPY BIRDS.
I HAVE REJOICED WITH HER FLOWER ARRAGEMENTS
BUT ALAS MY WINDOW TO THE WORLD IN THE LIFE OF A SWEET KIND UK LADY IS OVER.

EACH MORNING I SPRANG OUT OF BED TO SEE WHAT SHE HAD BEEN ABOUT WHILE I SLEPT.
MY HEART IS IN TATTERS BECAUSE MY ALLOTMENT LADY HAS LEFT HER BLOG.
MY HEART CRIES, NO MORE, NO MORE!
TEARS RUN DOWN AS I REVIEW HER PAST BLOGS AND GLORY IN HER PAST DEEDS.
NO MORE, NO MORE.

HER KINDNESS ABOUNDS,
HER CHOICE OF WORDS WILL NEVER RING MY EARS AGAIN.
I GRIEVE FOR MY ALLOTMENT LADY TODAY.
GOD BLESS HER LIFE.
GIVE HER JOY
AND MAY SHE KNOW WHAT SHE MEANT TO AN OLD ARKANSAN HILL BILLY.

Sunday 23rd April

I haven't had time to type up my allotment blog page - so here are a few photos to whet your appetite.


The farm track that we use - a bit hard to negotiate in the winter though!



The rhubarb plant that I am forcing for my Scnapps recipe - I wonder if there is 600 grammes yet once it has been trimmed?



From a distance this was just a pile of horse muck, but when I looked very closely it was a thing of beauty - and the toadstalls were hard to spot! They are easy to see when I zoomed in, but I really had to look closely to see them as they were perfectly camouflaged. Aren't they gorgeous?


The rain and the bit of sunshine must have created just the right conditions for fairy toadstalls - and look what I spotted in the tall grass - a pretty primrose.

I think that I will end the day with these memories of today up the allotment. The work I did was hard, it was cold, and it was dull, and it was drizzling - but on such a nothing sort of day - you can always find beauty if you care to look for it!

Saturday afternoon up the allotment

Saturday 22nd April

It was still nice a sunny in the afternoon, so we made the most of it. OH had offered to dig out the weeds on the last of my raised beds.

This is the one that I grew all my salads in last year, and was a temporary bed for a few strawberry runners that have ever-wintered, and where I grew the perennial sorrel, spinach, and swiss chard for the chickens.

It took my other half two hours to dig over this bed – you would never believe that it takes so long to do something like weeding, unless you actually do it yourself. He now appreciates why I spend so much time up there and how sometimes there is little so show for it.

Of course the easiest way to work and allotment, it would seem, is to have, no permanent features, like raised beds, fruit cages, or fences, and no permanent plants, like soft fruit bushes, flowers, and veggies, like asparagus. Then you could just run a tractor and plough over it in no time.

But daft old me, likes a bit of character and colour and structure, and would find a 330 feet of blank ‘canvas’ far too daunting to tackle each year. At least with my raised beds, grassed paths, fruit cage, flower beds and yet more fruit bushes and rhubarb etc I have something to look forward to each year. And I can tackle a bit at a time.

So whilst the boy was busy weeding the bed, I got out my little ‘Tiller’ and went over the ground next to the potatoes and planted up 6 rows on onions on my hands and knees. I had started some of them off in a big polystyrene box that I got when I bought some fish a few weeks ago. I can help myself to them out of the skip as they go into a landfill site and cost the company a fortune to dispose of each week.

They very conveniently have drainage holes in each corner so I don’t even have to worry about that. I put in a thin layer of old potting compost with a bit of fresh mixed in, and sat the tiny onion sets on top of that, as close to each other as I could. At the time the weather was dreadful with no hope of planting them for weeks, and I was fearful that they might go so and mouldy as often happens. The just sat there patiently for a number of weeks, and had really lovely healthy roots when I planted them up. A good start for them, and less likely to be pulled up like the birds. I spent so long last year putting back onions that the pesky birds had pulled up!


If you enlarge he phote by clicking on it you will see little green tufts from the onions. I know that this is not particularly interesting to you - but remember that this is a personal record of my allotment year on year, so that I can look back as read and see how I did things, and where my crops were and how they performed. For example this time last year everything was really advanced, with the potatoes up and in leaf, the onions well on their way, carrots and parsnips sowed etc


This is a bit more interesting - my view across the allotments when I stood up after planting the onions. Open and ploughed and nothing yet planted.

The chickens love their new holiday home, and the eggs are even larger. I got three huge ones today – no record breaking personal bests, but almost.

Before I left I made up a dust bath in their favourite bowl – and they jumped in it as soon as I put it down – so I left them merrily bathing and headed off home.

Saturday, 22 April 2006

A simply gloriously sunny day. I was out this morning and in my absence my OH complained how noisy Freckles was whilst I was out. You would have thought that she was a cockerel the amount of noise she was making apparently. He even went out to tell her to be quiet - but she didn't take the slightest notice - a bit of bribery might have helped. I had to pick her up and give her a cuddle to try and calm her down.

So I guess that this is an opportune time to introduce you to my other chooks – my adopted Bantam Babes, which I nickname the London Ladies – because that is where they came from and they also remind me of ladies (of the chicken world) dressed up in their finery almost like the grand ladies in My Fair Lady.

They are Pekin Bantams, with wonderfully soft feathers that cover all their bodies and legs.

I have a Lavender one – called Dilly Dilly, she gets call Dilly for short, and it saves on the typing. Lavender is one of my favourite plants for its versatility in cooking, aromatherapy and herbal uses.



I also like the old English song……..Lavender’s blue Dilly Dilly, Lavender’s Green, When I am King Dilly Dilly, You shall be Queen…….and so on.

Dilly is a very dainty little lady, and loves a cuddle and is quite talkative but not in a loud way, and she can be a bit bossy and give the others a peck now and again to remind them who is top of the pecking order. She also will not be rushed whilst concentrating on the business of egg laying and had been known to sit there for hours - to the annoyance of the others.


Freckles, well she is a real pain, but what a little character, you just can’t help but love her. She adores to be picked up and cuddled and is so soft you want to bury your head in her lovely black striped feathers with ginger freckles.

If you stroke her on her head and under her chin she closes her eyes in ecstasy and will often nod off. You would never have thought that a noise so loud could come from such a tiny little frame!

She struts about as if she owns the place, but really she is bottom of the pecking order. She walks tall, shouts, and is always up to mischief. She also has a couple of toes missing - I discovered that a few days ago - so too Dilly, but they seem happy and healthy otherwise. Freckles was the first of the three to lay an egg.



The last lady of my little trio is Pumpkin – a Buff Pekin – who should really have been named Road Runner.

Her previous owners mentioned that she was ‘haughty’. That has to be the understatement of the year. She is the one that everyone falls for instantly. She has attitude – big time.

When all the chooks were together it was Pumpkin, who fearlessly ran and pinched the apple cores, and tasty morsels from under the 'noses' of the huge hybrids and ran hell for leather with the others in hot pursuit – but she always gave them the slip.

She does't usually say very much, she is a doer, not a talker - and is too busy getting up to mischief and when she does say anything it is in quiet undertones as she plots with the others to try and get them to distract me so that she can make her escape. I think that she must have all her toes if you saw what she does!



She is a great tunneller, and digs huge holes all around the perimeter fence which I take great care to fill back in.

If I open the gate an inch she is out like a rocket so I have to be very careful. I have started putting pots strategically placed around the pen in some of her big holes as a deterrent, but it is a waste of time as she digs around those too.

I would love to be able to tame her like the others, but the lady is not for turning. When I do manage to sneak up on her and pick her up for a cuddle, she just looks at me indifferently as much as to say, ‘I don’t like you invading my personal space, but I will suffer it with dignity’.

The first thing she does every morning is race out of the run, and around the pen like greased lightening to see if all is in order. Then she runs and jumps up onto her favourite log and pecks through the fencing at the ivy growing up the wall on the other side!

I started this by telling you about the noise that Freckles does to get attention - the only way that I could shut her up today was to give her a flower pot with some weeds in the top - all to herself! It worked for about 15 minutes which is all the time it took her to eat them.



I do believe that she was just attention seeking and was lonely as I found out what the other two had been doing for a couple of hours or more.



Sitting in the nest, talking amongst themselves and in no hurry to shift. When they finally emerged a couple of hours after I came home - they had laid a wonderful pure white and clean egg each - so hot when I took them out, that you would have thought they would be cooked inside.

But they weren't of course and made wonderful Yorkshire puddings today.

There is so much more I can tell you about all my girls but this is enough for one day – you will get to know more over the coming weeks.

Catch up time - a precis

Having had a later than usual startup the allotment this year, as bad weather stopped play, I am a bit behind my planting plan – but am still quite pleased with how it is looking.

Here are some photos that I have taken this week so that you can compare the before and after photos as the growing season progesses.

This photo shows the view from the bottom up to the first fencing. Behind me is the chicken meadow and behind that is the 'wild' area to attract insects etc and the big composting bin for long term perennial weeds and woody stuff.

You can see some of the flower beds and beyond that is a big bed which, at the moment. I have dug over and covered to keep it clean.

Beyond that are the overwintered broad beans that took a bashing from the harsh weather, a deer, rabbits, pheasants and pigeons - but some have survived. I am not sure whether I will sow some more - there is still time - but I mainly grow them for my OH so might leave it at that.



Some of the flower beds just starting to burst into life. It is nice to see that the hostas have survived the winter, together with the flag irises and other plants.


I am really pleased with the daffodils - they were free - went in late, got dug up by the deer or rabbits and one or two got a bit chewed - but aren't they glorious?


So far this week I have been up the allotment every day.

Bank Holiday Monday – we spent the morning getting ready for my friend Rick to do a bit of rotorvating for me – just a small bit where I wanted to plant the potatoes. He has a big beefy rotorvator that will dig down deeper than mine, and can cope with the 20 barrow loads of well rotted pig manure that I had spread on that area. I tried with mine but it just danced over it all!

I had a bit of help from my other half to help me uncover the areas I had covered up with black plastic to keep the plot clean. It entailed removing lots of weights of all descriptions, including barrels filled with water, planks of wood, and various other things.

Not an easy task on a very windy day – but being out in the fresh air was a real tonic as always.

We then covered up areas that I rotorvated last week, in order to keep them clean for later planting – the weeds grow so quickly, and this method helps me control them.

Tuesday was a weeding day for me - rotten dock weeds - you have to dig down really deeply to get all the root out or they just grow again. A friend of mine rented a meadow for her horses and apparently the dock weeds were 100 years old. (I don't know who was there when the weeds first arrived to take note - but I can well believe it!)



Why on earth am I showing you a photo of purple sprouting broccoli? Well last year, (my second growing season) I decided to grow some, and it turned into a labour of love and devotion. Each day I went up the allotment and saved and protected them from not only the usual predators, but also spent hours in the blazing sunshine picking off caterpillars every day - one day I stopped countint at 200!

They have survived the winter - I lost about 20 to an attack of pigeons then the winds blew the netting cage down so that the birds could sit on the top and feast!

But on Tuesday I picked my first crop - and boy did it taste delicious. I have blanched and frozen some too, and will probably now have a glut and will dish it out free to all and sundry. It has been in the ground 11 months, so I am not sure that I was worth all the pain for the long awaited reward - but it looks beautiful and tastes wonderful and full of vitamins.


Looking down to the bottom end. In the foreground are three rows of strawberries, and the rows of the surviving broad beans - a few of which are in flower. Beyond the flower beds and meadow and wild area and the fields and gorgeous big skies.

Wednesday I had an early start and met my friend up the lottie, who was going to do a bit of rotorvating for me where I wanted the potatoes to go. Heavy rain was forecast for the rest of the week and I was desperate to get my spuds in. He has a really heavy beast of a machine and it went through my ground like butter - even though my land is full of stones and flints which get stuck in my machine and make it bounce about like a bucking bronco at times.


It did help that I had dug and manured it before winter and kept it covered, but it did look nice after he had done it.

You can see the bean trenches, which I filled all winter with kitchen waste, added a few barrows of well rotted pig muck, then I covered it all with soil whilst Rick was doing his bit.



Three hours later, I had planted 7 rows of potatoes, 25 in each row. It rained for the last hour or so, but I was determined to get it finished. OK so they are not quite straight, but it was tipping it down with rain and I was rather worn out at the time.



And this is what it looks like now. The rows of potatoes now ridged and marked and labelled then a spare bit of land then the broccoli cage.

Beyond that is a fruit area with summer and winter fruiting raspberries, jostaberries, black currants, black berry, goose berries, rhubarb and asparagus!

And you still haven't seen it all yet!

I went home that day with 2 newly laid eggs and a carrier bag full of purple sprouting broccoli - some of which I blanched and froze.

I got home before OH so had time to prepare a lunch of fresh cod which I topped with a herby crust consisting of wholemeal breadcrumbs from a loaf I made a couple of days ago, a dollop of virgin olive oil, mixed herbs and garlic – dried unfortunately as I had to be quick – and as an afterthought a bantam egg added to bind it. All mixed up and the herby bread mix spread on top and baked in a hot over for 15 minutes whilst the purple sprouting broccoli steamed. Simple but tasty and the lovely crusty, crunchy topping was a nice flavour and texture and looked lovely against the pure white and smooth cod fillet.

I spent some of the afternoon potting on some seedlings – courgettes and squashes and tomatoes – and I ran out of energy before I ran out of things to pot on!

Thursday, after a trip to hospital the morning, I was itching to get out in the fresh air after lunch.

As I didn’t think that I would be doing any work, a nice walk up there – in the rain – would be good exercise.

First job was to go and pay a visit to my ‘girls’ who I must say, did not seem too bothered about my visit as they were happily scratching about in their run. They were happy to be let out into the meadow though and totally ignored me, so I didn’t even get a cuddle. Still I did get three huge eggs so no complaints there then.

Old G was up there and lamenting the fact that he only ever sees me and a couple of chaps down the bottom end – the rest only visit for an hour or so now and again. As they have tractors and all machines known to man for working the land, I guess that is all the time they need to spend as they don’t do any hoeing or hand weeding! Off he toddled and the rain had stopped – it was only light – so I got out my little tiller and dismantled one of my raised bed ‘Heath Robinson type’ home made frames and ran the machine over that, so have created a lovely tilth in readiness for the salad seedlings and seeds. I then weeded around the pathway all around that bed, and got a second burst of energy and tackled the next one – again a dismantling job before and after, but it looks good.

Just one more to do, but first I have to dig out the big old dock weeds and a couple of raspberry roots that have somehow managed to get there from the fruit cage!

Heavy rain forced me to stop, but not before one last distraction. My horsey friend had brought some more manure and plonked a pile of it is the pig manure bin that I had just cleared out and wanted to remake – so I had to shift the pile over.

A quick dash down the bottom to get my girls back in the dry and safety of their run – which took no encouragement from me, other than to throw in some apple cores and a handful of wheat and corn mixture, and I left them tucking into that without even a backwards glance at my departure.

Then followed the long walk home, in pouring rain, with muddy trousers and sodden hair – hoping that none of the neighbours would see me looking like a drowned scarecrow.

Not such a good idea for a walk up the allotment for some fresh air – I might have realised that I would be distracted again for over 2 hours!!

This morning I spent sowing lots of more seeds - barlotti, climbing beans, Cherokee beans, dwarf French and yellow haricot beans, and Echinacea.

This afternoon I moved the chicken run again, did some weeding, raked a seed bed, and sowed salads - rocket, coriander, mixed lettuce, spring onions, red beetroot, and swiss chard.



I rebuilt a raised bed with odd bits of wood I had lying around up there and looked up and saw this when there was a break it the weather and the sun came out for a few minutes.


I can not decide if it looks more like a love heart or and African continent - what can you see in the clouds?

A phone call beckoned me home - another few hours whizzed past in a flash!

A posting last week on my new site

KoKKo, Adelaide and Ginger have been laying eggs all winter

Over the winter they lived in my back garden, but now they reside up my allotment – which is where the Vegetables come in!

I will add photos when I get time to show you how my allotment plot has developed since my first season in 2004. But for now will concentrate on the present.

I think that I will do alternate pages. A Chickens Page and a Vegetables Page, as I know from experience that some people will prefer reading about one or the other, and those who will read both.



So here are the girls - KoKKo, Adelaide and Ginger - now at their summer house up the allotment.



Whilst I am up there they freerange on the meadow that I sowed last year in preparation for their arrival. I am hoping that they attack the dock weeds and leave the the meadow mixture. They usually get about 3 - 4 hours a day ranging around and then I lock them in their run which is big enough for them to live comfortably in full time. But I love to see them roaming free.

They are particularly partial to sorrel and spinach leaves which I grow just for them - so those in the red wire hanging cage that which I left them eating, were picked just minutes before the photo was taken! Even fresher food than I get.

They are great company and have been causing quite a stir up the site, with many admirers. And they have been laying a egg each a day so far since they have been up there.

Another chap has quite a number of chickens and some geese, but my three hens produce more per bird on average than his! Maybe it is because mine have names and are tame. He was quite impressed today when he saw that they come to me when I arrive and let my pick them up and cuddle them - he has to catch his with a net!



So this was the scene today - wet and windy - but do the girls mind - not a bit!


There was some very serious worm hunting going on - lots of excited squawks and chatter when one had been found and funny chases as the finder ran a marathon around the meadow hotly persued but the other two - whilst trying to gulp the worm down at the same time.

The scruffy patch in the middle is where I had put their run for a week and they had started excavation holes - so I moved it today and will do so every couple of days so that I do not get any bald patches.

I have more chickens at home - but I will introduce you to them another day.

But for now I leave you with lovely allotment hens in a really nice setting don't you think?

This is the first page of my 'new' site but it will be new to you so here it is.

The Allotment – The Site – A little bit of History.

The land is owned by a charitable trust – our particular site was bequeathed in the Will of a gentleman and founded in 1708 – how’s that for a bit of history, and as I work up there, I often find myself wondering what sort of gentleman he was, and wondering who has worked the land over the years, although they have not always been used as allotment plots but would have probably been let to farmers.

‘Land containing 2 acres 2 roods 22 perches of thereabouts’ and was ‘subject to the tithe redemption annuity of £2.4s.10d. and now let as allotments at a total yearly rent of £8.9s.2d.’ and ‘with a yearly rent paid by the Eastern Electricity Board of 3/- for maintaining a pole of the above land’.

The above deeds were copied in 1957, but I do not know if the amounts of money are for that date or earlier. I know that in 1931 it was a field of allotments - as some of the men on their have told me all about their fathers and grandfathers having them.

It seems that the land has been used as allotments for at least 115 years, and there were others in the fields behind us as the 'new' cemetary outside the village used to be allotments!

Our field is 4.5 acres now, and has 18 plots - some of them have been subdivided, but only a few.

The rents have gone up a bit since then – but that is the only change. Indeed the abovementioned electricity pole is still there today, and is the favourite spot for pigeons and other birds to perch, waiting for the opportunity to pounce and create havoc as soon as I go home, if they get the chance.

My particular piece of heaven is set in the middle of the field and is a quarter of an acre strip.

I know that it has had lots of uses in the past - again from those whose relatives leased it over the years.

I have 'inherited' a delapidated old pig shed made out of rusting painted courugated sheets of iron. It has the remains of the concrete base of the pen too - the edges of which serve to trip me up constantly!

There used to be huge green houses on the site too - that were 'pushed over' and burnt - but that explains the odd bits of glass that find their way to the surface.

One of the men remember his grandfather keeping shed loads of rabbits on my plot too, which was used for food of course.

And whilst I am very 'particular' about everything I do on my plot - trying to be totally organic - an old chap laughed at me when I told him at the time of clearing all the rubbish off the plot, that if I had seen what had been burnt on it over the past years (thankfully at least 8-10 years prior to me that I know of) tyres, and junk of all sorts, then I wouldn't be so fussy.

That might have explained why there was no evidence of worms three years ago when I took on the lease.

Thankfully with the literally tons of pig muck that I have put on it and dug in, the worms are now in abundance!

Well that's a short bit of history - and I hope that it was of interest to you.

I will show you what it looks like now, so you can see how it develops over the summer – together with some of my neighbours plots.

Having had a later than usual start this year as bad weather stopped play, I am a bit behind my planting plan.

I will be adding the photos as soon as I can. Today though more urgent gardening things have to be done - even though it is raining.

Allotment Lady has re-entered the building - by overwhelming demand.

Well - firstly thank you one and all - I have been totally overwhelmed by all your support, so much so, that I have decided to come back.

You all know this site so well and having been swamped with your emails, I have decided to carry on with this blog - I have removed myself from the site that still shows 'real names', and will only link to sites that I am happy with.

So from tomorrow it will be business as usual. I was very saddened to have to remove over 300 pages, but needs must.

All the links still work so you can still click on them

Just a note to say that the links on the right are still working so you can click on them to see all my lovely favourite sites.

I still visit here every day to do just that!

Will be back soon

Hello

I hope that you had a very happy holiday

Just a note to let you know that I will be starting a web page up.

Unfortunately I discovered that one of the forums/sites that I used, was not a secure site and I believe passionately that users personal identities should protected if they choose to have an anonymous username - which most of us do.

Sadly when I found the 'loophole' - which was probably not intentional I am sure, but due to the inexperience of the person setting it up - the matter was not treated with the urgency I felt it deserved, especially as it affected a number of people who were unaware of it. (I wanted to avoid people posting photos and writing things that they might not otherwise do had they known their real name was there for all the www to see)

It was taken as a personal slight - and not the geniune concern I had for fellow users.

Thankfully now the matter is going to be resolved at some point I undestand.

Unfortunately, by revealing the error, it has made me very unpopular with the person running the site - but I would rather that than risk the personal safety of others in this day and age. Despite 'his' animosity, I would not be bullied or browbeaten until I could get the matter taken seriously - I am happy in the knowledge that I have ensured that all users to the site will now have their real names hidden in all areas - as is expected under the Data Protection Act in the UK.

(You might have thought that an apology and thanks would be forthcoming by avoiding ligitgation LOL)

Thank goodness my name is not Joan or I would be heading for a hot lunch and a stake! Pardon the pun!

When my new webpage is up and running those lovely fellow bloggers who have linked to here, readers and those of whom I have email addresses will be notified.

Since I added a counter to this blog I was staggered that from just before Christmas I have had thousands of hits and made lots of cyber friends - thanks one and all - your comments have been enormously appreciated and you all have given me so much pleasure - so I am sure that you can imagine after spending so many hours developing this how sad I am at having to close it down.

'Allotment Lady has left the building'

The start of a busy weekend.

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 378 Day:163

KoKKo 126 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 126 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 126 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 51 Day:30

Dilly 18 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 18 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 15 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

Didn't go to bed until late - well early this morning after a long time in the car asleep, Luke was in no rush to go to bed, and so I made the most of it.

Up bright and early today, I was greeted by lovely sunshine and the garden is radiating with different shades of yellow from the now fully opened daffodils and narcissi everywhere. A great way to start the day.

The chooks were keen to be out and about scratching, and I mixed up a new bucket full of their feed - so they had to wait patiently (as if) for a few minutes before I took out their food containers. They took one look at them and got back to the serious business of heads down, petticoats up, and the dig down to Australia.

I had spend some time raking all the wood bark back into the craters they had made, but they soon flicked it back out in disgust.

One early morning egg from KoKKo and huge one, but not a record breaker!

I am sitting in the lounge and the sun is streaming through the patio doors onto an arrangement of daffodils in a lime green pot - an dsome of them are opening - and the way that they are positively glowing in the sunshine - like the sun itself is wonderful.

Better get going on the breakfasts while there are still sleepy heads in bed - it will soon all change when my darling little grandson wakes up. Can't wait to see that wonderful smile, and those gorgeous big eyes that make you go gooey at the knees.

Lots to do - so really have to drag myself away - will try and catch up with you all here this evening.

In the meantime, I hope that the sun shines on you and that you have a good day too.

The egg total today is 5 so I have a surplus of them at the moment but that will be rectified when they get distributed amongst the family.

Had a great family day walks around the village, having a baby to look after, and fun with the chickens who have been particularly entertaining and on their best behaviour.

That's all today folks - back to the family.

Just a short post to say 'Hello'

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 375 Day:162

KoKKo 125 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 125 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 125 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 50 Day:29

Dilly 17 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 18 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 15 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

Well having been out and about and rushing around most of the day, I thought I had better get on here and write a few lines - My readers await - no pressure there then!

Haven't a clue what to write about - other than that I have now had my golden locks cut short - more practical for the summer - and more like my 'photo' avatar he he. Hardly interesting.

Extremely early start to get the spring cleaning donr before our families decend for the lovely long Easter weekend that starts this evening!

Son and daughter in law and baby en-route from Newcastle, but stuck in a traffic jam way up the top of the map, holiday rush maybe. Still they will be here before midnight.

My darling chickens have come up trumps and laid five eggs again today, so I am well stocked for over the weekend and all the mouths I have to feed.

Cake and biscuit making tonight if I have the energy, and have just decided that tomorrows lunch wiil be an informal affair with the racing bikers messing about here. Home made pork burgers which I made with pork from Paula's rare breed pig (see link on the right). Boy does her pork taste good! We will have bantams eggs to go with it too and I will either make rolls or a loaf depending on time and distractions!

I need to make a huge curry on Saturday ready for the next influx of family, our ever growing grandchildren. I am hoping that the weather turns warmer and drier so that I can hide a few goodies around the garden for them to find.

Sadly not my garden, but the well established garden of my friends in a village near here - which failed to load yesterday.










Aren't these spring bulbs around the apple trees just gorgeous - they have taken many many years to grow into such thick displays of flowers and they smell wonderful.

Apologies for this posting being so short - sometimes daily events of life get in the way to writing, not often, but probably over the next few days.

I just went out to give the chooks their evening meal of mixed corn to digest through the night, and they all ate it side by side without any squabbles. Last night they all roosted together too! Not a peep out of them or a cross squawk - guess they know where they all stand in the scheme of things now.

I threw out some chopped up bits of fat after lunch, and you should have seen Pumpkin run for it. She is so quick and they just can't catch her when she is on a 'mission'. She, dashing in right under the big girls noses and rushing out like greased lightning, and hiding in a small corner out of sight then does a repeat performance. Boy does it make the big girls cross and frustrated - but it makes me laugh to see as they get their come uppance from the 'little guys'

Better late than never?

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 372 Day:161

KoKKo 124 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 124 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 124 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 48 Day:28

Dilly 16 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 18 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 14 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

Had a bit of an eventful afternoon one way and another, but nothing I can really write about - but what with emails and phone calls it has taken up a lot of my time.

Well as you can see from the egg total, KoKKo, Adelaide and Ginger all produced big eggs whilst I was out this morning, and Freckles and Pumpkin added their two later this afternoon.

The sun came out so I put them in the fenced off area of the garden to have a run around. First the banties and then the big girls.

Because of all the rain, there were obviously worms hovering either on or near the surface.

Pat noticed the commotion before I did, and I went out to investigate.

Ginger had a worm in her beak which Adelaide (top hen) pinched and ran around the garden like a maniac whilst being mobbed by the batams - talk about the 'worm turns'.

It was hilarious,the bantams were hell bent on getting this big fat juicy worm off the giant Adelaide who towers over them.

She was running trying to escape them, and they were running between her legs and tripping her up, but she kept on going. The funniest thing that I have ever seen.

I rushed in to get my camera from the conservatory and ran out - and it was as though nothing had happened. It only took me a minute too!


Look at them, a picture of innocence and calm.

What do you think happened?

Did Adelaide somehow manage to throw it up in the air and eat it?

Was there a tug of war with the others joining in?

Did the banties get it? Or did it escape?

I wish I knew!

What I do know is that they were very reluctant to leave the area and go into the pen nearer dusk. They had a great time scratching out all the moss and insects - and they drank everso much water - I bet all that chasing about made them really thirsty!

A bit of a rest today

After the physio, I called into the pet and garden little shop in town and got myself some bags of grass seed - in order to create more paths up the allotment, some mixed ground grit for the bantams because that oyster grit seem a bit too big for them, and was tempted into buying some more broad beans to interplant where I lost the overwintering ones, some more peas - I only had three that overwintered, and some Enorma climbing runner beans as they were such a success last year.

Pat did the trip to get a few essential bits like bread flour etc then off we went to the village where friends of ours live, to drop off my little rotorvator for R to fix - a stiff cord, so I can't pull it to start it.

I just love their garden and home which is built on ex farmland that her parents once owned, so S had been there all her life, first in the farm house and then when they married here.

There is not much that she doesn't know about gardening as I spend many happy hours there marvelling at her seedlings, and vegetable patch.

Here are just a few pictures that I took today - it looks wonderful even at this tme of year. Everywhere is crammed with flowers.

A view up a part of the garden - wait until summer - it is amazing



If ever I win the lottery I will buy one of these. It is crammed full of seedlings and plants and is so warm. Inside amongst other things, S was keen to show me the Jostaberry that I gave her early this year. I have grown these from tiny cuttings and she had never heard of them so I dug one up now that they are a good size.

Because it is in a pot and in the tunnel, not only is it in full leaf, but it has tiny pink flowers on it - yippee, which means that this year they will at last bear fruit. You have to be patient if you garden on a small budget.

In front and to the left of the tunnel are a row of delphiniums and in front are the rows of chrysanthemums I gave her - so we will be comparing notes! S's garden is sheltered and not exposed like my allotment so I think that hers will fare better, especially as hers will get watered and mine need to fend for themselves.

Oh dear it is that time of day again when the photos will not load, so you will have to wait a few hours for the others.

The men were indoors so after our tour of the garden and my 'inspection' of all things growing, we went inside for a coffee.

S&R have a jackdaw that is 27 years old. It is a lovely old bird and very entertaining. He would not have lived that long in the wild, and they joke that he will outlive them.

He was found as a fledgling that had fallen out of a nest and with hardly a feather on him, but their then young son. They nursed him and somehow kept him alive and he thrived. They think that he might be blind now as he 'knows' when S feeds him and where to find his food, but the other day he was most upset and pecking at the feeder which he had knocked over and upside down - but hadn't pecked at the spilt food.

They also have another one in another room - again rescued.

Weather permitting, R is going to come and rotorvate the bits of my allotment that I can't manage with his big powerful machine and said that he will make the rows with it for me to plant my potatoes, as I need to get them in as soon as possible now.

The photos will still not load so I will post this and come back to it later.

What shall I do?

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 369 Day:160

KoKKo 123 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 123 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 123 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 46 Day:27

Dilly 16 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 17 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 13 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

I looked at the last two days little white bantam eggs on my worktop and thought they looked so sweet I took a photo.

Bit of a cloud hanging over me today both physically and metaphorically but I am sure that I can shake it off!

I was up and out early as usual seeing to the girls who were a bit quiet themselves today, even Pat remarked how quiet they were - maybe it is the really dull dark cold rain threatening day that is having an effect on them.

They seem to have sorted out any bickering amongst themselves now, and apart from when there is food about, no chasing either. Fingers crossed that they are totally at ease with each other.

I decided to clean both Eglus this morning before breakfast - must be mad! But it was nice directing energy into the work in hand, and when I took the cover off the green Eglu, Adelaide and Ginger had laid me two huge eggs, just a gram under their personal best to cheer me up.

It will be interesting where the London Ladies choose to lay theirs today.

I am in two minds whether to don my Worzel Gummidge outfit and go up the allotment or sow seeds.

Watch this space to find out later!

Update


Well I did go up the allotment after all, as the dark clouds loomed, but I took a gamble and it paid off - just.

I dug up dock weeds, rotorvated a huge part of the lottie, and it is looking good.

It took me two and a half hours - then rain stopped play! Since then it has been torrential - of storm proportions.

Still I am all showered and dry and nice and warm indoors with lunch of Somerset Apple sausages in onion gravy with all my home grown veg on the go - comfort food.

Guess what - I took my camera out but couldn't find it, so still no photos.

The tractor boys have ploughed their plots and there are long rows of potato ridges so all theirs are done - but mine are not yet!

Even K's next to me - he has been having fun ploughing and I expect his dad dropped the potatoes in the grooves - Scottish is says on the net bag blowing in the wind.

Lots of them too judging by the sticks marking the rows.

Mike and his wife have put their shed now and the door went on late yesterday.

I planted a few more raspberry canes, the autumn fruting ones, and the rest I will donate to Mike. The others he has put in a bed down the bottom end.

I ventured out in the rain to check on the chooks and Freckles had laid an egg yet again in the big girls Eglu in the nest with KoKKo's whilst I was out. Pumpkin and Dilly are yet to produce!

Off for lunch. Hope that you are having better weather than us!

Freezing cold rain has definitely stopped play for today - and the rest of the week if the forecast is anything to go by. In Maidstone in Kent yesterday they had thick snow. In Newcastle upon Tyne my son had his lunch on the Quays in a pub looking out onto the water. It was a gloriously sunny day there too. In Saham Toney in Norfolk, Pat was golfing and got hailstones!

Funny old little island we live in!

The rain hasn't let up, so no visits to see if the Dilly or Pumpkin have laid this afternoon. The banties have all been in their covered run out of the rain - don't want to spoil their fancy feathers. The tough Norfolk locals have been out in the rain all the time, scratching about and having fun! I might put my mac on and take a brolly and throw out a pot of apple and pear cores - that'll get them all running.

Typical isn't it. I clean out their houses, put fresh everything in and new bedding only for them to make muddy footprints all over it I bet!



Well I did just that. The chickens were soaked and their feathers almost stuck to their backs revealing a layer of pure white ones underneath.

The apple cores brought out the banties that were in the green eglu for some reason and it was such a mad scramble to grab a bit and run off with it for the little ones - the bigs ones were more chilled out and just stood and pecked. The London Ladies were so quick that I could't get a photo of them!

Dilly has a very grubby tummy where she has been digging, I have shut those three in the Eglu run to dry out and eat their supper.

The big girls are stil chasing around so no point in even attempting to get them inside. They have the big covered green dust bath which is like a house and is dry underneath, as well as their Eglu but they prefer being so have left them to it.

Looks like I have a busy weekend ahead, with both our families coming over Easter. G and H and Luke are coming Thursday. Gary's friend will be here for the day on Friday - they are bringing their racing bikes and trying them out and setting them up for a track day event that they are off to on Saturday.

My stepfamily are coming on Sunday or Monday - hope the weather is dry! They have not seen the chickens in 'the flesh' so it will be fun.

I have physio tomorrow and have to take my small rotorvator to be fixed and am out Thursday morning getting my hair done. I haven't had it done since early December, so I am looking forward to it!

So I shall be cramming a lot of preparations in - and cooking too. All those meals for all ages, and likes and dislikes. I will have to get my thinking cap on!

It turned out a busy day after all.

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 366 Day:159

KoKKo 122 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 122 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 122 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 45 Day:26

Dilly 16 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 16 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 13 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

I am feeling more like myself today and finally my migraine has gone off - just a soreness now. Yipee.

Well firstly I must apologise for not writing much these past few days, but it is hard when you have a bad head. Secondly not many photos either but over the next few days, weather permitting I will rectify that.

So I had a lie in until 7.30am this morning dispite being awake since 4 am, and as the chooks had some food undercover in their runs, I didn't go out to say hello until getting on for 9am. By which time there were 2 bantam eggs in the orange Eglu where they sleep at night, and one in the green Eglu - Freckles again no doubt. There were also 3 large eggs, so a full house today.

Last night I got out some frozen eggs to use, as I was totally out of eggs, having given some to my next door neighbour, just home from a luxury cruise around Spain, and another neighbour over the road had some late last week too.

The mixed fruit crumble was a big hit last night especially with the jumbo oats and I did not put much sugar in either the fruit or the crumble so that you could taste the individual fruits rather than the sugar. Instead of custard we had Carnation milk - I just did not fancy all the palaver of making home made custard. Normally it is no big deal, but last night it was. It made a nice change and reminded us of having it years ago.

I decided to get some cooking on the go whilst Pat was still in bed and by the time he was up I had made some huge sponge cakes - which were more like muffins in size, with the thawed out eggs, home made butter, and those dried grapes, but which were not quite dried but with a partly soft centre.

We had one this afternoon and boy were they good. Sounds very immodest, but with the girls eggs things seem to turn out great. Light and fluffy and bright yellow. I didn't have a recipe as usual and just weighed up what was left of the butter, added the same weight in sugar, a bit more in flour, and the handful of grapes. Those grapes were so sweet and juicy, far better than sultanas, so if my own white grapes on the vine are just as good dried I will be over the moon.

Pat went off to golf and as he was going through a town offered to get a few bits we needed. As I used the last of the butter I asked him to look out for any reduced price cream - and guess what - for once they actually had some. Half price, so he bought 8 tubs. "Was that all they had", I asked jokingly, and he replied that they had 10. I wish he had bought the lot. He said that he was going to then changed his mind. He forgot that I can freeze it and it still works.

So after lunch I made some butter in two batches. I have now got 4 x 6oz tubs of butter in the freezer and 2 oz in the fridge. I have also got nigh on a pint of wonderful buttermilk which I will use for scones or cake sometime this week.

I went up the allotment purely to get some greens for the chooks and decided to dump some things for composting. I had on a black skirt, and deep plum top, so under my fleece I was not dressed for work - on purpose to stop me doing any.

Once again I forget my camera and was a bit miffed as there were changes up there - I hope we don't get the bad weather that is forecast as I want to go back tomorrow to take some pictures and write about it.

So after having a look around my plot and scanning the others from where I am right in the middle of the field, I managed to grapple with the big net and get inside the cage despite the windy weather. The purple sprouting broccolli is just about to sprout - it wants to get a move on through, as it is no good just looking purple and pretty is it?

Something had had a read nice chew on one of the shallots I planted - I could kick myself as I had left the middle 'gate' open, so a rabbit must have got in. All the allotment done that end is fenced so I am baffled, still not much harm done. He obviously didn't like the taste.

The sun came out, so as I was dressed in a skirt there was not much I could do except - to mow the lawns. The first cut of the season, and it took me two and a half hours . The paths look lovely with a hair cut so too the meadow and the big grassy area by the hut, even has nice straight lines. But looks can be deceiving as it in not nice and flat unfortunately so makes cutting difficult and I have to go over it more than once. Still it is nice once it is done.

I so wish the chap would come with his big rotorvator and go over it for me. If he doesn't soon then I shall just do it all myself.

When I got back and gave the girls their nice fresh greens they were all excited and there was no chasing by the Norfolk Lasses. I think that it was because I put up three lots and they couldn't guard all three at once - not if they wanted to eat some and they really did. I picked some of the newly grown sorrel and some fresh spinach leaves which made a nice change to broccoli and cabbage - but they have that too.

Pat turned up before I had even got a chance to go indoors and open up! He had hailstoned fall on his whilst he and his mate were playing golf! We didn't here just 8 miles or so up the road! But it was cold and black clouds kept looming.

Lunch today, was fresh salmon which I did really simply in a red pepper pesto sauce with three different sorts of pasta. Very simple but tasty too, and just what you need after some hard labour in the fresh air.

It was after lunch (a late on due to golf) that I made all the butter, I really enjoy doing that, there is something satisfying turning runny white liquid into deep yellow butter. Washing it in little lumps and squeezing out the water to make sure all the buttermilk is out, then patting it with wooden spatulas to ensure the last bits are gone, and putting it in tubs. I would love a pair of those old fashioned wooden ones , especially the ones that make a nice pattern on the butter.

Still, plastic lidded tubs are more practical than blocks I guess.

In May we have a busy time with birthdays, our eldest grand daughter and both my sons, so I need to get my thinking cap on to decide what to make for them.

For my youngest son I think that I will make a selection of meals for one - boil in the bag type of things, but gourmet type ones. He doesn't ususally read this so will not know.

He does cook, but I thought it might be nice to make all sorts of meals that he can get out of freezer and defrost - anyone got any ideas?

I was thinking of maybe Duck a l'orange, Chicken dishes etc. Maybe a fish dish in a sauce. He can do the veggies bit - or I might do those seperately. But they must be things that I can vacuum pack and freeze in a bag preferably. I should look some up on the internet, but I am a tad bit weary to do it now.

The eldest is more difficult to work out. Probably some of the cookies he likes, and maybe I can start off some Scnapps or something like that. I might make some nice truffles or fudge or something.

I will have to gently pick brains.

Our grandaughter will be 12, so I am stumped. She is into Karate, playing piano, and all the usual things girls of that age like.

Any suggestions anyone?

I just popped out to see what I girls were up to and Dilly was sitting in the nest on an egg. No way would one of them have laid 2 eggs today, so I reckon one was laid late last night, so I will allocate it to Pumpkin.

Off to change the total and to make tea.

Not sure whats in store yet for today apart from a cook up

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 363 Day:158

KoKKo 121 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 121 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 121 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 41 Day:26

Dilly 15 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 15 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 11 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

I don't know what the weather is playing at lately. Nice sunny weather yesterday down here, heavy snow up north, and this morning I nearly went for a burton after slipping on the thick frost and ice. My stomach is still churning. I was only going to let the chooks out first thing and have a couple of railway sleeper steps down to the pergola where the entrance to their pen is. Fortunately I grabbed one of the upright pergola pillars for support. Phew.

Up the allotment a few weeks ago, in the plot a few along from me, which the couple have had for four or so years now, Geoff mentioned to me that they had been up there on the Sunday and sowed crops on half of their plot!

There's is only half as wide as mine if that as they have got a huge wide grass almost road between theres and the next to save working the land. You can get two cars side by side driving down it! The bottom third is grass too. But it is still alot of land. They had it ploughed like all the others and rotorvated it.

I was really surprised as the soil is still too cold to plant or sow anything here I would have thought apart from moving established plants or putting in fruit bushes or canes.

There are rows and rows of nice neat lines with pegs and string, and G said that they sowed lots of packets of veggies, like parsnips, carrots, salads, onions, purple sprouting broccolli etc. Just think, they are sowing that in the ground and mine haven't even got their long sprouts yet because it si so cold.

Last year, they sowed things and then let it get overgrown so most were lost. Such a shame, but you really do have to keep on top of things to keep the weeds down and get crops. It is not a couple of hours on a Sunday sort of allotment when you have a lot of land to look after. Even the tractor boys goes once a week at least and rotorvate between the rows of their potatoes to keep the weeds done, (but not hand weed).

I do wish them luck with all their seed sowing, and hope that I am totally wrong and that all the seeds germinate. Since that sunny Sunday we have had more frost, quite a bit of it, days of torrential rain too, and sleet.

But perhaps the seeds lie dormant until the right climatic conditions to get going. We shall see.

Off for breakfast. Back later.

3pm update.

This is the first time I have sat down (apart from eating dinner a little while ago) all day.

I haven't been out to check the egg situation this past hour or so, but at last count, Ginger and KoKKo had laid an egg.

Freckles somehow got through the fencing that divides the pen, to lay an egg in the green Eglu beside Ginger and Adelaide's

How she gets though and why she likes doing it I do not know - just for the sheer devilment I shouldn't wonder.

I put them all in the big fenced off area of garden this morning, all except Ginger, she has gone off me and I have a job to catch her. It is because I put a beak bumper on her in a bid to stop her having a go at the banties - or if she did, so that she would not be able to do them any harm. I don't know how long it will take for her to forgive me - if ever - but she missed out on a nice amble in the sunshine today.

Dilly shouted as soon as I put her in there, so I took her out as I figured that perhaps she wanted to lay and egg - so I put her back in the Eglu nest. The she came out shrieking indignantly to be allowed back out into the garden, so out I took her, and then we had a repeat performance and then she went off with the others to feed, chill out, preen, and have an amble.

From the conservatory window I could see her looking for me again, and she shouted at me when she saw me, so I picked her up and put her in the nest again. 15 minutes later she was out and about and calling me, so I picked her up and put her with the others and looked and she had laid her egg.

Lesson to be laarnt - don't let them free range until the later afternoon when they should have laid their eggs.

Had a marathon cook up. Made a summer pudding mix of currants, strawberries, and raspberries, and made two big sponge puddings with the fruit mixture underneath so that when I turn out the sponges the fruit will cascade over and down it. These I had packed and are in the freezer. I made two big fruit crumbles and have two containers with cooked summer pudding in, and have frozen a couple of bags of crumble mixture I made. I am so used to cooking en-masse that I can't get my head around small amounts.

Pat prepared all the parsnips and carrots that I dug up. We gave lots away, but still had to many to eat in a week so they have been roasted and vacuum packed and frozen for one of those days when I am worn out and need a quick fix lunch.

Lunch today was roasted and skinned chicken breasts on the bone, cooked in wine, leeks, and onions - also our own, with some herbs. Roasted parsnips, steamed January King cabbage and carrots. I never liked cabbage until I grew some this winter. It tastes different and doesn't have to be that soggy stinky slimy stuff that we used to get served at school!

Off to put my feet us and read a book - I am nearly at the end and want to finish it.

Sunshine, Walkabout, and Rainbows - Perfect

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 361 Day:157

KoKKo 120 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 121 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 120 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 39 Day:25

Dilly 14 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 14 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 11 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

Well I have had a great day. The sun came out and I spent most of the day outside. I have sowed lots and lots of seeds – I haven’t made a list yet of all of them, but will do when I get time – probably tomorrow as we are due lousy weather.


This afternoon I put together the fencing and set it up in far end of the garden. 25 metres. It was such a sunny afternoon that I got the chickens out and let them run around in it all afternoon whilst Pat was at bowls.



Of course I wasted lots of time watching them, and they really did enjoy themselves. Curiously enough, even though that had all that space to run around in, they spent most of their time along the perimeter. They seem to do that wherever they are once they have finished scratching about.




My daughter in law MSN’d me with a photograph that she took this afternoon – it was snowing in Newcastle – and sunny here! What a difference 250 miles make! By this time next month they will be back down south – in the warm again!

Too eggs from the Norfolk Lasses, Ginger and Adelaide, and two from the London Girls, Pumplkin and Dilly, Freckles had a day off but wasn't any quieter – they seem to match each other egg for egg these days.



Tonight just before it got dark, when we had heavy rain, a rainbow appeared outside the back. I was too close to it to get the whole arc all in one go, and got wet standing outside taking the photo and it never looks at beautiful on camera as it does in real life.

Flower Power - a fun way to spend a few hours

The arrangement for today was to create a spring arrangment in a basket. Here are some of our group at the end of the afternoon with a table display of the arrangments.



We are all different abilities, but do it for fun. The red carnation spiral arrangement and the white spiral arrangement were made for a church flower show, so are a different design.

Some of the arrangements contain summer flowers like gerbera and roses and others due to the lack of spring flowers in the shops. Some of the ladies did get tulips, daffodils, narcissi, and irises from a store in Thetford - too far for me to travel to - it would cost me far more in fuel than for the flowers.



Brenda out tutor is the lady in the blue cardigan - she is a NAFAS National Demonstratot too, so we are really lucky to have her for our group.



This is the photo of mine taken at the village hall.



This is my arrangement at home - not a very good photo. It looks a bit washed out. The colours are farm more bright and vibrant, the daffs more yellow, the hellebores are speckled with dark read and the others lower down are a lovely deep pinky colour that match the speckles on the green and cream ones.

The contorted willow stems have lovely lime green leaves which will soon burst open more, and they extend in and out of the arrangement which I had to crop out but look lovely they way they twist and turn creating nice shapes.

There were so many lovely arrangements - very professional, but I quite like my effort and it was mainly from my garden and the daffodils I used cost 50 pence as I used half a bunch. So a spring arrangement for 50p has to be a bargain! Apart from the daffodils, all the other flowers and foliage were from my garden.

The arrangement will be placed on my low coffee table in front of the patio door - which is a classic design so will suit it perfectly. I only took the photo against the cream background so that it was easier to show the design.

The daffodils I had left over I popped into a container and made a quick open arrangement - will post a photo tomorrow when the daffs have opened in the warmth of the room.

I got sidetracked by the chickens- not my main post!

I went out into the garden to pack my car and Freckles heard my scrunch crunch on the gravel path and kicked up so much racket - she is so incredibly loud and never gives up, so I went into the garage and got some chickweed - that shut her up eventually!


Dilly plonked herself on the bantams chickweed and shrieked, 'Its mine'




Freckles started barating her - not that Freckles needs any excuse to kick up an earpiecing racket, and Pumpkin just didn't want to lower herself to their standards and went into ostrich mode trying to shut out the noise!



Even Dilly got fed up with all the shrieking and gave in in the end, and let her take a little bit.



I intervened and spread it out so there was some for all.


Adelaide, KoKKo, and Ginger act altogether differently


Ginger did her impression of a headless chicken in the hope that she could get a crafty mouthful first - but she was being watched closely.



Adelaide and Ginger got stuck in, and KoKKo decided to take the photo opportunity for a shot of her best side - to show off her glowing red comb and wattles to their best advantage

I need an injection of energy from somewhere today! Hours up the allotment 3.5

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 356 Day:155

KoKKo 119 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 119 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 118 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 34 Day:23

Dilly 12 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 13 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 9 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

An early morning, and very very warm egg was awaiting me at 7.30am a gift from Freckles, almost white and slightly pointed. Still getting a buzz when that happens.

All six chickens made a dash for their grass cuttings as soon as I let them out. No shrieking from Freckles at the moment - she is busily doing what the others are - head down,petticoats up and scratching around in the grass for goodies. All of them having had their breakfast when they got up and went out in their runs. I put it in last night for them as usual, and as the runs are covered and locked, nothing can get in to nibble it!

It was a dark grey cold day when I let the chickens out first thing, but after having breakfast as usual in the conservatory, the sun is promising to break through, so as Pat is off to play golf, I will probably go up the allotment.

I am all behind with my seed sowing as there was not point in starting them off in the cold weather we have had, as I do not have a greenhouse - let alone a heated one which I would have needed. It was my intention to sow seeds as rain was forecast first thing today - but if it stays dry I had better make the most of it and do a bit more up there.

No sign of the chap that was coming to deep rotorvate it for me with his big machine - he will come when he is ready, you can't rush people where I live.

So I will get my big 5hp machine out and get it right down the bottom of the lottie to go over the long bed where the sweet williams were and where the rest of the chrysanthemums are going.

Best get things sorted, although I haven't get the energy at the moment but no doubt I will get a surge once I am on the move.

3.30pm Update

I got a number of phone calls so got delayed a bit, but by 10.15am I was on my way to my allotment. Boot full of grass cuttings and twigs and chicken stuff all destined for the compost bin.

It was still grey when I pushed open the farmyard gate, but I felt a stirring of energy as I looked at the line of daffodil's along the track where the trees have recently been cut done.

Yanking open the next heavy metal gate, my spirits soared and the familiar sight of the allotments and fields beyond.

After driving through and closing the gate behind me, I realised that I had left my camera at home - what a blow - but there is always another day to catch up with the photos.

As usual not a soul was around. Most of the puddles in the ruts of the track had soak away, so I did not slither and slide and drive up the bank to get to my plot.

Joy oh joy. Lush green grass, sun peeping through the clouds what is that saying about the sun shining on the righteous - just joking!

Despite freezing winds - sunshine appearing is like someone flicking on a spotlight as it catches the fresh leaves, the daffs and narcissi, and the lots of foliage on my plot.

The energy was now coursing through my body, as I donned heavy walking boots, knee pads, wooly hat, and gardening gloves. The usual tug of war with the old shed door, but jubilation as I won and gained access to my big rotorvator.

But first some of the boring things had to be done. The dumping of waste into appropriate bins, the digging up of dock plants before I rotorvate - no point in chopping them up into tiny bits or burying them only for them to reappear in a few weeks time is there.

That done, and weeds dumped in bottom weed dumping giant compost 'bin' that I created especially for the purpose, then up t'end to yank the heavy rotorvator out of the shed.

Just go it out and ready to push the 330 feet to the bottom when Geoff called out. 'Can you get it started?' 'I hope so' I called back. 'But thank you - I will give you a shout if I can't.' I didn't see him again until almost 2pm when I was going and he was coming back! He often just pops up there for 10 minutes for a look see then off he goes and comes back again for a little while then off he goes again.

So there was just me. Firstly I rotorvated between the strawberry rows, only three long rows now since the first got buried by Pat when he helped shape the edges of the path. Still they might grow through. I have my work cut out weeding the clods of grass that the threw over the bed though. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Still once I had done that it looked great, so I went on and did either side of the remaining rows of broad beans, then I had to stop and there were too many dock weeds for me to tackle in the rest of the bed which is about an area of 30 feet by 40 feet. That can be done another day.

My main task was to tackle the long bed in front of the dividing fence that runs horizontally in front of my 'meadow' area where the Norfolk lasses will go for their summer hols.

I pulled up all the membrane, dug out the dock weeds and got it ready for rotorvating. There were a few perennial plants that I had to avoid, a cranesbill geranium, a huge one with the most wonderful blue flowers - whose name I can look up, but which escapes me now in my worn out condition. There is also a lovely yellow Achillea, which I just love in country cottage flower arrangements.

I carefully rotorvated the bed, a few times, until it was soft and crumbly. Then I went up to the entrance of my allotment to shovel a barrow load of well rotted horse manure. It didn't seem very heavy as I shovelled it in with my ladies spade, but it nearly pulled my arms out of my sockets when I went to lift is and propel it all the way back over bumpy grass paths. I had to stop for a few times to give myself a rest!

I then had to go back to dig up the remaining chrysanthemum and carried them down - about 30 or so, - in evitably some of the labels got muddled up, but as I am not into showing my plants it doesn't matter. White ones, bronze ones, red ones, yellow ones, sprays or pompoms, I care not, or what order they are in. Just give me a flowers all shapes and sizes that'll do me.

My next job was to dig out a border edge along the grass path. I couldn't be doing with the long walk back to the shed to get a line and cane, so it is a bit wibbly wobbly - no not wibbly wobbly, it is artistically rustic.

On went the horse manure, raked then dug in. Then it was on hands and knees replanting the chrysanthemums - after all this work I do hope I am well rewarded.

I had several phone calls between all this. No.2. son was deciding which washing machine and fridge freezer to buy, so I was called in to explain some things - benefits of one sort to another - advantages or disadvantages. He has made do with my cast off things first, then his brothers, but now is in a position to have had a new kitchen fitted, and to get new 'white goods' which these days are aluminium or silver coloured.

After finishing the flower bed, I thought for once that I would be sensible and stop whilst I could still walk upright, so took a walk around the beds and looked at the cuttings border and delighted in see signs of life. Dumped yet more weeds, packed the barrow up and as usual got side track enroute to the top of my plot. I cut some wild ivy from the old hawthorn tree in the hedge and spotted a nest but no inhabitants, so will keep and eye on that. I then looked at each plant and noticed yet more 'friend' poking through - I will have a wonderful show of crocosmia this year, and flag irises, and those fat bulbs I photographed, turned out to be really fat headed daffs just about to burst out of their paper sheaths.

I had a peek at the rhubarb bed - 7 plants poking through and another inch or so on the forced plant under the bucket.

The 5 rescued for near death gooseberries that I have pruned, and nurtured with devoted love look really healthy, so I am hoping again for a reward.

The blackberry/boisenberry cross plant that I bought when I was on flower club outing to Cambridgeshire last year, has come alive. It was a sad little stick bought late in the summer, but having tasted boisenberry icecream in New Zealand on a wonderful tour we did staying on farms etc - I just could not resist buying this plant when I saw it. I don't think that boisenberry plants are very conducive to our climate or soils over here. My fruit bush cuttings by the asparagus bed that the gooseberries edge, are also doing well. Not sure that I will get a crop from them this year but maybe.

Through the gap with the barrow loaded up, then slide the corrugated iron across and pull up and wedge the white plastic chair to stop the wind from blowing it down.

A stop to admire Sundays labours and marvel again at the amazing spurt of growth. Then a survey of the broccoli cage - and the leaves are really turning purple and I have 25 really healthy looking bushes, if only they would come up with goods and sprout. Still lots of meals for the girls if not.

Thought I would just stop and remove the fleece tunnel in readiness for and in the hope of Richard coming with his machine one day soon. A tug of war ensued with locating and pulling up the tent pegs that held it down together with the filled water and milk containers. Pulled out the blue water pipe that I had used to make the tunnel cloche with, to reveal three more lovely cabbages, and lots chickweed looking fresh and green and in flower. Normally it would have got rotorvated in, but now I just had to harvest the 30 foot row of it and half filled the huge green bag that came up with the composting rubbish. - The chickens will be overjoyed.

Another phone call from Pat his time asking me if I was at home - he had finished his round of golf and it was 1.45pm heavens how the time had flown.

I had to get my skates on and couldn't dally daydreaming and examining every last inch of land.

Just time to pack up, tidy up and head off home. Bumped into Geoff just coming back as the sun was just going in. Has a bit of a yarn then Pat turned up - he was worried that I might have had yet another flat battery or something as I wasn't at home when I said that I was on my way!

Back home, we pulled in simultaneously into the driveway, and a neighbour had taken delivery of parcel for me - my new chicken fencing from Omlet - I only ordered it yesterday. 25 metres so that they can do some digging for me up the lottie on the veggie beds - and not escape across the fields or other allotments. I don't know who is going to enjoy that the most - them having a scratch about for worms or me watching them.

I asked the neighbour if she liked cabbage or parsnips - and she said that she just loved cabbage so I let her choose one of the ones I had just dug up. No slugs, lovely and green with a red edge to the leaves, and perfectly clean where they had spent their entire life under cover of fleece, and the few old leaves around the edge are in the compost bin up there.

I just had to fill up the little cage feeders with the chick weed for both sets of chooks, and they dived on it with excited shrieks. Then silence as they tucked in.

Two more eggs in the nest from Ginger and KoKKo and one from Freckles this morning, and Dilly got off hers when she heard the commotion. By which time I was starving. So as today is Thursday, you will now what we had for lunch won't you. This time we had 2 bantie eggs each with the wedges and Gloucester Old Spot bacon, and were surprised yet again how filling they were - the yolks being virtually the same size as the large eggs - will just a little white.

Off for a rest now - I think that I have earned it.

Sunshine on a frosty day

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 353 Day:154

KoKKo 118 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 118 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 117 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 32 Day:22

Dilly 11 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 12 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 9 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

It was like looking out on a winter wonderland scene again early this morning - thick, hard, cold frost.

The water in the bird feeders was frozen solid, so too in the chicken water peanuts. They didn't seem to mind though and were out and about and bright and chirpy. Particularly Freckles who has been shrieking all day. For absolutely no reason. I kept going out there to see what was up and nothing - she was just doing it for the sake of it. I never knew that such a loud noise could come of out such a small body and she didn't let up!

I picked her up and gave her a cuddle and she quietened down, then as soon as I put her down she started again. Then Pumpkin joined in. It was a really dreadful.

I thought maybe that she wanted to rejoin the big chickens so took the fencing down, but that made no difference she just ran off shrieking when no one was near her. I checked her over and there was no apparent reason for it.

She did dive in the other Eglu and plonk herself down in the nest much to their annoyance, then Pumpkin ran in after her, and seemed to be making a pip pipping noise and paced up and down worriedly - so I took Pumpkin out and put her back in her own Eglu nest.

By this time Ginger had run inside the London Ladies long run and plonked herself down in their dust bath which is in a red square washing up bowl. She sat there dusting herself and flicking all the dirt out over the run, and was there for over half and hour - looking blissfully happy.

When she eventually came out she chased Dilly, the only one not inside, so I put the fencing back up. I checked on Freckles and she had finally laid an egg and settled down, enjoying a cuddle and being made a fuss of, then I put her back with the others. This was just after lunch. Pumpkin too laid an egg and Dilly had laid one first thing.

Adelaide, Ginger and KoKKo did too, so another bumper day for eggs. A neighbour from over the road came to ask for some, so he had half a dozen of the big ones and I gave him some of the parsnips I dug up. He went off to his wife a happy man.


Adelaide and Ginger eating grass - or insects in it


Ginger off to check out the dust bath - having already bathed in the banties dust bath bowl!


Adelaide decided to have a bath and then just relax in the shade - Ginger with the curly tail feathers decided one bath was enough after all.


Pat decided to give the lawn a mow - it was gloriously sunny this afternoon. The smell of the lawn's first cut of the year on a sunny Spring afternoon is wonderful. Another favourite smell of mine is rain on dry ground. You just can't beat nature's own perfumes.

I decided to give the girls a treat and gave them some of the fresh grass cuttings to play - and sat and watched them for ages.

Pumpkin was on egg laying duties when this was taken - Freckles had finally laid her 32grm egg and stopped shrieking!


I then spent time wandering around my back garden and front gardens looking for foliage for my flower arranging workshop on Friday afternoon.

We went into Attleborough this morning for me to get some flowers - we are doing a Spring flower arrangement in a basket. I needed narcissi, iris, tulips etc. I looked in the supermarket and apart from two bunches of daffodils - the last two - all the floweres were summer ones. Roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations, that sort of thing - they must be grown in glass houses!

I then went to the only florist in town and a small bunch of ordinary tulips were £6.99 can you believe! Outrageous. So all I have got are the daffodils. My narcissi in the garden and up the allotment will be too far advanced by Friday, so I will have to do an arrangement with mainly foliage I think. Never mind. I might take a few of my helibores, but I really don't like to cut my garden flowers if I can help it, that is why I am growing them up the allotment.

Pat had a spurt of energy and cleaned out the gutters on the front of our bungalow so plenty more for composting up the allotment. I might take a trip up there tomorrow as there are the grass cuttings and I also cleaned out the chickens again.

I took some photos of the back garden, as well as the chickens.

On a hot sunny afternoon in the summer, I like to get a chair and sit in my gazebo hidden away in the corner in the shade. Well it is hidden in the summer with all the plants grown up around it.

Last year in the bird box on the silver birch tree we had two lots of blue tits nesting and rearing two families

New mown lawn - the garden looking bare in the spring - but packed in the summer!

Just one view of the back garden. So you can see the garden through all seasons.

A lady like Monday to give my bones a rest - ish

A wonderful perfume greeted me when I went out to feed the chickens today. And here is the source. The clumps of bluebells in between the daffodils and narssisi under the patio door are coming into bloom. One year I picked a bunch for a flower arrangment and did it in my conservatory on the table - only to find seconds later, the table was covered in tiny black shiny beetles. Hundreds of them. I now leave the bluebells outside - and the beetles.

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 348 Day:152

KoKKo 117 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 116 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 115 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 28 Day:21

Dilly 10 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 10 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 8 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

Two eggs so far from Ginger and KoKKo, but none from the others. They seem to be laying later in the day now - maybe it is all the rain we are having so it is darker in the mornings and it was very cold when I went out before 7am

I ventured into my garden studio and unwrapped and cut up the block of soap that I made.



The dark spots are the orange zest. It smells wonderful, and I understand that it goes paler as it cures and dries. I rather like the big chunks, which I made by pouring it into a goats milk carton so it set into a block, then cut them into chunks.

I am going to have to invest in a variety of essential oils so that I can make all sorts. It probably is a hobby for the winter months, but I want to make more before then as the soap takes 4 - 8 weeks to cure.

I have been looking up lots of recipes for all sorts of creams so will grow some herbs to go into those I think.

As I can hardly move due to hip pain today, (serves me right, but it was worth it, well maybe not), I have got a big batch of bread on the go, and want to sow some seeds but that is a standing up job too so I will see how I go.

It is a great feeling to have got all that work done up the allotment though and torrential rain yet again in the night, will have watered everything in nicely.

Off to search the net for some supplies I need for my soapmaking whilst the bread is rising - back later.

Update
I ended up with all girls laying eggs today - so I was a happy bunny. More so because I have spent time late afternoon changing the pen around.

I now have one Eglu facing one way and the other the opposite way. I have decided to split the run in half and to let the hybrids have one side and the bantams have the other side.

There was no serious bullying or pecking, but the past couple of days the Norfolk Lasses have been chasing the girls when there is food about, or maybe it is just when I am about. I read a poultry forum recently where a person's hybrids had suddenly attacked the bantams and killed them, after seeming fine for weeks. So that worried me, and I was not prepared to take the risk. I would rather that they both had their own space and lived happily in it, without any niggles or stress from each other at any time. I am probably over reacting, and the banties were very cheeky and used to pinch food, so there was a risk that if they invaded what the Norfolk Ladies considered their territory, they might not tolerate it one day or perhaps not.

Ginger was getting a bit fed up with them, and then Adelaide - haven't a clue why, and the banties did not seem scared and would crouch and get a tap on the back then get up and run off. Perhaps I spent far to much time watching their every move.

But they all seem very quiet and calm and happy this afternoon, and laying their eggs in their own Eglus for a change - rather than each others and arguing about it.

I have ordered some more special fencing off Omlet, so that I can let them free range on the lawn in the summer. Separately. The pen is plenty big enough for them all to have a lot of space, and run around, but I like the idea of them getting to run around on the grass for a change - and it will be good if I take them up the allotment on my little meadow. That was another thing on my mind. If I take three of them up there for a few days, would it upset the status quo, so best to have them separate so that it made no difference.

P.S.

When I made the bread this morning, I did it on auto pilot as I usually do, no recipe to read as I know if off by heart. BUT the little old plastic measuring jug that I normally use, I comandeered for the soap making so did not like to use it again, instead I used a big white plastic jug. The measurements were hard to see, even with the water in it. I filled it to the amount I wanted and just poured it in as usual. It was not until my fingers plunged into a pancake type mixture of lots of water that I realised I must have got the measurements wrong.

So not being one to waste food - especially organic wholemeal flour, I threw in some more flour - another pound and a half actually, and another pack of dried yeast, mixed it and kneaded it and hoped for the best.

This is how it turned out!


The loaves are rather larger than I usually make - in fact they were really large, and rustic looking.

Pat cut some for tea, and he just kept saying - 'This is fantastic', 'perfect', 'brilliant' and other nice comments!

I didn't tell him that it was by pure accident, but nice when it does work out don't you think.

Now don't go asking me for the recipe - as often happens, because I have no idea of the volume of water I used!

I also forgot to add that during the morning I spent a lot of time 'daydreaming' looking at the fish feeding and the ever increasing frogspawn. Examining all the new plants poking up and marvelling at their rapid appearance through the deep mulch I had put on the beds. Now the dark brown 'blanket' is turning into a wonderful patchwork of familiar plants.

As we are back to freezing nights and frost again, I decided to sow my onion sets in a couple of white polystyrene fish boxes I got last time I bought my fish.

I thought that they would appreciate their bottoms tucked into nice damp shallow compost rather than being stuck in brown paper bags, in a cold garage.

They can start growing their little roots ready for when they go out into the big wide world - or I should say allotment.

Don't they look sweet. (I can hear all the male viewers groaning and going 'yuk' - even cringing, but I did warn them when I started my blog that it might be a bit girlie - and it is, because I am.

Allotment news for Sunday 2nd April - 7 hours today between us.

After breakfast, it still wasn’t raining – so you can guess where I headed after all. Yes I know I ached, but if I ache anyway, I might as well do something I really enjoy
doing whilst I ache, rather than sitting down , thinking oh dear me, I do ache - if you see what I mean.

Pat crammed everything I had to take into my little car and he came with me to barrow some muck for me to spread.

Before we set off, I popped a pheasant into the oven to cook. Well I did do a few fiddly bits first like chop it is half lengthways, brown it in a pan, with some garlic, put it in my big Le Crueset oval pan, which is donkeys years old but they were such a good investment as they are all I seem to use! I added some red wine, a chopped up orange (I only used the peels yesterday in the soap making), and got some thyme, rosemary, sage and a bay leaf from the garden, and left it to cook ‘til we got home.

We got so much done, it was wonderful. I know I keep saying it, but I find it just wonderful being out in the middle of the field, messing about with the soil, and my plants etc. It really makes me feel happy and alive. The wind was blowing quite fiercely and we soon warmed up.

The clouds were racing by over head and a couple of fighter jets flew over in formation. Pat was impressed with the amount of work I have done already, and says that he is amazed at what I achieve on my own – and he never even saw the transplanted chrysanthemums or the extra fence I put the other one.

He noticed the amount of muck that I had already shifted, and saw the filled trenches of it where I had been putting all the kitchen waste all winter in my bean trenches, which had rotted down, and it is now covered in lovely black composted muck. It looks really neat.



This is the big area that the potatoes will be going in. I weeded and spread 10 barrow loads of muck. It was hard work but you would never think it to look at it all down. I could not stop to take before and after photos as the weather looked ominous. You can see a couple of the bean trenches in front of the compost bins where the posts are.



So down from the last photo, I dug up the row of parsnips that ran alongside the white fleece tunnel. In there are the last of my January King cabbages that I am leaving until the last minute to dig up.

Then there are the covered areas that I weeded and rotorvated late autumn and covered over for the winter to keep it clean. There is the argument that it encourages slugs, but it was a risk that I was prepared to take. My allotment is so huge that I have to manage it an a way that I can physically cope with. At least if I do not have the strength to do an area, if it is covered at least I know that it is weed free. If left them the deadly docks and thistles would soon take hold and I would be back to square one.

Next in line is the temporary brassica netted 'tent' that I live in hope that the purple sprouting broccoli does eventually sprout. If it doesn't, then I will not be spending this summer picking caterpillars off brassicas on my hands and knees for hours on end. I will grow sprouts (yes I know they are brassicas, but at least I know that I will get a crop).

Today I wanted to concentrate on one of my fruit areas, next to the patch that I had rotorvated the other day.


I planted some onions and shallots, and dug and raked a pathway which I will sow with grass seed, when I buy some.



Pat brought down the wheel barrow with the muck and I shifted it and spread it around the summer fruiting raspberry canes, which should produce their first proper crop this year. In the autumn I cut them back to leave just 5 stems as it said in the book, and today I dug up all the runners, and also the weeds and dug it all over before laying a mulch of about 10 wheel barrows full down this one strip - I hope that it makes it easier to weed in the summer months, as well as absorbing the rain, as we get very little here usually, and providing wonderful nutrients.

I know that the 'tractor boys' think that I am mad. Each year they plough theirs up, more than once often. Rotorvate it with big beastie machines, plant it with broad beans, potatoes, and sometimes cabbages. And mainly leave it to do its own thing.
Often bemoaning the fact that the rabbits have eaten most of their crops or they have blight etc or their beans aren't much good.

And there I am spending hours digging, adding muck and compost, weeding and weeding and weeding, growing fruit and flowers and all sorts of things, and creating lawn and grass paths which I have to mow each week! But then they come up and wonder why my beans are lasting such a long time, or my potatoes are a good crop. I do believe that you have to be kind to the soil, so that you get lots of worms and nutrients, and that you can't grow two good crops all together - like weeds and lettuces - something has to be weaker and usually it is not the weeds.

There I am toiling hour after hour, and they are up there a few hours a week if that with their machines. They even have ones the make drills for the potatoes and they just literally drop them in, whereas I am on my hands and knees with a stick or trowel as a measure to space them correctly. They must know what they are doing as they have been doing it for more years than me!


I weeded most of the area around the autumn fruiting raspberry canes, which are cut right down to the ground, and dug up the runners. These too should be brilliant this year, as they only went in last year but I did get a nice crop albeit in dribs and drabs which I froze, rather than a tub full at a time.

The wooden bottomless tub is protecting a thornless blackberry that I bought last year. It is only wee, but you never know, I might get a few berries this year. In the future it will save me the long walks down the lanes looking for them and getting my arms ripped to shreds by the thorns and my legs stung by the stinging nettles - won't be half so much fun though. But I am getting too old for all this foraging lark!

My currant bushes I grew, I hope will bear fruit this year, and the jostaberries are looking just fantastic. It gives me such a nice glow inside to see all the things I have ‘created’ from little bits of dead looking stick. Mind you, you have to be patient, this is my third year up the allotment. I did not have the finances to do everything like they do on television gardening programmes. Buy proper fencing and erect it. Make proper raised beds from new wood. Buy fruit trees and bushes and plants etc. But it is much more rewarding doing it my way.


Jostaberries are the big ones, and currants are the smaller thinner ones. The piles of muck are where the autumn fruiting raspberry canes are now cut to the ground.

I did buy a red currant, white currant and blackcurrant and took cuttings from all of those. I got some gooseberry bushes that were destined for a compost bin, and were half dead, and I never really thought that they would live, but they did and are, and this year I am expecting great things of them too after all the nurturing I have done.

So three and a half hours of hard labour was spent digging up the dastardly dock weeds with roots that head down to Australia. Digging up and removing grass that has managed to appear and grow a healthy thatch through out winter right where it should not be growing!

I still have a bit more weeding to do as you can see. But it is back breaking work and we were shattered.

So from these photos, it won’t look much to you, but it does represent many many hours of work for me over the past couple of years and now this one. And you will see the difference in a few weeks time and in the summer!

And we shifted 30 wheel barrows full of muck and these were piled so high that I could not lift the weight of them myself. But my body can testify to the exercise!

We were so glad that we spent the morning and early afternoon up there. It was three thirty by the time we sat down to lunch. The pheasant was melt in your mouth wonderful and we couldn’t eat it all between us so have some for another day. We had home grown mange tout, carrots, peas, runner beans and parsnip that had been in the ground a few hours earlier. It is so satisfying – hard work for sure – but you just can’t beat the feeling of growing your own.

Sunday 2nd April Chicken and hobbies news

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 346 Day:151

KoKKo 115 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 116 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 114 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 25 Day:20

Dilly 9 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 9 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 7 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

The night time and early morning rain has finally stopped and the sun has come out. It think that it will be far too wet to do even muck spreading up the allotment today and my old bones are making a fuss, but it might be that it is morning and they need shaking and jiggling up a bit so I well see how I feel after breakfast.

But I still have so much to do at home if that is the case. Seeds to sow - hundreds literally, bread to make, a pheasant to cook, and of course this afternoon you'll be wanting to see how the soap turned out won't you. Well so will I. I am going to wait exactly for the 24th hour - normally I ma impatient but today I will be good.

I put it out in my garden studio out of temptations way. It would be nice to have a little kitchen in there, but I would need planning permission for that as a change of use - plus the expense of plumbing etc.

The chickens were quite quiet when I went to let them out, no early morning eggs today, but I don't need them yet.

Off for breakfast in the conservatory where hopefully the sun will shine on me. Bliss

Update at 5.30pm

Well I did go up the allotment after all - so that is on a seperate page, as now that spring is here, it is best that I divide the pages into allotment and the chickens and everything else on another.

I know that some of the men that read this did so because it was an allotment site, but over the winter it turned into a foodie, hobbies and chicken blog - but they were warned in advance, as you can't write much about an allotment in the winter when nothing is happening up there!

You haven't seem much of KoKKo, Adelaide and Ginger lately, so I thought it was about time that I amended that.


Having fun and games on the logs I got the other day.


I keep mithering about the little banties as the big girls do chase them now and again, and although they don't pluck out any feathers or do any damage, I do feel for the little ones.

But they don't seem to mind, they just crouch, get a tap on the neck, then get up and go on their way, or stay and pinch bits off the big ones and risk the same treatment.

I am sure that they are fine though, as they are laying eggs quite happily. Three again today from Freckles, Dilly and Pumpkin, weighing 35gms, 33grms and 31grms which are good weights for them. Two eggs so far the Ginger and Adelaide. Yesterday there was a late one, but it is tipping it down with rain so it does not bode well for a late one from KoKKo this time of the evening.

I have just got drenched going out there to give them their mixed corn. The banties wer having fun scratching about in the long extended run of the Eglu, so I threw their portion in there and shut them in to eat it, as it is getting late.

The big girls were happy to scratch around in the rain for theirs, but I put some undercover in the Green Eglu run, and dashed into the garage to get a choc ice out of the freezer for Pat and me as we have earnt it today. They last two in the packet. A trip into town might be called for. I could do with some grass seed methinks.

After the trip up the allotment and late lunch, I finally got to have a peek at my soap that I made yesterday. I put had put it in my studio on the garden. It was a tad be difficult to get it out of the moulds even though I had greased them thoroughly. Perhaps I should have left them another 24 hours. The book said 24 hours though, but some another book I was reading said 24-48 hours. It was still quite soft so maybe that was the problem, so I have left the big block until tomorrow to turn that out and will show you a photo then.

So here we have St Clements Soap. It smells divine of oranges and Lemons and is a bright yellow colour from the yellow palm oil. The recipe called for adding some tumeric, but although I know this colour will fade over the next 4-8 weeks that you have to leave it, it can't imagine it will fade that much.

I finely grated orange and lemon zest into the mix and you can see lovely little spots of it. I have added the dried orange slices to some of them, which, when the soap is cured, I will glaze with melted beeswax to give it a shine. It is purely for decoration and will be able to be lifted off, once the soap is used.

In other recipes they have actually encompassed dried fruits and flowers within the soap - large pieces not just tiny grated bits.

I have recently used one that had rose petals or pot pouri stuck in the surface, and it just gets all over the sink and your hands and is a bit of a nuisance,and has gone slimy and doesn't dry out, so did not fancy that - but that is purely my taste. It did look wonderful though and had a great texture.

So here it is...........................



It was still quite soft, and as I said a real bother trying to get them out of the moulds so I had to smooth them out and mould them with my hands (wearing thick protective gloves as it is not cured).

If you could smell it and see it in reality, it is very pretty with a wonderful aroma. As I said, the colour fades with the curing, so it will be lighter and the tiny flecks of the zest will show up better.

It is laid on an old hand towel and in a drawer; in case you are wondering why that is, it has to be wrapped in a towel and put in a cool place for 4-6 weeks to cure. It is cool in my studio and out of sight is out of mind otherwise curiosity will get the better of me!

I think the big lump that I will unwrap tomorrow and cut up into big chunks will be good.

Still, the whole point of the exercise is to make things, and they will look homemade and not perfect. It is what goes into them that counts.

Anyway, after this first go, I am eager to make some more - all sorts - and I am also so thrilled with the cream I made a few weeks ago, and the tremendous effect it has had on my skin that I shall be experimenting with making some more.

But firstly the allotment takes preference - so that we can eat this year and next winter!

April Fools Day - but I really did make soap.

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 344 Day:150

KoKKo 115 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 115 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 114 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 22 Day:19

Dilly 8 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 8 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 6 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

The first day of April and it has dawned with rain. April showers are the order of this month according to folk lore, but not the torrential rain of last night and this morning. It might well be a soap making day. I ache anyway after all the manual labour, but it is a great feeling to have got so much done.

Just hope that it warms up so that I an get my onions and potatoes in next week. That would be brilliant. And it Richard came with his great big rotorvator and the furrow attachment that he is making for my rotorvator that would be the icing on the cake.

There was an egg from Pumpkin for me in the nest today. Stone cold at 7am (which would be their 6am as the clocks went forward but their body clocks remain the same). I was the purest white and weighed in at a new personal best of 35grms.

I guess they must be happy if they are laying eggs even though they get chased a bit now and again. I think I spend too much time observing their every move!

Must 'get a life' as the saying goes. LOL.

Evening update.

4 Eggs in total today - 2 from the Norfolk Lassies and 2 from the London Ladies - they are matching one for one at the moment - I am very impressed.

Well the rain stopped play out doors allotment wise but I did make my first batch of soap.

St Clements

Here are some photos giving a step by step (almost) account. It is absolutely necessary not to have any distractions, or interuptions - so next time I make it, I will make sure that he is miles away! Nuff said!

Firstly you need to assemble all your ingredients and materials.



These include protective gloves, safety goggles and mask, thermometers and various bowls, saucepans, something to use as moulds, scales - well you can see what was involved if you click on the photo to enlarge it!

I have wanted to do this for ages, but (a) couldn't get all the ingredients locally so had to order some off the internet, the last of which arrived a couple of days ago, and (b) I was a bit wary of doing it as it sounded like a science project.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, will know that I have a bit of a cavalier attitude to recipies and tend to make a lot of them up as I go along. But when making soap, you can not do that. You have to meticulously stick to the correct weights, and ingredients to the letter. It didn't say why, and I am not brave enough to find out by doing it wrong, so I followed all the warnings and obeyed.


Here we have various weights of palm oil, sunflower oil, cocoa oil, and beeswax, which is melting on a very low heat.



Here we have the caustic soda and water mixture that the safety equipment was for - goggles, mask, long gloves for hand and arm protection and I had vinegar standing by in case of splashes.


And here are the melted oils - note the thermometers in each - both have to cool to the same temperature before mixing together.

Then you have to keep stirring until it reaches trace before adding the other fragrance oils, then pouring it into moulds. And as that was a bit tricky and I kept gettiing interupted I did not take any photos - BUT - that does not really matter and the next step was to wrap them in towels for 24 hours then to take them out of the moulds. So tomorrow you will see how they turned out - the next stage is to store them before you can use them, but more of that tomorrow!

So once finished and washed up it was lunch of a chicken and vegetable curry (that I had cooked and frozen) with rice, as I needed an easy meal after a morning up the allotment which did not materialise.

Just after lunch I got a phone call from someone who had sent me an email first thing wanting to view my Eglus.

It was a bit of a shock to learn that they wanted to come straight away - I was thinking in the next week or two, but remembering how keen I was I agreed.

An hour later they were here, the sun was out, and I was shattered so didn't look my Sunday best no doubt.

Still they were a lovely young couple, and we had a great chat about all things chicken and Eglu related. They had a brochure, but until you see one in a garden it probably is difficult to actually imagine. I know that I would have loved the opportunity to see one in situ and to talk through all my questions with someone. So I was happy for them to visit. I put KoKKo,Adelaide and Ginger in one of the runs, as with all six of them underfoot I thought it might be a bit overwhelming, especially as my girls just get so excited when I go in to see them clamouring around me to see what tidbits I might have.

So it was left to the more genteel London Ladies, Dilly, Freckles and Pumpkin, to strut their stuff and wow them. And boy were they wowed. They initially had the idea of having two large chickens like my Norfolk girls, but once Freckles and Dilly worked their charm, and happily cuddled up to them, and soaked up all the stroking and attention, they were soon won over. Freckles even started to doze off!

Once they had seen exactly 'in real life' what the Eglu and run look like, how easy it is to clean out, the size of it etc and where it would be sited in their garden, they decided that they would definitely buy one - just had to decide on the colour and they are going to get four bantams - they just need to find a breeder near them.

So we had a cup of tea and discussed more chicken related things, and they got to collect an egg that had just been laid by KoKKo, which was compared with the tiny bantam eggs. (Samples of which I gave them to take home to eat of course), then it was outside in the sunshine for another cuddle before they went. This time they picked up the girls themselves.

Pumpkin, was a bit aloof and did not want to be cuddled by strangers, but they liked her the best, for sheer looks and colour. But Dilly and especially Freckles just won them over to bantams.

After they went, I let the big girls out again, and threw them their evening meal of mixed corn and they all gathered together to eat it - no chasing, no squabbles - it was a lovely scene.

Off to watch a DVD. Hope you all have a great weekend.

More allotment photos - just so that you can see the 'before' views.

This is the new long bed - doesn't look much does it for all the time it took, it is only about 15 or so feet long. It has more chrysanthemums in it and a stray iris. It is where I have the willow fence (if that took) and where I have added another layer of fencing - which took me over and hour and ruined my nails.

Another view of the same new bed. I know it looks a bit of a mess at the moment. The black membrane is to conserve moisture and cut down on the weeding, and the wood is to hold it down as it is so windy and exposed it would fly off. If the willow hedge takes I will weave it in and out and it will be a thing of beauty, and if not the chrysanthemums will look lovely anyway.


This is one of the beds alongside the fence that runs the width of the meadow area and where there are rudbeckia plants, that I tie to the fence - hence the bale twine. They are yellow and tall and majestic reaching 8 feet sometimes more. I love their cone centres and use those in flower arranging for texture. In front of them is the bed where I planted Yellow Cricket chrysanthemums, (if the labels did not get muddled up).


This is my 'spikey' flower bed, with plants with sword like leaves, like the irises and phormium, the middle bed of three in a row which you can see in the following shot beyond the fence.


This is a view standing in my little 'meadow' that I seeded last year, looking up to the top of my plot. There is a piece of my plot behind me, so from where I am standing to the metal compost bin, next to which are the rhubarb beds and gooseberries and currants and more asparagus, and in front are the strawberries with the plastic cloches hanging on for dear life by one spike (which I have now removed) and the broad beans where the canes are with cd bird scarers. This is about a quarter of my plot which goes right up to the farm buildings at the top in the distance.



This might not look much, but it is special to me. I did a college course a couple of years ago - Floral Design, which included all sorts of things including botany and horticulture, as well as design, flower arranging, history..............

It was Christmas time and we were doing our big arrangements, and I rescued out of the rubbish bin some of the rose stems - just small bits about 4 inches long that has been snipped off the bottom of the posh dutch roses. This is one that grew. I nurtured it, and it go one flower on it last year, but put on growth. It is protected by a square wooden planter without a bottom in it. To save it from browsing deer and rabbits and anything else that is likely to take shine to it. It seems to have survived the winter, and is looking good. I am really hoping for an abundance of wonderful red roses this year - so watch this space.


This is part of the rhubarb bed, and these are performing well without any extra help or protection. Hope they are going to produce a good crop. I have plans for those.



It really isn't trying hard enough even with a nice warm bucket on top of it!


The forced rhubarb is a bit slow, does NOT want to be forced even though it is destined for a vodka soak!


More flag irises have survived the brutal winter - boy are you in for a suprise in the summer when they flower!



A battered little primula, used to being tucked up in a woodland bed, protected by other plantes, not stuck in an open windswept plain. I should take pity on it and move it back home.

Here are those allotment photos that wouldn't load

These are the only photos the blogger will let me load - off to try again on a new page.


Those poor broad beans, but they look like they might be rallying. I am debating whether to bother putting more in - I am not keen on them, so I only really grow them for Pat - but I do eat them - I was brought up to eat what was put in front of me!


Another mystery plant that has burst through the ground full of energy and life - it will be pretty that's for sure.




At the front of this bed the asparagus will appear in a while, which I grew from seed. Along from that, so 'above' them in the photo is the newly deep dug section with all the pig muck dug in with the chrysanthemums - six footers and red (if I haven't get those muddled up!) Beyond are all sorts of things that you will see when they grow. The grass paths I created late last year and they are looking really good.



One of the 'mystery' bulbs I planted up the lottie last Autumn. They are short stemmed but with a bud that looks out of proportion. The leaves are a bluey green - maybe alliums? Or just fat narcissi - a surprise awaits. Its this getting old business. I keep forgetting the names of what I plant where in the flower borders. But no way do I forget that in the veggies department. Guess it is not important with flowers as I don't eat them - well except some of the calendula - so as long as they are pretty I remember them when they get bigger!