Seed exchange - flying lessons - troubles with photos - now sorted

Eggs - Total to date: 82 - Day 36

KoKKo 28(86grms) 29.11.2005 Personal best
Adelaide 27 (76grms) 12.12 2005 Personal best
Ginger 27 (78grms) 14.12.2005 Personal best

It is only just 11am I have crammed a day’s work into that time already, so I am pausing to take a minute to chat to you.

Have you looked at the forums relating to gardening, poultry keeping, etc ? There are some really interesting ones and the topics are great. Not at all the same, and so many good ideas – it can become quite addictive reading them.


Passion flower 15th December just coming into flower!

I have found out that seeds last a lot longer than it says on the packet if you keep them properly – someone was having success with 10 year old seeds.

Another use for my plastic milk bottles which I already use for seedlings pots, crop protection, chicken food holders, water holders, storage for all sorts of things, carriers for flowers and foliage to keep them in tip top condition before I use them, weights to anchor plastic and fleece cloches – and more!

Another chap on a forum used them in a different way for plant pots whereby you use the biggest milk bottles, cut a flap in the bottom end leaving it attached, using the capped end as the bottom where you plant your plant. Then by pushing a piece of wood through the handles to join them all up (a pallet plank is the right size for the big 6 pint containers) you can carry them about, make rows of them into a raised bed etc. Brilliant idea. There are only 2 of us so we only get the 4 pint containers so I will limit myself to my uses for now.

I have applied to join the River Cottage seed exchange which WiZer left a comment about, but I may have missed the boat this year, but there is always next.

The chickens are still giving me great pleasure. They are getting a bit too canny now and it is hard to get a photo of them performing their tricks and escapades. As soon as they hear the back door close they run from wherever they are to march up and down by the pen gate to see what I am up too, and start shouting out to get my attention.

It was breezy this morning and Adelaide was practicing her flying technique. She ran from one end of the pen to the other flapping her wings and doing little jumps – practising landing procedures I think. Then she had a spell of doing vertical take offs – not quite up to Harrier Jump Jet standards yet, but she is getting there.

By clipping one wing I expected her to be a bit lopsided, but she didn’t seem to be! They don’t seem to have any inclination to try and escape the pen at present, they have lots of room to run around and lots of things to keep themselves amused.

I visited the friend from whom I got the chickens this morning (from her husband) and took my computer to show her the photos, as she can’t get out and about. She loved them, and laughed good naturedly at how I treat them as pets. She was very surprised to hear that they were laying this time of year, so I am very lucky that they are. She thinks that it might be down to their varied diet and attention! Whatever it is, I am grateful that they are – it is egg and wedges day today, and we have some really large beauties to eat – yummy.

I tried the triplets with bread and marmite on my return. They took a peck each of it from my hand, but when I put it down for them they took one peck and left it, then followed me about getting in the way of my raking the woodchips, and getting the eggs out of the egg port.

Not knowing why they didn’t wolf it up like other chickens according to the Omlet forum, I wondered if they did not like my home made granary bread, or if it was because I did not butter it first or maybe it was on too thick or just maybe it was because it was not the brand name Marmite! I left them to it, and decided to go back in 10 minutes and it they hadn’t eaten it I would throw it away, so as not to encourage wild birds into their pen it was only one thick slice. I needn’t have worried – in less than 5 minutes the whole lot was gone!


Clematis that flowered in the summer doing a repeat performance 15th December 2005

I noticed that in the raised bed outside the patio window, a clematis bud has opened and is about to flower. There was also a passion flower lower down doing the same, and in Maxine’s flower bed there is a rose called Mothers Day, that has been flowering its little heart again all month despite the freezing weather conditions, so I took few photos to show you.


Maxine's Mothers Day - Still flowering its little heart out.

Photo downloading is still out of action - maybe they are updating or something.