The secret is out - I've been sussed!

 

It rained and thundered and lightening-ed the day after I arrived

 

And as you can see we were in and out of the run taking shelter.

 

Mr Lottie was very kind and chopped up some apple and pear cores and threw them out the door.

Those humans are very strange as they don't eat the core and the pips!  They must be mad!

Opps sorry I digress.

Mr and Mrs Lottie were looking out of the window watching us racing around to see who could eat the most bits.  

Mr Lottie stood there counting everyone when I ran past Daisy.  'Oh look at the state of Mary', he said.  'She's filthy.  I bet she's been rolling around in the ash by the compost bins.  I've never seen her so black'

'Hmm' said Lottie, who rushed out of the room trying not to laugh.

 

We finished eating the cores and decided to head off under the hedges out of the rain. 

 

Daisy came looking for me - I heard her calling but stayed well hidden until they all came and found me.

 

It's lovely being in a flock instead of on my own.  We have lots of fun and games and chase around after flies, and I get to eat as many worms and seeds, and veggies as I want, and I can get up and go to bed any time I like too!

  

The man that sold me to my first human mum Jilly, was told that I was a Maran (probably why I cost a lot of money), but as you can see I am a Pekin Bantam. 

 

Marans don't have lovely fluffy petticoats, or a big fluffy ball of a tail, and of course they don't have lovely fluffy boots like I have.

 

But I do have the same colouring as a Maran, so at some time one of my ancesters must have been a Maran.   The Maran breed are well known for laying deep brown eggs.  Lottie hasn't found any dark brown eggs yet, just the usual ones.

Daisy says that Pekins are the most beautiful of all the bantams, as we come in all different colours and patterns - but we do tend to go a  bit broody.  She says that so many chickens live here in Peckingham  Palace, that Mr and Mrs Lottie don't mind if we don't lay lots of eggs - they just love us for who we are.

Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you - Mary was laying an egg when Mr Lottie did his counting - but he knows about me now - as Mary came out of the nest box later, shouting out that she had laid an egg.

Mr Lottie just rolled his eyes and smiled - so I guess all's right with the world

Time for flower arranging again.

Phew it was hot - stifling - one of the hottest days of the year so far - but undaunted we all got together for  whole day of flower arranging, and having a big lunch with all the goodies we brought with us.

 

We started on the big time consuming arrangement

 

It's arranged on a long tray with three blocks of Oasis

 

I was quite pleased with the result.  The lovely gladioli were being sold for £2.50 a bunch outside the house next to the hall where we working - what a bargain

,

This little arrangment is a pew end - but I had nowhere to hang it.  The flowers and foliage were from the garden, so a  nice natural arrrangement

Shhh - it's a secret

Lottie went to flower arranging to day - all day - and had a lovely time, and she'll take photos and post about it tomorrow.

I couldn't wait though to say 'Hello, my name is Maudie' and Auntie Lottie has adopted me.

 

Mr Lottie doesn't now yet - and Auntie has been very naughty as she said she wouldn't adopt me.

 

But at flower arranging today, she got talking to my grandma, who told her that I was an orphan, all on my own, and that I wasn't able to get a new friend.

 

So Auntie Lottie said, 'If you can get here in  a box by the end of flower arranging, she would take me home'

 

So here I am.  When it gets dark, Auntie Lottie is going to put me in with my new friends - or if not tonight then tomorrow.

She is hoping that Mr Lottie doesn't notice an extra chicken and she might get told off!  But it's too late now, and Mr Lottie loves Auntie Lottie, and I'll just win him over like all the others have.  After all, one day she smuggled in four girls and he didn't notice for a couple of days!

I have been having a lovely time in Auntie's fruit and veggie patch.  I pecked some lovely cabbage leaves, but she doesn't mind as she has more and shares them with the other chickens anyway.  I found some blackcurrants - some were a bit dry - but there were some nice juicy blueberries that Auntie didn't notice - or if she did, they won't be there next time she looks!

I might even lay him a egg if I am feeling happy.

I have worked myself to a standstill

OK, I know, I am far to old to be doing the heavy work that I could do in my younger years!

I worked so hard yesterday, lots of heavy lifting of concrete slabs and laying them behind my garden studio to make a path and access so that I can paint it in the Autumn.

Then all the work up the allotment - I intended to have a rest today honestly!

But after the disappointment of not having the floor laid yesterday, I decided to do something to take my mind off it and created the start of 'Kath's Garden' around the sun room.

I dug out a trench and made a 'proper' flower bed with yellow chrysanthemums either end - they'll look lovely late summer, and there are lavender interspersed with saxifrage - sun lovers.

 

Unfortunately alongside the walls was a dumping ground for all the rubble, so I had quite a task digging it all out (it was hidden under soil).  I replaced it with new soil mixed with well rotted farmyard manure and along that side I planted penstemons, lupins, Selenium, and a tall Lobelia.  In fact all these will be lovely tall plants in shades of reds, blues, purple, and sunshine yellow, which should flower late summer and look a treat.

 

The soil where the fish pond was will sink over winter, so as a temporary measure I put down paving slabs just so that I could move my table and sunshade up this corner for a different view of the garden.

In September I'll be raking over the soil again, stamping it down, raking yet again and sowing grass seed.

But for now this will be my view from the shade of the umbrella.  

 

I hope to be having my breakfast here on warm days, and lots of lunches and teas

It's a perfect corner to sit, and watch, and chill out - and maybe even sketch!

These photos were taken at 9pm tonight - just before dusk.

I ache for England but it is so worth it - I would be aching anyway to a lesser degree.

Mr Lottie has ordered me to rest all day tomorrow.

BUT

If I don't feel too bad, I intend to pressure wash the chairs that go with the table, and to give the big table and little coffee table a coat of stain - all  before it is time to cook  a Sunday Roast lunch

Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 60 hrs He: 55hrs

I have had such a busy week working in the gardens.  Hedge trimming, lawn mowing, weeding.  It doesn't sound much, but my hedges are hard work and had gone a bit wild very quickly lately with all rain we had.  I also had to prune my willow arch - for the second time in as many months - it too had grow - three feet of luscious willow branches on the top - it looked like a very big hair do!

The garden room came to an abrupt halt again this week, and although we were promised the floor would be laid today - it has been delayed until Monday - which I hope they stick too as the furniture is now arriving on Tuesday morning and we have nowhere to put it in our tiny bungalow!

On the plus side, Richard spent half a day yesterday and a few hours today getting rid of all the builders rubble and rubbish, and he spread out the excess soil from the footings, which I was really thrilled about.

 

The lawn is recovering where it had all the bricks and blocks on - and looked dead.  But a bit of tlc and plenty of watering has renewed it.

Seeing this area, it is hard to picture that there used to be a big pond here.  The space is bigger than it looks in this photo.  I think I will seed it and 'live with it' next year before doing any hard landscaping with it.  My first instinct before it was all cleared and levelled, was to have a paved patio on which to put my table and chair - it would be nice to eat breakfast outside.  But the soil will sink over winter because of the pond 'hole' apparently so it's best left for now.

We moved a lot of slabs and laid them behind my studio this morning, then decided to go up the allotment - I must be mad!

 

I can't believe how tall the grass has grown in one week

 

And those dreadful weeds have grown from nothing

 

To this is just a week too.  I had so much to do!

 

Whilst Mr Lottie did what he does best, I set to with the lawnmower to cut the grass down.  

The row of 2nd earliers need digging up!

 

I cut down and pulled up all the weeds and mulched between the rows

 

With grass cuttings to prevent any more growing - or slowing them down!

 

This is how long my plot is - I don't often pause to look at the length of it!

 

It's nice to get the lawns and paths back under control, it makes a huge difference

 

Well YOU know I weeded all around these last week - but here they grow again

 

And here they grow again too.  I picked 10 mixed courgettes, and made a lovely lunch with some of them.

 

The pumpkin is going rampant on my compost heap

 

It's looking good

Three and a half hours later we made our weary way home.   I laid four paving slabs - but gave up because I could hardly stand let alone do any more.

A lovely hot shower soon rejuvenates one - but here I sit exhausted but happy at our achievements today.

Lunch was stir fry of fresh picked courgettes, onion, cauliflower, shredded cabbage, new potatoes, tomatoes,  seasonings, and cubed fresh tuna - yummy.

My first harvest of..........................

It was in April when I started off this and now I have my first harvest of this

 

Worm wee!  It's not the slightest bit smelly

and I can dilute it many many times

It really is a brilliant plant food.

 

And look - there's more on the way!

Night Night All

 

Night night Poppy  - what are you doing in the nest box?

Where are the others?

 

Too hot indoors girls?

Night night Daisy and Gozzie - you get pole position because you are the oldest?

Goodnight Mary, Henrietta, Snowy, Bluebell, Zola, Freckles and Willow.

Good night Dolly - I can see you in the nest box on the left hand side at the back

See you in the morning

xxx

Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 59 hrs He: 55hrs ....cont

No builders, no electrician, no body here today so we were free to go up the allotment.

 

What a shock - two weeks ago these beds were weed free!

 

This dreaful weed started appearing on our allotments down one end a few  years ago. and since then it has spread rapidly each year at this time of the year and no-one knows that it is called

 

So our primary mission today was to weed out as much of it was we could.

 

And to pick some cauliflowers and one of the cabbages

 

This is how the perfect and weed free potato bed looks today.

 

We dug out every single weed two weeks ago.  Interestingly there are no thistles or any of the other thugs we dug out - just this weird unnamed weed.  We didn't have enough time or energy to tackle this bed today

 

So two hours later the difference is quite dramatic

I was rewarded with a nice first crop of courgettes and squash

 

With more to come in the future in this lovely weeded bed where the early potatoes were.

 

And this squash is on the compost heap

 

And it has grown dramatically in just a couple of weeks of rain

 

I wish I had taken a 'before' photo of the rhubarb bed - you couldn't see the rhubarb for weeds

 

We  had a nice harvest to bring home - a small trug of new potatoes, two cauliflowers, and the first of our cabbages.