Clucking chickens

Over the six months I've had my chickens I've begun to understand their language better, such as quick but quiet clucking is impatience (how long are you going to take getting that gate open to give us our food) and slower clucking is contentment (just keep digging to reveal all those lovely worms).

So when I heard quick and loud clucking with head raised I knew it meant alarm or puzzlement. This was as I was about to add kitchen waste to the latest compost heap Wednesday morning. Thought they'd seen Mr Ratty for a moment, but then I noticed this little field mouse huddled in a corner. I carried him to safety outside my plot but by the afternoon he’d gone to mouse heaven. Think he was a youngster who'd not survived the cold night.

It's been over a week since my last post… been busy setting up son-in law Chris' carpentry web site. Click here to view the site. Other than a couple of days working I've been chipping away at getting all the raised beds dug over ready for the winter frost, which has arrived early this year. Even had snow not too far away, at least a couple of months early!

Apart from that I've been tending the crops growing... leeks, brussel sprouts, lettuce, onions, garlic, and asparagus. Also got some flowers growing... hollyhocks, foxgloves, canterbury bells, and wallflowers.

The inside of the shed is a right mess at present. With frost forecast for Monday I spent most of my time on Sunday digging up, transporting and potting up all the frost hardy plants from our garden. Can hardly get into the shed now.

It was my birthday yesterday and mid afternoon Becky and Beth came around with the grandchildren, all full of noise and commotion.

I drew a picture to stick on the door as a welcome as shown here. They scoffed a load of my birthday cake, rolled around the floor and furniture (the grandchildren that is!) and then headed off home for tea, Connor having popped back into the dining room to hoover up any bits of cake crumbs the others had left on their plates. Linda and I sat down for a rest afterwards!

This morning, after a walk through Houghton to Hemingford Abbots and the Axe and Compass (unfortunately on winter hours and shut until noon, so no coffee), we wandered around Huntingdon Garden and Leisure. Linda headed for the Christmas displays while I pondered on how to spend my gift vouchers from the grandchildren. In order of merit was a small fish tank for the living room (frowned upon), or a hedgehog box and various bird boxes (also frowned upon). Having had the news that son David’s job has been made redundant we didn’t have the appetite for any more shopping and came home.

Mysterious handwriting

Back from a walkabout with my mate Terry to find some writing on my notice board in the shed. Evidence that Beth had been up to look after the chickens with grandson Connor. Promised to cook a Bakewell pudding over the weekend as a thank you since it's Beth's favourite. The much more commonly known Bakewell tart is definitely a poor relation since the pudding is much more rich and moist.
Terry and I walked 10 miles yesterday from Market Rasen and back via Tealby. Stopped half way at the Kings Head Inn, a 14th century pub where we got a great meal for £3.99. Good walk taking in a little of the Lincolnshire Wolds and including some lovely views. To see details of this walk and a map click here. This morning we walked 6 miles via Middle Rasen. Not quite so interesting since mostly flat. To see details of this walk click here.
Bought a tray of 50 foxglove plants from a house in Tealby for the unbelievable value of £2.99... the tray itself was almost worth that. Having popped up late afternoon to feed the chickens I planted all the foxgloves out, the intention being to transplant to the garden in Spring if I can convince my daughters that they really are weeds and not worth nicking.
Lookes like the chickens have got the hang of the new feeder... they didn't take any notice of the tray I put out and just rushed out to scratch around the plot when I opened the pen gate.
Highs and lows on the squash front. Lost a dismal 3-0 to David on Sunday, and looked like it was heading that way on Tuesday when I was 2-0 down. Fought back to 2-1 but in the fourth game was 8-2 down. The David made the mistake of taking the mickey, the result of which was I miraculously fought back to take that game 10-9 and won the final game to crest the wave at 3-2. So I'm still hanging on by my teeth at 5-4 in matches, games are 22-17 to David.

Little madams

This post is to celebrate my granddaughters, Paige Rose and Isabel Louise (Izzy). Lovely little madams as can be seen here. Couldn't imagine life without them and my two grandsons Connor and Sammy.
Becky was on the site earlier in the week and Izzy wasn't best pleased there were no photos of her, so this is to right that wrong.
You can also listen to Paige explaining about the scary 'creature cat' and the contents of her dressing table drawer by clicking here.
Forgot to mention in the last post the feeding frenzy that occurred at the St Ives Michaelmas Fair. Linda and I hadn't long met up with my daughters and their families to go around the fair when I got a text from son John... if we were in town we could pop around and see his flat. He's only moved out for a few weeks so first opportunity.
When his sisters heard this they couldn't wait and were at the flat door in a flash. John was pretty good about ten bodies suddenly descending on him and the probe into every nook and cranny of the abode.
On the allotment front it looks like the chickens have got the hang of the new feeding regime. However, having got used to their main feed arriving promptly after I've open the pen door they're having a good moan now that doesn't happen. I'll have to give them a handful of corn to compensate.

Winter feed

Here's the £4.99 feeder I've set up so the chickens don't starve. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays it'll soon be dark when I get up to the allotment after work, and the feathered fiends won't appreciate being woken up, so I bought this feeder. It's meant for garden birds and when I first tried it, after a few minutes going straight for what they could see and bashing away at the plastic, the girls had difficulty getting the feed because the feeding holes weren't big enough.
Enlarged the holes and when I arrived this afternoon it looked a success on the evidence that most of the feed had gone. That doesn't mean Mr Ratty isn't helping himself. I also put the feeding tray out when I arrive and whilst three of the chickens helped themselves for only a short period, Connor Chicken still fed for a while. Maybe she's not got the idea yet... I'll have to keep the whole thing under review for a few days.
Spent Monday afternoon hauling horse manure from Manor Farm Equestrian Centre. They had a huge pile of the stuff and I helped myself to the most mature of it at the back. Half went onto three of my raised beds, the rest in one of the compost bins to see if I can turn it onto good enough compost to use for seeds in the Spring. Unlike previous years, when I've picked a rainy day to do the job and had the car steamed up as a result, the weather stayed dry. I only did two trips this time, fourteen bags of manure, having decided to do little and often rather than the haul of thirty-five bags I've done in the past!
Although my birthday isn't until the end of the month I was allowed to order my present early, and it arrived on Tuesday... a Pure Evoke 3 DAB radio. Have had a good fiddle with it. Looked up the EPG where you can select and see details of a programme up to seven days in the future, then press the record button to record it to an SD card (haven't tried that bit yet, nor the pause and replay function). I've also saved MP3 files to the card and played the music. Love listening to radio, and this new one (I've now got four!) will ensure I never miss a programme that sounds interesting.
Lost 3-0 to David at squash on Sunday. though I'm still 4-3 ahead this month. Better success at tennis last night against Barry, I won 6-3.

Camp fire

Such a lovely day we decided to have the annual camp fire at the allotment. Paige didn't make it... she's been getting more tantrums recently through tiredness, so it was Connor & Sammy with their dads Chris and Barry. Here we are with sausages sizzling and marshmallows warming over the fire.
I'd got up to the plot beforehand to put out some tea lights. After lighting the fire we wandered off through the Long Plantation for a scary torch light walk. You can hear us setting off by clicking here, on the way back here, and the grandchildren trying to scare the adults here.
Connor had raised the topic of the Fen Tiger, a big cat with glowing red eyes, he thinks. Barry raised the stakes by sneaking off and placing his light showing two glowing eyes ahead of us on the trail. Much creeping and nervous talk before the kids realised it was him.
Earlier I'd gone up the plot for a bit more tidying up and to tend to the chickens. In preparation for Winter days when I can't get up to the allotment during daylight hours I'd bought what I though might be a feeder they could use, but would protect the contents from mice etc. It didn't look like they'd had much luck with it so I'm going to make the access holes bigger.
Huge euphoria on the squash front, with ANOTHER 3-2 win against my son David. That makes the score to date:
Half year: 1-0 to David (5-1 in months)
Current half year matches: 2-1 to David
Current month: 4-2 to me (14 all in games)

First apples harvested

My daughter Becky got an old English variety of apple called Cornish Gilliflower last year and here's the first crop. Supposed to smell like cloves when cut (the name derives from the old French word 'girofle' meaning cloves) and was first discovered in 1800 in a garden in Truro, Cornwall. I've been holding off picking the three apples... they still looked a bit green and felt hard. No wonder, since the apple should be picked mid October and eaten in November or December.
Turned over the compost heap. Although no sign of Mr Ratty, lots of interest from the chickens who seem to love eating anything that moves in there. Turned over a bit more of a raised bed.
Mixed results on the sports fronts. Lost to Barry at tennis in the evening 3-6, my second consecutive defeat. I've been intending to buy a cheap trophy for the winner to hold, but think I'll wait until I'm back in a winning streak.
Miraculously still ahead against my son David at squash after a 0-3 thrashing on Sunday and a 3-2 win on Tuesday. So score to date for 2008 is:
Half year score: 1-0 to David (5-1 in months)
Current half year: 2-1 to David
Current month: 3-2 to me (12-11 to David in matches)

Soggy chickens

After rain all day on Sunday the chicken pen was a bit of a morass and the girls were wet and hungry by the evening.
Little sign of the wasps. The occasional one pops in or out of the nest, but nothing to worry about. Either they're a lot quieter because of the windy weather, or because I'm not annoying them any more... probably the latter. Decided I'll just leave them now until the Winter kills them off.
Managed to get the lettuce seedlings planted out as well as digging over more beds.
Definately getting darker in the evening now. By 6:30pm the chickens are thinking about bedtime... just when I've been turning up to feed them on a working day. Had a bright idea... to get a big garden bird seed feeder and put their feed in that when I can't make it up to the plot during daylight hours.
Caught sight of Mr Ratty again in the compost bins. Started some apple wine on Monday (two hours of juicing the apples!) and put the apple leftovers on the compost heap. Think that's what has attracted him. Will have to turn over the latest compost bin to make sure he's not nice and snug in there.

Intruder about

Returned home from Hunstanton on Thursday evening rather stay 'til Friday morning since the weather forecast wasn't too great. Enjoyed our holiday, although the wind never stopped blowing throughout. It wasn't the weather for wearing toupees.
On my Friday allotment session there was only one item of evidence of my daughter Beth, an addition to my wipe board. No knicked pots or plants as happened earlier in the year.
By end of today I'd managed to dig over another raised bed ready for winter, weed the asparagus and leek beds, cut down the sweet corn and globe artichokes and finally plant out some lettuce seedlings. Cycled home in the growing darkness much satisfied, though at 6:30pm there's increasingly less time to do anything.
Been thinking how I'm going to tend the chickens on my working days of Tuesday and Wednesday when it's dark at 4pm. I'll just have to leave some food out for them on the Monday evening and replenish that in the darkness on Tuesday evening. More memories of Pitch Black (opens YouTube trailer of film, also see posting for November 2007).

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