First time in weeks I’ve had to sit still for a whole hour! I’ve read OK mag (5mins) and helped my hairdresser choose some new plants and still got half an hour to kill. Let’s see how long the battery lasts…

Top topic is the chickens, of course. The chicks were 4 weeks old at the weekend and right on cue the mother hen started laying again. We’ve missed her beautiful dark brown eggs. The chicks are getting more adventurous and now fly out onto the main pen during the day. They get an occasional nip from the other hens, but they come to no harm. Last night we got the chicks into their own coop and the hen into the main hen house for the first time. Remember getting your kids to sleep in their own bed on their own? Yep, a bit like that, except there were six to get in together. It was a long hour of two in, one out, five in three out, but we got there.

The doomed chicken has now survived 5 months on death row, longer than most supermarket chickens live from hatch to table. I’m beginning to think I should do the deed myself since DB hasn’t quite found the right moment yet. Question – as a veggie for 25 years, would it be unethical not to eat my own chicken? Arguably better to eat than throw it away, say. We can’t/ don’t want to keep her because she lays malformed eggs and won’t use the nest boxes, laying her eggs outside and attracting vermin. Logically, the only sensible thing to do is have her for dinner?

The hot spell last week put me and the plants under pressure – endless watering and perpetual mild sunstroke. I got most of the new exotic garden planted up and the heavy rain since has done the world of good. Tomorrow I’m running the second of my three propagation workshops which are proving hugely popular – all sold out, I’m afraid. Then it’s into Tatton Show and cramming for my final two RHS diploma exams in July. So one must blog whilst one can, even at the hairdressers!

June 9, 2009  
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