Our four remaining hens (plus ‘Handsome’, the cockerel) appeared to have been reduced to three a fortnight ago when one simply vanished during the day without a trace. Last week Peter attacked the chicken pen, clearing mounds of nettles and comfrey around their shed. And there under the shed, was the missing hen, flattened out […]
What a month of contradictions October is. My breath drifted ahead of me on my morning stroll to let the chickens out and I left a trail of smudged footprints in the heavy dew on the lawn. Yet by mid afternoon the sun was strong enough to have me stripped to a t-shirt, sweating over […]
Midsummer, that magical point in late June where the days are as long as they can be and the second half of the year begins. It’s a turning point for gardeners too, biennials like Foxgloves and Wallflowers can be sown now and won’t bolt, Fennel and Pak Choi too. Weed germination noticeably slows down, thankfully. […]
In winter I crave more daylight, staying outside until it’s too dark to see. So June should be a joyous month for me, but I feel an odd sense of overload. It’s still light at 10pm and the sun rises at 4.30am. My brain shuts down with the sun, so a touch of hyperactivity and […]
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 […]
