The Compost Bin

Cleaning nest boxes

2012-01-13T12:00:00.004Z

Clearing out some nest boxes today, ready for their use this year and in two adjacant boxes we found these old blue tit nests :-)

This one is made almost entirely from cat hair - and it looks like it is all from Tom Cat.

This one however has mainly thistledown as the lining with a few white chicken feathers.

-Isn't it wonderful how birds use anything which comes to ~~hand~~ beak?

Thank you for the good wishes for my rapid recovery from dental work, I am feeling much improved now :-)

Random shots around the garden

2012-01-12T12:24:00.000Z

A good day to line dry some washing - I have a washing dolly in the kitchen to dry clothes on but I prefer to line dry if I can - you can't beat the smell of fresh washing!

Guinea pigs in their run in the Polytunnel.

Yarrow hen getting more feathers and her limp is getting better as well.

But oh! What a mess having her, Comfrey, Marjoram and Marigold in the polytunnel! I will have to re arrange things, now some of the girls are getting feathers and are strong enough to go outside.

Dentist

2012-01-11T12:47:00.000Z

Oww oww oww my face hurts. AND I am lighter in the wallet by many hundred pounds...insult on top of injury!

I have just (yesterday) had a molar tooth root canal filled. It had an abcess in it and was loose and kept on flaring up and causing me pain - so I finally got the money together to have it treated ( no work like this done on the NHS - they would just extract it and I wanted to keep the tooth)

Actually the dentist was very good and it didn't hurt anymore than the absolute minimum - but it was STILL a root canal treatment on a molar and it was still 100 mins of life I do not wish to relive.

I was in a lot of pain last night!

So - I had a very long sleep last night and was left to sleep until quite late this morning - I am up and about now, face still hurting but better - so am off to do some outdoor stuff in the wood and with the hens.

Pruning - Compost Mansions style!

2012-01-10T10:13:00.000Z

Some 30 m of the very over mature, very dead and tangled up front fence shrubbery. We spent yesterday morning doing this -

a lot of the bigger tree shrubs were felled at the weekend and dragged round to the sawing area by the wood so we can get any firewood off them - there is a big bonfire patch there for twiggy material we do not either save for firewood or use as habitat piles etc - but all this tangled jasmine, rose, honeysuckle etc was no use for anything other than burning so that is what we did.

The ash will be collected up today and will go on the compost heaps or as a dust bath for the hens.

Sunny Saturday in the garden

2012-01-07T19:32:00.000Z

We have started a major tidy up of the garden, with lots of the rather overgrown, mature shrubs and trees scheduled to get pruned...this is our idea of pruning! None of that easy stuff with secateurs and saws, oh no...we use a chainsaw and BIG ratchet loppers, to cut things down a lot...

it looks a bit brutal but it does need doing and the plants do actually survive and grow again! (As long as we don't have a month of snow and low temperatures, that is...)

Eglu set up with netting so the stronger ex battery hens can go outside and explore in safely.

Brave Coriander takes her first step "outside" a run.

Attilla the Hen takes her first step in real freedom.

Cumin was too scared today and decided to chicken out of exploring. Maybe tomorrow?

Update on the hens.

2012-01-05T23:09:00.004Z

Am a bit run off my feet looking after the existing gang of 10 hens plus the 7 new ex batts.

I have just integrated the 3 new point of lay hens in with the existing flock of hens which is provng difficult - I did this to free up the Eglu for some of the ex batts - but the old girls do NOT like the new girls and while Snowflake and Pearl are doing ok, Nightshade is very shy and is not getting enough food or water or respite from being pecked.

SO, I have had to add more feeders and drinkers into the Mega Hen Pen run so while the girls are all shut in they do not kill each other...

Also the 3 new girls do not seem to understand about roosting in the hen house and are settling into the nest boxes, which means I have to get up very early to clean out the poo, or the newly laid eggs are very dirty and I can't sell them...

The most feathery ex batts are now in the Eglu, and have names - Coriander and Cumin - and have been joined by the very bossy but rather bald hen now called Attilla - because she was such a bully to all the other baldy ex batt girls in the polytunnel I had to move her out...

The lame hen (Yarrow) and the broken winged hen ( Comfrey) are doing ok in the Polytunnel - I open up the really rather tiny Broody ark first thing so they can wander around the polytunnel and talk to the other two baldy hens inside the big run in the polytunnel - these two are ok health wise but are weak and bald so need a bit of tlc and feeding up before they can go outside. I still have not named these two but am musing about it.

I am watching my new ex batt girls - and trying not to think about the disturbing behaviour they are all showing me - like the piling on top of each other even though there is loads of room and a heater so it can't be for warmth...and the hunched, head down postures when flapping their wings - even though there is no longer a cage around them to stop their movements. :-(

If I think about this stuff I get so angry I have to go off and cry...which doesn't help the hens at all..so I don't let myself think about it. Yet.

Meet the Christmas present hens

2012-01-02T11:36:00.016Z

I have realised that I never got around to posting up pictures of my Christmas present hens from Compostman...so here they are :-)

We got them from Newland Grange near Malvern, a lovely place with beautifully looked after hens for sale.

This is Pearl, she is a White Star ( a White Leghorn) and she lays pure white eggs. She is quite flighty!

This is Snowflake, she is a Light Sussex, a rarish breed. She lays pinky brown eggs and is very sweet.

This is Nightshade, a Silver Sussex ( yes, I know she is black!) She is very shy and sweet and spends a lot of time sitting on my feet. She lays pinky brown eggs as well.

My furry familiar Cassie comes with me to see the hens and comments loudly on all that I ( and they) do.

Snowflake and Nightshade are not amused!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T20:04:00.001Z

A Happy New Year to all my readers.

New Year Eve Sat 31st Dec 2011

2011-12-31T10:02:00.000Z

Just come in from removing the electric heater and tent to keep the hens warm in the polytunnel.

We put this up last night to try to keep them warm, as they are so featherless and a few felt very cold.

We made a big tent out of wooden frame and tarpaulins over the two runs, with a low power heater inside so hopefully the poor bald girls felt a bit warmer

Also have started dosed them each with vitamin drops which was VERY messy indeed. Got Compostman to hold them so he got spattered rather than me (hee hee lol)

Ex battery hens day 3 Fri 30th Dec

2011-12-30T21:14:00.000Z

So, after the trip to the vet yesterday with broken wing and limpy ( why do I suspect those nicknames will "stick"? ) we started today with a couple of new routines..

Broken wing and Limpy having some food

Broken wing and Limpyin the nest box having a rest

In addition to the normal routine for the existing 9 hens in two separate house/run combinations (say hello, collect eggs, check food and drink and condition, later check for eggs, let out to free range, later still check for eggs, last thing feed high carb and protein food late afternoon, then an hour later shut in ( well before dark) and top up feeders and drinkers etc ..)

I now have the extra checking of 7 not so great healthed hens, including 2 who are really poorly.

So they need a lot more attention at the moment!

but...look at them doing proper hen stuff, after only 36 hours of freedom!

Ex battery hens Day 2 (Thurs) at Compost Mansions

2011-12-29T23:06:00.015Z

The 7 hens were all eating and drinking and pooing normally after their ordeal on Wednesday, which was a great relief BUT one hen was dragging her wing a bit last night and this morning it was worse, so I have had a trip to the Vet with her for treatment today. She is now in a body bandage and on painkillers :-(

Also have two limping girls so they went to be looked at as well. One is just bruised but the other may have arthritis ( quite common in caged hens, as are brittle bones due to lack of exercise and natural light

The hen with the broken wing and the very lame hen are in my ICU on extra special special treatment, the bruised hen has gone back in with the others but I am keeping a close eye on them.

My vet is used to me by now bringing all sorts of animals to them but I am sure they must think I am mental for being so concerned about hens - most people would just cull a bird with a broken wing and never take it to the vets and tbh if she had been looking like she was on the way out I would have done just that - BUT she is a feisty, fighty little hen and too full of life to give up on – so I won’t!

Am concerned about the hen with the broken wing – as the body bandage may not work, but the alternative was it being pinned under anaesthetic – which we did not think she would survive so it is the best available option we have – she didn’t like the pain relief drops, either…pecked me and drew blood, ungrateful hen!

One of the hens gets her first taste of jumping up onto something :-)

ICU for poorly hens on left and the main run on the right, all inside the polytunnel to keep them a bit warmer and also isolate them from my other hens ( just in case!)

Ex battery hens - the collection!

2011-12-29T00:14:00.000Z

So yesterday Compostgirl, Compostman and I drove the 70 mile round trip to get our new ex battery hens. Compostman came with me to curb my bringing home loads more hens than I ordered I suspect….!

We arrived at 2 pm at a farm out on the Hereford - Brecon road, where a load of people were arriving with cat baskets and dog crates and boxes and basically anything suitable to carry away hens.

We were welcomed by the BHWT volunteers and signed in to say who we were. I joined the queue in the barn to collect my hens. They had been brought up from a battery farm near Bristol at noon, so were still quite dazed and confused by space, air and light.

They looked pathetic and bald and really rather poorly and I felt ashamed to be a member of the same species as those who had subjected these animals to such cruelty, all in the name of greed and " economic food production"

I got 7 from the BHWT collection point and gave them my gift aid form and what I hope was a generous donation.

5 of them looked very ropey, poor things and one somehow broke her wing on the way home :-(

2 of then though you would not think were ex battery hens – apart from a bigger comb they look wonderful – alpha hens or maybe a cage where some had died off?

On the third day of Christmas...

2011-12-17T23:15:00.002Z

Compostman bought me 3 new hens as a present :-)

Only a few Sleeps To Go…

2011-12-06T22:46:00.000Z

(With thanks to Jo Barlow for the original idea for this post)

Excited children all over the world are beginning their festive countdowns. 19 sleeps until Christmas!
However, for rescuers of battery hens in the UK there is another, much more wretched countdown. They have until 30 Dec to rescue and find homes for as many hens as possible before the unlucky girls who don’t have homes go to slaughter.

How can we possibly celebrate the festive season when so many hens, who have spent their lives entombed in cages, will be sent to their deaths during the festive season?

The thought of these poor, desperate, unloved hens being slaughtered, has spurred many people, me included, to offer a home to an ex battery hen or several.

Some lucky hens will wake up a few days before Christmas and be whisked away to new homes, where they can scratch in the grass, bathe in the dirt and see the sky. The others will spend a few more nights in the cages before waking up one morning to be transported to the slaughterhouse, hung upside down in shackles and killed.

Which would YOU prefer to happen to YOU?

Please, if you can, rehome some ex battery hens. Click on this link and arrange to have some.

If you can't, please conside donating to a rehoming charity? AND please, make sure you do not buy any products which still have eggs from caged systems in them - look for " enriched cages" or better still buy free range or organic products. That way you can be more sure the hens have had a better life while producing the eggs you eat.

Z is for ...

2011-12-05T12:45:00.000Z

I have no idea on this one!

But am glad to have (finally - blush) finished off the Alphabet challenge. It has only taken me 3 months more than it should....oops

I hope you found some, at least, of my answers interesting.

New crafty blog

2011-12-04T12:15:00.002Z

I have decided to collect all my crafty posts, how to's etc which relate to art and craft making on another blog - The Crafty Compostwoman.

So, if you want to see what I have been up to with making things, have a look there :-)

I will gradually be moving all the craft related posts over to this other blog, so if you are looking for a particular item or idea, try there!

Y is for

2011-12-03T23:53:00.000Z

Youth

I still feel inside much as I did as when I was in my late twenties or mid thirties ...even though I am nearly fifty now (only a few more months ...!)

Outside I am very different, oh yes, I am much more decrepit and ill and physically limited than I was twenty years ago..but inside, ah inside I still feel about thirty five ( which I view as the best period of my life, physically)

Strange how much our view of our age is governed by our mental image, rather than our actual physical age?

X is for

2011-12-02T23:51:00.000Z

\Blimey...what could I say which begins with an "X"?

I have been known to behave in an X rated manner ..but that is between me and Compostman!

I can "Xert" myself... but only when needed!

W is for

2011-12-01T23:45:00.004Z

Wife - to Compostman, for 26 and a half years now. Gosh. What a long time! but I love him as much ( if in a slightly different way?) as I did 26 years ago :-)

Public sector strike day 30 Nov 2011

2011-11-30T00:31:00.004Z

If you have any doubts about the strike action being taken today...remember when nurses, physiotherapists, midwives, doctors, firefighters, teachers, social workers, care workers ..... crashed the stock market, wiped out banks, took billions in bonuses and paid no tax?

No, me neither.

I am a life long trade union member, former Dep Sec of a union, a union H and S rep

etc etc , so you can guess my view on today's strike action!

Compostgirl's birthday

2011-11-29T00:37:00.002Z

11 today! Happy Birthday darling :-)

Looking at JCB's...!

2011-11-28T22:18:00.017Z

we have been looking, recently, at JCB's ..it is my idea as we have various serious land work which needs doing - involvomg lots of digging out and earth moving - I worked out that the work we needed doing would cost us as much with a contractor as buying a JCB, so I said " why don't we buy one and do it ourselves, but in our own time rather than clearing trees etc to the contractors timescale? ..."

Famous last words...

so ...we have been looking at JCB's and, as they hold their value well - hopefully we can sell it on when we have finished with it..well that is the plan, anyway.

So today we drove up to Birmingham to look at a very promising 3CX JCB in really good condition, for a very reasonable price.

Watch this space ...

V is for

2011-11-27T22:17:00.023Z

VEGETABLE GROWER – I love to grow stuff - I take pride in providing ( with Compostman's help with the digging and heavy stuff) fresh organically grown vegetables for my family for most of the year.

I really love recording what I have grown and harvested and evaluating how good it all was, deciding what was successful and what was less so, what to try new next year, what to drop off the growing list, what are best for which purposes - eating fresh, freezing, dehydrating, preserving in jam or chutney or what have you.

I love, at this time of year, to look at seed catalogues to see what old friends I need to order and what new seeds might tempt me.

I am a member of the Garden Organic Heratige Seed Library and every year about this time a 2012 seed catalogue drops through my letter box - with a selection of heirloom seeds to seduce and tempt me to order yet more lovely seeds. I also have a lot of seeds I have saved from open pollinated varieties - so I get all sorts of both true breeding and surprise results!

I can't wait for spring 2012... :-) I love sowing seeds !

Chicken stuff.

2011-11-26T00:27:00.004Z

Is about to go outside turn a chicken upside down and give its neck a massage...then dose it with Epsom salts...

Oh, we really know how to live, here!

Coco chicken is a greedy guts and is always eating stuff she should not ( Aubiose, long grass, paper...) so she has had an impacted crop several times, but this time she has sour crop - thrush - in her crop. Her crop is squishy and smelly and feels all wrong when I press it so, she is in a separate run, on no food for 24 hours and is having an epsom salt flush ( syringed into her mouth by yours truely) and then fluids only.

Tomorrow and for the next few days I will give her small meals of pellets mixed with natural yoghurt, to see if that will help. If she does not improve within 48 hours OR goes downhill, I will of course take her to see the Vet.

Nora the ex battery hen died :-(

2011-11-25T00:38:00.000Z

RIP Nora, rescued 13/11/11 by Homes4Hens.

Rehome a hen!

2011-11-24T17:34:00.006Z

If you've always thought you wanted to keep some ex battery hens - NOW IS THE TIME! :

Go to

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/re-home-some-hens/

As regular readers will know I have kept a lot of hens, including rare breeds, hybrids, ex battery and also ex free range commercial rescue hens. Looking after some ex caged birds has been one of the most rewarding things I have done. This December there are a lot more ex battery hens needing homes, as there is going to be a MASS CULL in the UK. The battery cage is being replaced by the 'enriched' cages in Jan 2012 and in order for the re-fit to occur farmers will be clearing out their stock this Dec/early Jan... so there will be a mass cull of thousands and thousands of battery hens. This means there is a need for lots of forever homes for these hens.

So...please rehome some rescue hens, they are very rewarding to keep ( although they do need a little more care initially)

Sometimes they are very bald...

CLICK HERE to see patterns for jumpers (knitted or easy peasy fleecy ones!)

(Thanks to Hen at Heart and Soil for the link about the jumpers for the baldy hens)

A very long and tedious day out.

2011-11-23T20:36:00.009Z

Today I had to take my car into Hereford early for an MOT and service - so I took the chance to do some unaccompanied shopping in the morning rather than come home. I was expecting my car to be finished with by about 1 pm, but then found it would take several more hours, but not long enough to make it worth driving home in the courtesy car and then back again. So I went to do more shopping...just for fun and to kill time.

What a mistake!

How can people do this, every weekend? or even every day? for fun? I was SO sick of shops, and crowds and noise by the end of the day!

Still, I got some good finds from the morning session in the charity shops, several books I wanted, a book I REALLY wanted, which was brand new...(!) plus a few things for the house which have been on my shopping list for some time, but had not got around to looking for. I also managed to find a couple of presents for Compostman and Compostgirl - for Christmas and for Cg's birthday ( next week - eek)

But I was SO glad to get my own car back and drive home - to sit in front of the fire, with a hot cup of tea and my family ( human and cat :-) )

Bliss!

U is for ...

2011-11-22T16:12:00.008Z

UNCONVENTIONAL – I am. Often I am expected to hold certain views, because I am known to hold other views and so am expected to conform to a " package" of behaviour and beliefs and mores...but I do not always!

I find I am less likely to conform to other people's expectations of me, the older I get.

I aim to end up like the old woman in the poem... by Jenny Joseph, and wear purple and eat sausages and wear my slippers in the rain...

Oh. Wait - I do all that, already lol!

Nora the ex battery hen.

2011-11-21T17:49:00.002Z

THIS is what an ex battery hen can look like when first rescued. Nora, rescued by Homes4Hens on 13/11/11, is particularly bald and is a bit poorly, but hopefully with some tlc she will recover and live a full and happy new life.

Image taken from Homes4Hens, who are a hen rescue centre and who have been caring for Nora. They are appalled by the conditions and treatment of battery hens and aim to give hens a happy retirement in to a free-ranging life. See also their Fb page

Homes4Hens Battery Hen Rescue

T is for...

2011-11-20T12:46:00.013Z

TOMATOS – I love tomatoes. I grow more than 50 plants every year and I preserve them in a number of different ways, so we can eat them during the winter and spring. I love the smell of a ripe tomato, the sweet/sour taste explosion in my mouth when I bite into one, the excitement of eating the very first tomato of the year, warm and fresh from the plant...mmm

I grow about 10 or 12 different varieties, mostly heirloom varieties, and am always willing to have a go at growing a new one.

THINKING – I think a lot about a lot of things. Most of the time this is great, sometimes I wake up in the night though and if I can't get back to sleep quickly enough, I start to think about things, all sorts of things, not nasty or worrying things, just stuff - and then I am wide awake!

Access to wildlife should be a right, not a privilege

2011-11-19T17:22:00.004Z

Read a brilliant article in the Guardian from a link spotted on Facebook. "Access to wildlife should be a right, not a privilege " by Tony King

Evidence is growing that access to a wildlife-rich environment is essential for children's health and wellbeing

There is a growing and compelling body of evidence that regular and ready access to a wildlife-rich environment is essential for children's health and wellbeing. Recognising – and acting on – a right to that wildlife-rich world is essential for delivering better health, better educational attainment and better social development. Research published in The Lancet shows that, even after other factors are accounted for, living in a green environment makes people healthier.

Governments can and should articulate a new right: that every child and young person has the right to grow up and live in a high-quality, wildlife-rich environment with ready access to the physical and mental health benefits, developmental advantages and play opportunities it affords.

read the full article here

Which is why I do, what I do to help people enjoy and appreciate the natural world around us - playing in woods is good for us!

Waste food feeds 5,000 for lunch at Trafalgar Square - what a great idea

2011-11-18T17:19:00.009Z

What a terrific idea! As a Love Food Hate Waste champion, I love this!

Wonky carrots, misshapen potatoes and tonnes of food rejected by supermarkets have been used to give 5,000 people a free curry lunch in Trafalgar Square.
The event organised by charities and farmers aimed to show that a lot of food binned in the UK could be eaten.

link to article here

S is for..

2011-11-17T00:35:00.012Z

STUBBORN

I can be very stubborn. Sometimes too much so! It is a good trait as it makes me very determined to finish the stuff I start, but sometimes it can be a negative thing as I keep on, when I should really stop.

SARAH

My name ;-)

R is for

2011-11-16T00:34:00.014Z

Reading.

We have a lot of books here. I love reading, always have - was an early and advanced reader as a child and read EVERYTHING - all the time, anywhere. I still do, even today. Compostgirl has inherited that aspect of me I think as she reads fast, recalls what she has read and has a lot of books :-)

We have around a thousand books here ( give or take a few) reference books of all sorts, fiction, non fiction, crafts, cookery, technical textbooks from our various respective careers - so there is always something to read

but always room for more :-)

Reflective

I am, very. I muse and mull over and turn things over in my mind. This has helped me in many aspects of my life, not least training where being a reflective practitioner is part of the process ( education, holistic therapy, parenthood...!) But sometimes I have to stop myself from "mulling" too much and seeing slights where there were none ...

Q is for ..

2011-11-15T17:27:00.002Z

Quiet

I love the sound of quietness. Sadly Compostgirl shouts a great deal at us and I also now have tinnitus in one ear ( the downside of being nearly 50 I guess)

But I still enjoy the quiet - especially just before dawn and the birds starting to sing.

P is for ...

2011-11-14T17:13:00.004Z

Patience.

I can be very patient, when I really HAVE to be. But often I am not.

Peaceful

I like a quiet life - both emotionally and also in terms of sound - I used to enjoy loud music or the sound of racing car engines but as I get older I prefer the sounds of bird song.

Prim

Not!

Sunday musings

2011-11-13T23:15:00.001Z

Glorious weather here today, we got up a little later than usual ( we were all tired so had a lie in) Compostgirl made tea for us ( a first - she has made other hot drinks but tea is quite tricky with the kettle even with supervision) and also insisted on making me toast -I have not been very well and she wanted me to have breakfast in bed, so who was I to spoil her plans?)

and we did a lot outside in the garden and also had a visit from some neighbours who buy eggs from us - they stayed and chatted about this and that for a bit.

Compostgirl cleaned out the guinea pigs and very proudly showed them off to our neighbours - the piggles are definitely getting friendlier with people!

We obviously stopped at 11 am to stand, and bow our heads and keep silent - thinking about all those who have died fighting.

Some interesting discussions with an nearly 11 year old Compostgirl about wars and morals and suchlike - some very interesting ideas came up!

O is for ...

2011-11-12T23:32:00.000Z

Optimism

I try to keep optimistic about life - sometimes it is very hard as life has not been very kind - but I keep on trying to be a " glass half full" sort of person, rather than having a rather a pessimistic " glass half empty" view of life.

Organisation

I am very organised. Enough said, I think!

Moving back in to the sitting room...at last!

2011-11-11T19:52:00.002Z

Preserving the harvest

2011-11-10T23:19:00.000Z

Wine in fermenting vessel (Damson 2011) and dried ap[ples, peras, plums, damsons, tomatos, peppers, courgettes from this year's harvest

Cider from 2010. Some being drunk - well we have to test it, don't we?

Some of the Cider from 2011 - will be ready to drink in spring 2012.

RIP Coriander Hen

2011-11-09T23:14:00.003Z

Coriander Hen died :-(

She had been poorly since Sat, and had been living inside in a cosy box in our kitchen. She seemed to have improved a lot yesterday and I was quite hopeful she would recover. But then she died this morning.

I am very sad :-( But I am mainly sad because I thought I had managed to get her well again, only to have her die, which is the really sad bit - after all she would have been dead 2 years ago if I had not got hold of her
f rom the free range egg farm.

She was an ex commercial ginger hybrid hen who, because I took her on, had nearly 2 more years of a good life, so really it is not too sad that her life has finally come to a natural end iyswim

She was not an ex battery hen, no...but an ex commercial free range hen ( oh yes, THEY need the same rescue plan as well as ex battery hens - they get killed at 12 -18 months as well...but sadly are often overlooked because of the even worse plight of their ex battery hen sisters.)

And actually ex free range hens don't neccessarily have that much better a life! OK they are not imprisoned in an A4 sized cage, but still can have had a very limited life and indeed Coriander was in a terrible state when we got her.

But...what a 2 years of extra life she got! Living with us, in a wood, life of riley ( who WAS he?) , petted, loved and pampered....chasing cats and squirrels, dust bathing, raids into the house, raids into the veg patch - what a great life...

She has been buried on the edge of the wood in a place she used to like to dustbathe.

RIP Coriander hen - much missed, never forgotten

Cider making 2011

2011-11-08T20:42:00.017Z

A busy couple of hours

saw us turn a lot more apples

into 75 l of will-be-cider-next-year

and a lot of pomace for the hens to eat and the compost bins to "convert"

New guinea pigs

2011-11-07T18:00:00.001Z

Some of you may remember the tragic loss of our previous guinea pigs to a stray dog.

We were all very upset by this, but after some time had passed Compostgirl began asking if we could have some more, as she is very fond of them as pets ( as am I)

So I contacted Hoppety House Rescue to see if Mandy had any piggles needing re homing, and she had lots!

We ended up with four females, all a social group who needed a new forever home.

So, meet Fudge

Mango

Jasmine

And Juniper

We have had them three weeks now and they are adorable! So friendly and playful :-)

Apple juicing

2011-11-06T18:00:00.005Z

We have had an amazing apple harvest here this year, so much so that we had to split the juicing into two sessions - the first for the apples which were destined for juice and the second session for the cider making apples.

As usual we used The Little Cider Press Co for the juicing

We got 35 l of juice from one pressing - thats VERY juicy apples!

So after I came home I spent the rest of a very hot afternoon filling up bottles and pasteurising them, 13 bottles at a time.

We ended up with 40 bottles of juice - should help us through the winter :-) The juice tastes wonderful - bottled sunshine!

Poor Coriander Hen

2011-11-05T22:28:00.003Z

Coriander hen is an ex commercial flock rescue hen I have looked after for nearly two years now - she came to us at the end of her "productive" commercial life, aged about 18 months old.

She has been a very robustly heathly, delightful companion hen, a good egg layer and ( as often with generic
"ginger" commercial hybrids) a real character and a very sweet personality.

She has been seriously moulty for the last 5 weeks or so, and resistant to being picked up or checked over, but I have managed to catch her a few times and check she was ok .

However this morning when Compostman went to let the hens out into the wood, she was obviously not ok - she could hardly walk and was very slow on her feet.

He brought her in to me ( the fact he could catch her shows how poorly she was as she previously has only ever let me catch her!) and when I examined her she had a very distended abdomen and was very thin and also very cold.

I gave her a warm bath with lavender essential oil added - to help ease any egg bound issues - and then put her in a box in the kitchen with cat food, water and a comfy dark straw nest to settle down int at one end of the box. She has eaten a little and drunk a little but has not passed an egg ( I hoped the warm water would stimulate this as it has worked in the past with other hens) or done the huge poo I hoped to see ( from previous experience this sometimes is also the problem!)

I fear she has egg peritonitis or a tumour, which every other commercial " ginger" hybrid I have owned has eventually died from :-(

At the moment she is asleep in her comfy box, in the kitchen, but it is not a natural looking sleep and from her general demeanor I fear she will slip quietly into a deeper, terminal sleep in the night. But she might recover and, as she seems in no distress, I am prepared to leave her overnight to see what will happen.

I have gentled her and stroked her and told her what a very good hen she is - and she crooned a little at me and nibbled my finger.

I will leave her tonight and if she is still in the same state tomorrow morning I will (very sadly and regretfully) of course kill her quickly and painlessly.

I HATE this aspect of keeping livestock - BUT if I want to keep animals I have to accept the responsibility of ending their lives "when it is time". That means if they are ill, injured OR ready to be killed for eating.

Doesn't mean I have to like doing it, though!

And I think, if I ever get to the point where I no longer feel sad enough to care about doing it - that is the point I should give up keeping livestock.

(Oh and from bitter experience I know the vet can't help her - I have now seen enough of these hens (sadly) to know that they will either pass an egg or die very quickly - and the vet is not available until Mon. If she is ok until Mon I will take her to the vet :-)

Woodburner installation

2011-11-04T17:48:00.004Z

Some chimney sweeping going on prior to inseting the liner down the chimney

New stove in place - doesn't she look smart!

First fire!

Terry the installer was really quick, efficient and cleaned up the ( very minimal) mess he made. Would recommend him to anyone!

Progress on sitting room refurbishment

2011-11-03T17:31:00.000Z

So, we left this room with a new hearth and newly plastered chimney breast back in July - and now look at it at the end of August!

A lovely new wooden floor! and paint! and skirting boards! and no dirt!

We are still not back in the room at this stage, but it wasn't going to be much longer :-)

The plastic wrapped object is the new Burley Brampton woodburner, waiting to be installed - it was actually not installed until the begining of September ( a hint as to when we eventually moved back in to our main room)

New sitting room

2011-11-02T23:03:00.004Z

So...it has occurred to me that you all have no idea that we have moved back into our wonderful newly rebuilt and refurbished sitting room? After 10 months of living in the dining room only?

Since my last post in July, we have had so much going on!

The new chimney breast built and plastered, we painted all the walls, ordered the new woodburner, booked to have the new woodburner installed and in the meantime Compostman got on with laying the new wooden flooring and new skirting boards etc. This took some time to both source and lay - we wanted FSC wooden flooring and it was actually rather hard to find some - Homebase/Wicks/B and Q didn't seem to have any and so we had to do a bit of searching online for a supplier.

Eventually we found a firm and ordered what we needed. It is SO lovely!

New paintwork colour scheme is pretty good as well ;-) Will post up some pictures tomorrow

November 2011 - blogging re-starts?

2011-11-01T22:52:00.007Z

November sees the start of NaBloPoMo, a blog post each day for a month. I have posted every day, in the past, and it would feel good to get back to doing so!

But...I have had a very long and tiring and stressful day today; I am still feeling very unwell and also my longstanding back injury is flaring up; it is very late and I am very tired...so today the post will just be one of announcing I am hoping to join in...

I may also this month even manage to finish of the August alphabet post which I ( cough) still have yet to complete ( sorry Chiots Run!)

I can hope...!

Samhain

2011-10-31T19:57:00.001Z

Lots more cleaning, tidying up and sorting out of stuff today. Have had a good ponder about where I want to be and what I want to do with the next year as well.

Was going to have a Samhain bonfire outside tonight, but it came on to rain really hard, so have lit the woodburner instead :-)

I have burned some old documents (to symbolise the end of another year) and also the hop garland from my Green Man sculpture - and tomorrow he will get a new garland, probably of rushes or willow, to celebrate.

Sahmain/Halloween blessings to you all:-)

Halloween/Samhain preparations

2011-10-30T22:12:00.003Z

Tomorrow is Halloween, the end of the old year for those who follow the Old Ways. A time for clearing out and tidying up and putting things to bed, ready to start afresh in the New Year.

I spent some of today digging and raking and composting and covering over raised beds; cleaning out pots in the polytunnel, cleaning out the chicken house and scrubbing their drinkers, decluttering rooms upstairs and looking at old documents; sorting through "things", both real and in my thoughts.

I found it helpful to do this as while I got on with some hard physical work which needed doing, I also had time to let my thoughts drift, to muse and ponder on my life, how it is, how I would like it to be and how / if I can get the two things to be closer together.

Hopefully some good will come out of this exercise - even if it is only in the physical sense :-)

After a good meal of Roast pork and lots of lovely veg, and apple crumble to follow, along with cider ( all except the pork grown/made by us ) and a sit down in front of the woodburner to relax, watch a little TV and do some knitting, I am now about to go to bed. More pondering and tidying to do tomorrow, as well as a pumpkin to carve ( maybe!)

Update on Tabitha

2011-10-29T01:03:00.000+01:00

Tabitha Cat now fully restored to health - hunting, purring, pushing us out of bed etc etc . All scabs fallen off, huge wound scab gone and new skin growing new fur :-)

Many thanks to Mike the vet, who did a wonderful job and saved her life.

Second life (online) musings

2011-10-28T23:51:00.001+01:00

Am I the only person who behaves online to you, as I would if I were talking to you face to face?

I suspect not - but events lately have made me wonder.

I used to be a member of a "green" forum - (some of you may also be members of this forum, so I am not going to tell you the name, as I do not do that kind of thing, however much I might feel I want to!)

but...having been a moderator on this forum, which was a huge part of my online life for a long time, I found out by chance that a few of the other moderators held ( and had stated in a closed area of the forum) really rather nasty and wrong views about me - eg:- that I was a compulsive liar; that I ignored my child so I could spend many hours a day online; that I made up or exaggerated stuff to make myself look more important - to put it in a nutshell that I basically was an really rather unpleasant, lying person...

Some of these people have actually met me in real life and seen our set up here at Compost Mansions - I have exchanged gifts, sent birthday cards to them or their children etc etc ...unusual I know but I actually have always been keen to offer my place for meet ups so have actually met quite a few of my blogging or forum "friends"

Anyway, I found out about this rather nasty stuff , which made me feel very upset and basically poisoned my interactions with these other people- and so I complained to the forum owner ( another erstwhile
"friend")

Did he help? Did he censure the other posters? No - he banned me - for no good reason I can see other than I found out about all this and asked him about it in a series of private messages.

AND- - after banning me he (admin /owner) then told my ( ex ) fellow mods that I left - NOT TRUE - I was banned, with no warning, so I could not even retrieve my personal messages, emails, contact details of friends etc....

What an unkind thing to do to someone.

Sometimes I despair of the "online life" - it all seems so very petty and playground like!

Anyway - that is just one of the many reasons I have been inactive online recently - I was really very upset by this issue and the implications of it and I also have had a load of stuff going on in my real life which is not very great, as well....Life is pretty shitty, sometimes.

Sometimes,despite the various upbeat sayings about it - if life deluges you with lemons there are just too many of them to make lemonade from - you just end up, instead, with bruises from the impact and sore skin all over, from the juice..

Life.....

2011-09-23T19:02:00.000+01:00

has not been very good around here lately.

Tabitha Cat is very ill, has been in hospital at the vet's for the last 3 days and will be in there at least over the weekend, if not longer.

She came in with what seemed to be a bite wound on her leg last weekend - but despite prompt attention from us and then prompt treatment from our vet it has developed into a major infection. The regime of antibiotic iv drip and dressings is only just maintaining the status quo - she is not improving at all.

We are waiting for the results of tissue biopsy tests on Monday, to see where we go from here.

Tom Cat ( her brother) and Cassi (her bff) are lost without her and are wandering around, looking mournful.

So, good positive thoughts please for Tabitha

N is for

2011-08-18T18:34:00.002+01:00

Nighttime

I stay up much later than is wise or sensible. I like the nightime and have always been an Owl, never a Lark!
In common with many busy people, getting some "me" time is hard, so I tend to read or sew or surf the web late at night. I read blogs, chat to friends on various Fora, and do some crafting. So many things I get done...but then I am so tired the next day.

I know it is unwise to do this but in common with so many other bloggers with parental responsibilities, it is the only way to get any personal life!

M is for

2011-08-17T18:26:00.026+01:00

Married
I have been married for over 26 years to Compostman. I was married to someone else, very briefly ( I was young and foolish and wouldn't be told it would never work...and it didn't - for reasons I do not wish to rake over) I divorced him in early 1984, and married Compostman in March 1985. I can't explain how much I feel for him but the fact we have put up with each other for so long, through some pretty hard times, and still love each other, says it all.

Mine
I have been known to get a touch possessive of my property, if it is taken without asking. I am generous with things, but I DO like to be asked, first!

Music

I used to help run a Folk club and I used to sing there as well. I sang in the choir, I love to sing! And I love pretty well all music - except maybe Rap or Hip Hop.

ME/CFS

I have had this for 6 years now - originally I got a serious auto immume illness, not long after Compostgirl was born and was very ill for a good few years, but as I recovered I was still feeling dreadful and tired and confused and caught any bug going. Eventually I was diagnosed with ME. I cope most of the time with it but get all sorts of strange illnesses and if I overdo it I am wiped out for weeks rather than days. I have finally learned to pace myself a little, but it is not in my nature and I find it hard going to not just "get on " with stuff..

L is for

2011-08-16T18:14:00.001+01:00

Leek
I love leeks! I love eating them, after growing them.

Lone
I tend to be working alone, a lot of the time. Which I like.

Love
I am pretty passionate about the things and people I love.

Locks
I am a bit obsessive about locking up. I was burgled one time when I was asleep in the house and it has left a mark even though it was many many years ago, now. I was OCD about it for a few years, but now I am just careful to check things are locked properly.

Learning
Always, ongoing, all the time,

Loyal
I’m a loyal friend and a loyal customer in my local shops. I will defend my friends and help them out any way I can. BUT once you lose my loyalty that is it - it is gone forever.

Lists
I make lists all the time. I like to cross things off as I do them! I keep a notebook and date the lists, and I carry forward tasks undone, so I can see that I have not done them. I make short term, medium term and long term lists as well as fantasy lists....

K is for ...

2011-08-15T16:25:00.007+01:00

K is for:

KNOWLEDGE – I know lots of things. I am constantly learning new things and practising the things I already know. I regard learning as a precious gift, to be used and spread around. I trained as a teacher so as to better help people learn the things I know. I also spend a lot of time reading & researching a wide variety of topics not surprising really, considering I spent a very long time as a research scientist. I think a lot, about a lot of things.

KIND I believe I am - I hope so, anyway.

KINKY- Say no more.(!)

KNITTING - I have recently come back to knitting and, while I am not brilliant at it I do find it curiously soothing and meditative to do.

KITTENS - I love Cats. And I love Kittens even more.

J is for

2011-08-14T16:25:00.001+01:00

J is for:

JOKER I am a bit oblivious to a lot of jokes, especially if they involve acronyms or slapstick. I do not like any "comedy" if it involves fake or real violence...! But I do like a good laugh - I love ironic or cynical wit and I love puns and subtle humour

JUSTICE- I am big on fairness, equality and respect for diversity.

JAM MAKER and chutney maker extraordinaire!

Horrible , horrible start to Sat morning....

2011-08-13T17:09:00.001+01:00

I have only just felt able to blog about all this, as it was so very upsetting . A stray dog came into the garden early on Sat morning (before 7 am) - we were woken up at about 7 am by the barking, which came from behind the house...

so went out to see what was going on - the dog ran off before we could see it but it had managed to scrabble open the pet rabbits and guinea pigs hutches and killed the rabbits and guinea pigs...fortunately it had not mangled them but just broken their necks - I guess by throwing them around a bit...

The hens were also very upset as the dog (not any of the neighbours dogs, they are all locked up at night and definitely not a fox) had been scrabbling and digging around the hen house but could not get in.

Cassi and Tabitha cats were very distressed by the commotion and Tom Cat was missing as well all morning which was VERY worrying - he turned up about 11 .30, all upset and fluffed up - I guess he went out to look at what was going on and got chased...

Have warned our farming neighbours - they have small pets, hens etc also sheep....

Not a nice way to start the day Burying small pets, with a weeping Compostgirl at our side......not nice at all.

I is for ......

2011-08-12T17:09:00.000+01:00

INDUSTRIOUS Well I think you will agree I am, if you read the stuff I write about doing here!

INDEPENDENT – I am deeply, deeply independent, have been since I was a small child. Mostly it is a good trait, but (whispers) sometimes I won't accept help or advice when really, I ought to.

IN LOVE with Compostman, I have been married to him for 26 years, known him as a friend and colleague for 5 years before that - thinking about it I actually have know him for 3/5th of my life! Wow!

INTERESTING – Well, people say I am, anyway... I think I am, I have certainly done and seen a lot of different stuff and packed a lot of living into my nearly 50 years on this Earth.

July Harvest Roundup - inside the Polytunnel

2011-08-11T20:46:00.006+01:00

The stuff inside the polytunnel has been truly exceptional this year. It is getting too hot now in there and I am losing tomato blossom to heat scorch, but that usually happens this time of year and I have 5 or more trusses set on each plant so it is no loss.

So what has been really good in July?

Carlton and Costoluto Genovese and Fiorentino tomatoes, huge and plump and juicy and tasty, also Moneymaker - tasteless in supermarkets, superb when grown properly!

Latah and Red Cherry tomatoes - prolific and sweet also very early I picked the first ones in early June!

Cucumbers - been a bit too hot for them in the SW corner of the Polytunnel this year...might have to move them in future years or provide a bit of shading /forced ventilation!

The Peppers are now ripening but in July I was harvesting Nardullo and Romano Peppers with Marconi Rossa and Bell peppers huge and green but not yet turning red.

I harvested 40 Kg of tomatoes in July, and we actually ate a quantity which slipped into the house ( and from tere into our tummies!) without being weighed......so many more than that were picked. And I weighed15 Kg during the last 2 weeks of June, again there were more but ...we ate them :-)

H is for ..........

2011-08-10T22:55:00.000+01:00

Honesty

I pride myself on being honest. I really do tell the truth. Sometims I edit it a bit...or sometimes I dissemble, to save someones feelings, but I do not tell lies.

I really detest lying in others as well - something I am very intolerent of! I do not forgive being lied to by others, either.

Holistic Therapy

I am a trained Holistic Therapist, so have a great belief in the power of essential oils, massage, talking and listening to aid recovery. I DO think modern alliopathic medicine has a place - I would not reccomend essential oils to treat cancer or a broken leg, for example! BUT I do think we can help ourselves to heal with more gentle, plant based therapies in many cases.

G is for....

2011-08-09T22:53:00.001+01:00

Gardener.
I am passionate about gardening organically. I am entirely organic here, far above and beyond even the Soil Association standards for growing. I am a member of both the Soil Association and Garden Organic, here in the UK. I am also a Master Composter and Master Gardener - a volunteer community mentor, spreading the word about composting and gardening to my fellow man.

I love my garden - I am at my happiest when I am digging or sowing or planting out or harvesting my crops.

Generous.
I think I am. I am told so, anyway!

Geek

I definitely qualify as geeky....far too much education, far too many hours spent with my nose in a book not to!

F is for ...........

2011-08-08T21:03:00.001+01:00

Failure

I have to admit I am NOT good at this - I tend to succeed at pretty well all the things I have attempted which have a human element of control ;-)

But sometimes doing stuff (like growing plants or where animals are involved) where Nature is part of the process makes me sit up and take note that I am NOT 100% successful with everything I do and I CANNOT be so...

And that is fine by me :-) We all need a reminder that we are NOT all powerful ;-))

Fun

I love my life most of the time, it is such fun! To listen to birds, breathe fresh air, work in a woodland, mark the passing of the seasons, eat and drink delicious home made stuff, join in local events and seasonal rites ( like Wassailing, or May Day celebrations, or Apple Festivals)

Formidable

I have been told a number of times that I am. I think that is a good thing...I hope so, anyway!

E is for ...

2011-08-06T18:08:00.000+01:00

ENVIRONMENTALLY MINDED We reduce, we reuse, we recycle, we are mindful of what we buy and where it comes from. We grow our own wood for heating our house and we generate electricity and hot water from the Sun. We grow a lot of our own food and we are 100% no ifs or buts organic. We compost, as well ;-)
I have also taught all this stuff to my daughter and to other adults and children and I hope people learn interesting stuff when they read this blog.

ENTHUSIASTIC. I am. Just how I am made, I guess! I appreciate it can get a bit wearing to other people sometimes when I go on a bit about my latest passion.

ENERGETIC. I don't , sadly have loads of energy anymore. Since getting an auto immune illness 10 years ago, which fortunately has largely gone but has left me with ME/CFS, I have to be careful about overdoing it. Sometimes I do, becasue it is more important to get on a do the stuff in a short time period. Then I get ill or am just wiped out for a couple of days/couple of weeks...

EDUCATED I am well educated, but am always open to learn something new :-)

July Potato harvest roundup

2011-08-05T19:54:00.000+01:00

So, how has our harvest been in July?

It has been very dry here - we have had some rain, but not enough in quantity regularly to be helpful and it has been very hot, so a lot of crops have suffered or been delayed.

BUT our potato harvest is exceptional this year - last year was around half the weight and a fair few were badly slugged.

I suspect the hard winter killing pests, the good weather early on letting me get them in the ground early and, of course the magic of growing them in my own compost ( no soil, just compost...I have five, 2 m x 3 m raised beds filled with the stuff!)

We have lifted the potatoes now, apart from a few late planted "earlies" which are to give us new potatoes in the winter.

We got 100 Lb of Charlotte potatoes from the first of the raised beds, grown in my home made compost - from 18 seed potatoes weighing 3 lbs in total, so more than 5 lb per seed...pretty good going this year considering how dry it has been!

The Nicola bed had a similar yield from a similar number and weight of seed tubers so we are really pleased with this harvest.

These keep well and we have a good mixture of sizes for baqking and other cooking purposes.

We also have a lot of Desire- good sized ones for baking- and some Maris Peer as well as some Rocket and Orla to finish up ( they are earlies so need eating first)

In total we have about 300 lb of spuds now in store for the winter and a lot of buckets of "forked" or slightly damaged ones which we will eat up first over the next few weeks.

Am very pleased..even tho' in the scheme of things it doesn't save that much money and is a lot of hard work, I love our home grown spuds so much....even the best local organic ones just don't compare!

D is for ...

2011-08-04T23:17:00.002+01:00

Dedication

A word which I have heard said a lot about the way we live " Wow, that takes some hard work and dedication and commitment, to grow your own veg/make your own jam/wine/lotions/candles/run an Environment centre/teach children Woodcraft - I could NEVER learn how to do that!"

And it got me thinking. Yes I do dedicate a lot of time to doing stuff here, in the wood, the garden, the orchard, with the hens, the house and my work as an teacher.

I dedicate a lot of time to growing veg ( which I guess I could buy from a Supermarket with no effort, instead)

We dedicate a lot of time and money doing things in a more sustainable, low impact, non polluting way - I don't use any chemicals in the garden, I make compost to improve soil fertility rather than buying chemical fertilisers, we use a scythe rather than the petrol strimmer, we fell, saw up, split and stack our wood for heat rather than using the oil fired central heating - stuff like that.

I dedicate a lot of time and effort working as a volunteer Master Composter and Master Gardener to help people who want it learn how to compost and grow their own food. I have dedicated a lot of time to training and learning how to be a better teacher and communicator and trainer so I can pass on the things I know to other people so THEY can pass on the knowledge to other people...

It takes time and effort but it also gives back so much in oh so many ways ...It allows me the precious luxury of being able to really think about what I am doing, and why I am doing it. I feel a part of what I am doing, rather than simply purchasing someone else's efforts.

So....dedication is hard work - yes. But oh so worth it, to my mind at least. And to those who say " I could never do ..." YES YOU COULD - it just takes a little time and a willingness to have a go. So what if you get it wrong first ( or second...) time? That is how we learn...by making mistakes.

D is also for Discipline, which I have a lot of so I get on with stuff when I need to. This can make me very intolerent of others who are not the same....

D is also for Discretion. I am very good at this - I do not spill confidences - if you tell me something I keep it to myself. But sometimes I feel like my head will explode with all the stuff I know about...but can't say!

D is also for Damsons, which make the BEST JAM EVER and pretty nice wine as well ;-) Ours are nearly ready and I can't wait to get preserving!

C is for ..............Chickens

2011-08-03T20:14:00.004+01:00

Well, I couldn't pass the chance up to talk about my hens!

I LOVE my feathery flock. I only have 7 hens now as I have had a number of visits from Fox lately and so I have lost 5 hens in the last 6 weeks...which is very sad. But that is the risk I take by letting the hens free range in the wood, a more natural life for them BUT a risk.

But I am still getting 5 eggs a day from the 7 feathery laydees, which considering one is more than 4 years old and another is an ex battery hen of 3 years old so they do not lay very often

is pretty good going. AND I get the joy of feathery company whenever I am working outside AND the delight of watching their mad antics around the garden!

Hens do not lay every day even when in their first year. And once they are past their first moult ( at 12 to 15 months old) they tend to lay less eggs, The hybrids bred for egg laying commercially ( the standard "ginger" hen) do lay most days BUT they tend to die earlier, from ailments and diseases associated with being bred for maximum egg laying.

Regardless, I love my hens. I love hatching out eggs from under a broody hen. I love seeing them croon and dustbathe and run around like mad things when they have a tasty treat.

I guess this comes under a personal trait of Caring.

B is for ..........................................

2011-08-02T23:58:00.005+01:00

BLOGGER – I love to blog. I love writing posts which explain stuff to people and allows them to "have a go" at it. I love getting comments which tell me I have helped. I also love your emails! AND I really really love the sense of community which blogging taps into.I have some really good real life friends who I have met via blogging and I have lots of friends whom I would love to meet in real life but count as friends in the blogosphere until I DO get to meet them in RL.

BOOK WORM – I am a bookworm. I have a LOT of books. They might be technical tomes, fiction, chick lit, degree level Eng Lit, various Engineering, Maths, Biology, Physiology, Education, History, Physics textbooks, historical non fiction, reference, cookery, gardening, pottery, engineering, reference of all sorts - I LOVE books. AND I need them to be printed on paper, please - no Kindle e-books for me.

BARE FEET – My feet love to be without shoes. I have horny soled feet , even though I pumice them regularly, because I am barefoot SO much. I am a Hobbit.

BUSY – Always. I feel deep guilt if I can't be doing something worthwhile...even when I am ill ( which unfortunately is frequently, as I have a rather rubbish immune system and all sorts of arthritic problems)

BIRDS– I am an RSPB member, a Wildlife Explorer Group Leader and I love birds. We feed the birds here, and with 4 acres of organic, woodland and garden to protect for the local wildlife we have loads of birds to marvel at.

Alphabet challenge in August

2011-08-01T23:48:00.012+01:00

Chiot's Run has thought up an interesting blog excercise. The idea is to come up with words or ideas to describe yourself using each letter of the alphabet. Since it’s always good to exercise your creative side, I thought it would be great to do it here on my blog.

It should be fun to think about words to describe myself for each letter, some will be easy and some will be very difficult for sure – like X & Z. I’m not sticking to positive traits either, since I’ve got just as many bad traits as good ones!

So

A is for

Amazing
The work we have put in to renovating our sitting room. We are NOT serial re modellers - we tend to do a room and are happy to just touch up the paint on the walls for the next 15 years. ( we have only lived here for 15 years, so I can't project further than that!)

Astounding

The harvest we have got from 3 lb of potato seeds - 100 lbs of Charlotte and the same of Nicola...we have a LOT of potatoes stored now for the winter!

Apologetic
Sorry if this is a bit sparse - I am not very well and am having a bit of a job thinking up stuff to go with "A" titles!

Lammas/Lughnasadh

2011-07-31T23:44:00.000+01:00

The Lammas Festival at the beginning of August is one of the four Celtic Cross Quarter Festivals. Lammas looks back to a time when people were much more intertwined and connected to the land and their lives were governed by the cycle of the seasons and the growing of food to keep them alive.

This is the time of the year where we gather in the harvest, of wheat or what ever else we have grown and to give thanks for the ( hopefully) bountiful harvest which the earth has blessed us with.

This is what I gathered from my polytunnel early this morning. I have harvested much much more during today but didin't take any pictures......sorry!

I also made some corn and lavender favours last night, which I will keep over winter until Imboc ( in early February) I will then burn the favours on the fire and scatter the ashes on the soil where I am going to start the new seasons plantings. So the Wheel of the Year turns around.......

Whatever you harvest today and in the weeks to come I hope you have a fruitful, fulfilled and happy time.

A blessed Lammas day to you all.

Sitting room - finally near to completion!

2011-07-29T18:00:00.000+01:00

Compost Mansions was two, 1906 semi detached cottages which were knocked into one house in 1980. It is made of brick. Although this chimney breast is local stone, and the beam is local oak and the hearth is a very old local stone Herefordshire Cider pressing trough, they are NOT in keeping with the house and actually took up loads of space in the room.

From this

We have lived with all this for many years but always wanted to get rid of it as well as improve the internal insulation of the room and also do something about the not great concrete floor ( especially around the edges of the room!)

So in Nov 2010 we started on the huge renovation and building work to insulate the walls, re lay the floor and re build the sitting room.

This involved a LOT of work, including taking up the concrete floor and re laying it with insulation underneath, taking down the fake stone chimney breast and taking out the old and rather useless woodburner.

See those cobwebs? There were some seriously HUGE spiders living behind that false stone wall!

In early spring Compostman hurt his back in a fairly major way, which put a stop to work for a couple of months as I am not able to do the heavy work needed, either dueto MY bad back etc - this was a bit of a blow as all came to a grinding halt.

BUT we got back to work eventually and then we got a local builder ( he lives 2 fields away from us!) to come and quote to re instate the fireplace opening and move the cider pressing stone into the new opening. Compostman and I could have done this work, but it would have taken us longer AND we both still had bad backs, so we paid someone else to do it.

They came this week and did a terrific job - doing this we have gained so much extra floor space - more than 15 inches of floor, due to the edge of the hearth moving back!

Then Geoff the plasterer arrived yesterday and in the space of 6 hours turned rough brickwork and damaged plaster into a marble like finish. - amazing to watch him at work.

Filling in all the gaps with render

Final polish - it dried to a pale pink finish!

This is what it will look like with the new stove in situ.

We are off to get flooring and choose paint tomorrow - Nick the stove fitter is visiting on Monday morning to see what is needed to fit the new Burley woodburner, which is also arriving sometime on Monday.

After being out of our main living room since last Nov (!) I am SO excited that we are near to the end of a very long building and renovation process. I am SO proud of Compostman for all the hard work he has had to do, there is SO much more work I have not mentioned as I have only talked about the floor and stove and fireplace stuff, but he has worked so hard on all the other stuff and it has been a huge load of work for him , especially as he has work, things to do on our smallholding, the wood and all sorts else to do.

Archaeology!

2011-07-26T19:12:00.003+01:00

Just back from day out in Hereford with Compostgirl, went to an Archaeology event at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre, which was having a Bronze Age Bonanza day from 11 until 3 ..we made a Beaker pot, a Lunula necklace ( a gold "c" shape torc) did some excavating ( with real finds!) some recording, woad tattoos, flint knapping and fire lighting, and a fab tour of the store rooms - which was incredible.

Cg was a delight to be out with - engaged, amusing, charming, interested etc etc and all in all we have had a fab day.

AND while I was out the builders turned up...and we now have a fab new fireplace excavated from the chimney breast....and not much mess. It looks really good and when the plasterer comes on Thurs we can GET ON WITH DECORATING and then we can GET BACK INTO the room

Visit to Ludlow.

2011-07-08T16:35:00.011+01:00

Ludlow Castle in the late after noon murk

Woodstores at Derham House

The house itself.

Home of Clearview stoves

Lots of lovely rooms in this mansion, all set out as a showroom for Clearview products.

I liked the old kitchen best, this Clearview is 27 years old and still going strong.

Compostgirl went off on a week long Activity Holiday with school and while she was away we had a few days out. One was to Ludlow, where we had lunch, wandered around the town and castle and then went to Dinham House, home and showroom for Clearview Stoves.

We are still ~~arguing~~ discussing about which new woodburner make to get, a Burley or a Clearview.!

Harvest time begins!

2011-07-04T11:14:00.000+01:00

Blasted foxes. Have just lost 3 more hens.

2011-06-19T00:21:00.000+01:00

Blasted foxes.
Have just lost 3 hens to one. RIP Queenie the Blue Orpington, Vanilla the Cream Legbar and Pearl the White Leghorn.
They were killed right by the hen house, at about 3 pm this afternoon, with us around and about the garden! All other hens v.traumatised and 2 looking like they are in deep shock - may lose them overnight I suspect, they do not look at all good. Am so cross, and upset.

I am very upset. I loved them all, Queenie was a bit useless in the egg laying department but was so pretty.

Vanilla I got as an egg and Ruby Dorking hatched her out ( and then was killed by a fox - !)

and Pearl was just lovely.

am seriously thinking of giving up keeping hens - if they are going to be killed like this it just feels so sad..

Vanilla's mama Ruby Dorking was hatched out by Sweetiepie the Marans, who didn;t get killed by the foxes, today...despite being 5 and senile( even by hen standards! )

So am watching second generation of my loving care being killed, here...so sad.

I am SO fed up -

First ripe tomato of 2011

2011-06-16T23:39:00.002+01:00

Harvested (and ate straight away!) the first ripe tomato from the polytunnel on Wednesday evening. Mmm delicious!

It was a Latah - an early variety and now I have picked several more.

I normally eat the first ripe tomato (Gardeners Delight or Yellow Perfection) from the polytunnel about July 12 th...but will be picking ripe ones from those bushes next week, by the looks of it...

From enemies, to best friends.

2011-06-14T21:04:00.004+01:00

These are pictures of Tabitha and Cassie. When Cassieopea arrived with us as a rescue kitten back in Sept 2010, Tom and Tabitha ( siblings and our existing cats) hated her. On sight. Tom just hissed, but Tabitha attacked Cassie at every opportunity.

Look at them now! They LURVE each other! They sleep together, wash each other, hunt and play and are just BFF, forever.

Funny the way things work out, isn't it? Lol.

Cold nights

2011-06-12T21:48:00.009+01:00

Was worried to see on the Max/Min thermometer it was only 2.3 C in our garden in the middle of Fri night.

Last night it was 1.9 C ! 1.9 C ! At 3 am last night! ...It .was very cold and I was worrying about my plants ( veg and polytunnel) and couldn't sleep.These sorts of temperatures are NOT what you expect in June, here.

I had covered up as much as possible with horticultural fleece, but I don't have enough to cover it all up! Fortunately everything looked ok, this morning

Today it is raining! Hurrah! we have had so little rain and my garden is looking very parched. the veg patch now looks green and lush.

I have spent the afternoon potting on various veg plants AND potting up scented pelagonium rooted cuttings. Mmm they smell wonderful! And also more cuttings of the African Violet my late MiL gave me, when Compostman and I got married. It's still going strong, after 26 years... a bit like Compostman and I :-)

I love scented perlagoniums. I have a small collection and always want more. Sadly, the large outdoor ones didn't make it through the harsh winter, despite being wrapped up in the polytunnel :-

Monday - my ear hurts.

2011-06-06T10:10:00.002+01:00

We had biblical rain, yesterday. It is sunny here now. The veg patch looks much refreshed. Hurrah!

I have an ear infection - it hurts.

A lot.

I am going back to bed. Maybe later on today I may feel more sociable and feel like posting more!

Just hoping it is not the start of another bout of Labarynthitis!

Rainy Sunday

2011-06-05T23:53:00.000+01:00

Have been gardening and composting all morning in the pouring rain Only just had lunch and a sit down!

I like warm rain....

Also have washed out the rabbit hutch and now have to refill it and replace it in the run. Compostgirl has cleaned out the two Guinea pig runs and refilled them with paper and hay etc. She did a really good job of it!

Am having a bit of a sit down before I start on that, and potting up some okra plants and more tom plants , for outside growing. Will then plant some pea plants outside...

Later...

I have just planted some sprouting earlies in old growing medium bags.. I had some left over from the 400 seed spuds... so why not? If you don't plant them, they will certainly NOT grow...but if you do, they might give you a few nice spuds....

I have just eaten some gourmet baby broad beans, new potatoes ..yummy, mmmmm along with a casserole of home grown leeks, dried tomatoes and courgettes and local chicken,.......yummy yummy....and home made cider and later on, a glass of home made wine...mmmm

Wine and cider bottling

2011-06-05T23:33:00.002+01:00

Busy day here today; Cg off out to friends all day so am going to sort out kitchen of doom and clear up some more felled beech. Have already "beech picked" the best bits of wood for turning....

I want to bottle 3 Djs of wine so before I can wash and sterilise the bottles, I need to clear out the sink end of the kitchen ( as there is "stuff" all over the benches either side and I have NO ROOM to work, there....)

Am ashamed to admit the only time this "stuff" gets put away is when we are bottling alcohol...

I am sure the reason the stuff creeps back , is because we regularly use it around the sink/food prep area, but it lurks on the bench tops and looks messy.

I like clear benches.

Anyway, surfaces cleared, cleaned down, bench in lower kitchen cleared, cleaned down, clean bottles retrieved from loft ( thank you Cm), assorted stuff washed up and put away so area clear to work on.
Lunch made around me by Cm, and then 30 l of cider moved on into cleanstorage and 20 bottles of plum wine bottled up.

Had a few accidental "samples" on the way, as you tend to when syphoning, Also cleaned out utility room sink, animal food prep area, cat feeding areas ( how the heck to they splatter gravy 5 ft up a wall?????)

Am shattered.

Ledbury Opposes Tesco Superstore meeting

2011-06-04T16:26:00.003+01:00

No to Tesco meeting ran from 6 -8 pm, was absolutely packed out and was very interesting and vibrant.

Lots of food for thought from meeting, loads of positive ideas and goodwill AND donations!

We are peculiarly lucky in Ledbury, we have a Tesco and a Co Op supermarket already ( one each end of the long High Street) BUT we still have a thriving High St with 4 Butchers, Bakers, a Hardware, 2 Stationary, 2 Book and Record, a Sweet, several Alternative, several Gift, a couple of Deli, a couple of Greengrocers ( including one organic) several phamacies and all sort of other shops and lots of lovely little cafes and resturants.

IF we get an OOT Tesco (or other) Supermarket out on the Bypass, a lot of the small shops will wither and die, and the things which make Ledbury a wonderful place to live and a lovely place to visit as a tourist, will go

Not going to let that happen to my town without a fight.

IF you like the sound of Ledbury as it is, please visit the Fb page Ledbury Opposes Tesco Superstore and give us some support!

Fri 3 June 2011

2011-06-03T22:09:00.002+01:00

Extraordinarily hot here, have been cleaning out hen house and drinkers etc and hoeing in the garden.

2 loads of washing done and on the line -

Tesco meeting in Ledbury, tonight start of the "No" to the Superstore campaign...Compostman and Compostgirl have urged me to attend, so I shall.

Thurs 2 nd June

2011-06-02T21:59:00.003+01:00

I think I have discovered a new talent for major tree pruning.!

Weeping Beech tree had got seriously out of hand and needed pruning.

But Weeping beech is now looking good, unfortunately you can now see the jungle where the 2 shrub beds are meant to be, underneath!

Now have a HUGE pile ( and I mean HUGE) of beech wood to shred and salvage various bits of wood for carving, turning etc.

Pleased with our days work though ( it took 4 hours to do, and the felled wood is under the tree waiting to be cleared away, tomorrow...)

Some of my garden in June

2011-06-01T22:59:00.002+01:00

NO! to a Superstore

2011-05-30T16:44:00.001+01:00

I live near a lovely, smallmarket town called Ledbury. it has a population of about 10,000 people and lots of small, independant ( ie not chain store) shops. It has two smallish supermarkets, one is a Tesco, one is a Co-Op. Both of these supermarkets are within the town centre shopping area and are easily got to on foot if you live in (or park in) the town.

Tesco now wants to build a hypermarket on land by the bypass around Ledbury to replace its current supermarket in Ledbury. It plans to sell everything the existing store does, plus clothes and everything else, and will certainly almost certainly jepodise a currently (just!) coping Ledbury high street.

Tesco exhibited its proposals to the public on the 24th and 25th May. A group called Ledbury Opposes Tesco Superstore is holding a public meeting at The Burgage hall on Fri 3rd June at 6 pm.

I will be going to this meeting as I don't like the idea of a bigger, out of town supermarket in Ledbury. I am going to object to it.

2011-05-21T13:02:00.002+01:00

Hello all,

Not going to be posting for a bit as I am not very well here, have had a bad reaction to a couple of recent Blandford Fly bites and now have a bad case of CFS related stuff and joint flare up as well, so am feeling pretty poorly. Am only just about able to stagger around and have been in/on bed a fair bit for the last couple of days.

Have been feeling increasingly unwell for weeks and just kept going but now Compostman has ordered me to rest, which I am doing and actually it is about all I am up to doing.

Looking back at my diary, I have done quite a lot of stuff in the last few weeks despite not feeling so great. It was all excellent and really enjoyable but if I do extra activities, outside of the normal day -to -day stuff, I find I rapidly lose energy and become prone to catching infections etc. Which is what has happened to me this time.

Still, I have done several Master Gardener and Master Composter mentoring sessions, went off to Ryton and met up with lots of people, have re accreditied my First Aid at Work and First Aid in theOutdoors qualifications all of which is good.

Hopefully will be feeling better, soon and able to post more about hens, wood and garden stuff.

What I have been up to recently - May Day weekend.

2011-05-17T13:09:00.000+01:00

The weekend of May Day I was at our local Blossomtime event in my role as a Master Gardener and Master Composter.

I had lots of information leaflets on my stall as well as various freebies to give away and compostbins on display so the public could see what the discounted bins actually look like. I don't actually sell them on the stall, though.

Loading up my car before the event. I provided everything for the stall apart form a trestle table!

Fellow MC, Martin, talking to a member of the public.

I also had plants for sale - these I had grown from HSL seed in organic, peat free growing medium to sell as a fundraiser for Garden Organic. I actually raised funds for their new Peat Free Campaign.

I had help from different Master Composter friends on the Sun and Mon, so was able to go and have a wander around the various other stalls, buy some tools from the Tools For Self Reliance stall, and watch the Morris Dancers and eat cake and sample cider.

Both days were long and hot, I was away from home on Sun from 11 am until 7 pm and on Monday from 11 am until 6 pm

Compostgirl was with me all day Sunday as her Brownie pack do the teas and cakes and raise lots of funds for themselves - indeed it is one the their biggest fundraisers! So Compostman and Compostgirl made several cakes on Saturday to add to the other cakes on offer.

Garden Organic’s Master Composter and Master Gardener Conference 2011

2011-05-15T21:37:00.001+01:00

Today I was at Garden Organic's HQ at Ryton for the Master Composters and Gardeners Conference. A day which brings together the committed volunteers from Garden Organic’s Master Composter and Master Gardener schemes, to share experiences, release new findings, celebrate and debate all things compost and gardening.

Key highlights included

Peter Smithers, University of Plymouth – Bug Survey Findings
The Impact of the Master Composter Scheme Nationally
Master Composter Awards and Graduation Ceremonies
Workshops including, Water Saving, Vertical Veg/Urban Growing, Seed Saving, Wormeries, Peat Bogs & Compost, Insect ID, Permaculture

For me the best bits are the networking and sharing involved in meeting 200 people who all share the same passions for composting and gardening as I do! AND some great workshops, meeting up with old friends, making new friends and visiting the fabulous gardens at Ryton

I also got to meet up with blog friends Sylvia from The RecycleWorks, Babs from Little Terraced House and KompostGwen, amongst others.

I came away inspired and refreshed, if a little (!) tired.

Birthday present pole lathe

2011-05-10T08:32:00.000+01:00

My birthday present from Compostman - hand made by him using mainly reclaimed timber from the house roof refurbishment OR seasoned timber from our own woods.

BEST PRESENT EVER! (apart from the Shave horse he made me, last year ;-)

Here seen as Bungee lathe, because it was raining outside. But can also be Pole lathe.

Have been playing with birthday chisels and getting a feel for turning wood on it. Also have to fell a few more trees as all our wood is split and stored and the hot weather has made it dry out so it is a bit hard going to turn!

Shave horse ( made by Cm for me last year) in use to make a blank for the lathe from a split Ash log.

A bit of stuff I have turned down from the blank in the above picture.

I hope to make assorted treen ( wooden items) such as cups, plates, and various ornamental items with the pole lathe, I eventually hope to make a chair and some really good bowls, but I think I need to practice, first!

But even making shavings is good fun.

A visit to the woodland workshop of Mike Abbott

2011-05-06T19:12:00.001+01:00

Today Compostman and I had the most wonderful day out. As members of the Association of Pole lathe Turners and Green Woodworkers we were lucky enough to visit Mike Abbott, renowned green woodworker, in his woodland workshop.

Todays visit was part of this weekend's 21st anniversary Bodgers Ball festivities which is an annual get together of green wood workers.....on offer were visits to Mike's workshop plus another couple of green woodworking sites nearby.

We walked up to Mike's workshop past a team of working Heavy Horses doing log extraction

Fabulous views across the Herefordshire countryside.

Ancient woodland being regenerated.

Amazingly lovely wooden composting toilet building

Inside!

The workshop in the woods

Mike splitting wood to make a chair spindle.

And then shaping it up on the shave horse.

Lots of pole lathes!

Walking back through the woods.

This amazing display of renewable energy generators on the Farm buildings!

A fabulous day out and thanks to Mike, Tamsin and the team for giving us all such a hospitable welcome.

Beltane Blessings!

2011-05-01T23:22:00.002+01:00

A very merry and bright Beltane to all my blog friends

Growing Potatoes outdoors

2011-04-24T20:41:00.000+01:00

Potatoes

To avoid introducing pests and diseases into your crop, buy good quality, certified seed potatoes and start 'chitting' them as early as possible. This process encourages the tubers to produce strong, sturdy sprouts and gives an earlier maturing crop.

This is what you do:

Store the seed tubers in a light, cool (10°C), frost free spot and leave them to sprout. This is known as chitting. Place the tubers rose end up (the end where the tiny buds can be seen), in a clean box or tray. An egg box would be ideal, or a fruit tray from a supermarket ( the thick card ones are good!)

If you have more than one variety, label the box ( :-) )

Keep in a cool dark place.

When you see tiny shoots appearing move the tubers to a cool (8-10°C), light place.

Potatoes in the ground.

Dig in well-rotted manure or garden compost (apply no more than one wheelbarrow-full of well-rotted strawy manure, or two of compost, per 10 sq metres of ground) Plant tubers into trenches or in individual holes, 7-15cm in depth, cover with soil. See spacings below:

I make a shallow trench and then dig a hole for each tuber in the trench, this gives me soil to earth up the growing plants as required.

I use a shovel of my home made compost in each of the holes with a tuber in, plus a scoop of wood ash and a scoop of organic "Rooster" chicken manure (available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue).

1st early – 28-36cm apart, 38-50cm between rows.
2nd early & maincrop – 36-45cm apart, 65-75cm between rows.

Potato planting can start from mid March in milder areas, where frost is rare. If the soil is slow to warm, wait until April or May, or protect early plantings with fleece or cloches.

I have been very busy planting spuds, I have already got the Earlies (Orla , Rocket ) in the ground and I got 2 rows of Early Maincrop in a few weks ago A really nice waxy salad potato called "Nicola" and also "Charlotte" which we have found keep as Maincrop really well.

Compostman dug over the ground for me and then I made some trenches and dropped each spud in a hole in the bottom of the trench, with some organic chicken poo pellets, wood ash and some grass clippings (they help prevent scab)

I then tucked the spuds up nice and warm with a good covering of soil....

Unfortunately various hens thought all this was purely for THEIR benefit and came along

and rather destroyed my nice earthing up ridges of soil in between the trenches, but hey ho...never mind...I can rebuild them. The chickens are meant to be fenced out of the area of the veg plot but someone left the gate open....

Every year we grow enough spuds to last us from late June/early July until the following May... so we only buy potatos for about a month or so every year.

But in 2007 we lost virtually all our Maincrop harvest to blight (oh what a surprise, after all the wet weather we had!)

We had to start buying potatoes in October!!

2008 was a bit better, because we had good weather in Feb and March I got the earlies and 2nd Earlies in, well..... early ;-)

so when the blight hit again, we had a good crop to harvest, which stored well.

Similar stuff in 2009 and 2010 so this year I am growing a lot more 2nd early varieties and only one maincrop varieties and they will be in bags and tubs away from the veg plot so if blight DOES hit us I can keep a physical distance between the maincrop and the potato patch.

I am really hoping that, this year

a) The weather is better, which it has been
b) Getting them in a bit earlier will help if we DO get blight again
c) I have spaced the rows out even further AND left a larger gap between each spud within the trench, so hopefully more air can get in between the potato plants.
d) I am not growing maincrop varieties ( apart from Desire) which need a longer growing season to mature and so are worst affected by blight.

Fingers crossed!! That all this will help and once again we will have a decent harvest.

BUT We have put a 50 m length of electric fence netting around the veg garden so the hens cannot get in to dig everything up...

and they were VERY miffed that they couldn't get in to flatten the potato ridges I have made HOWEVER hard they tried!!

Potatoes are very tolerent so IF you have some earlies or early maincrop I WOULD get them in the ground or a grow bag NOW....even if they don't have big shoots on them....you will get some harvest and it will taste yummy.

Tomato plants

2011-04-17T23:37:00.000+01:00

These were about six inches high a month ago. My how they have grown! They are more than 2 feet high, now! Some with flowers on them!

This year I have grown Pink Cherry, Red Cherry, Aunty Madge, Gardeners Delight (Cherry toms)

Costoluto Fiorentino, Costoluto Genovese, Big Boy, Beefsteak, Black Russian, Atkins stuffing, Carlton (Beef toms)

Shirley, Moneymaker, Latah, Roma, Golden Sunrise, Yellow Perfection ("normal" sized toms)

I have already sold some and have others "in waiting" to be collected by people who asked me to grow particular varieties.

I have about 170 plants all growing well, some in the cold frame in side the polytunnel and some hardening off in the Polytunnel itself. I cover them all over with fleece at night just in case we get a cold night as temperatures can get quite low inside a Polytunnel at night!

The peppers, Californian Wonder, Nardullo, Marconi Rosso, Romano and Hot Cayenne chilli, are all doing well. They love the heat of the double glazed porch so will stay in there until the nights are a bit warmer, then I will put them out in to the Polytunnel also.

2011-04-16T23:50:00.001+01:00

These are what the wood looked like in mid March

And these are from today, just 4 weeks further on in the Wheel of the Year.

Potato bed - how four weeks have flown!

2011-04-14T23:30:00.001+01:00

On the 15th March I emptied out the old compost from this 2 m x 3 m raised bed and filled it with my new season compost. I planted out 20 "Charlotte" and in the next door raised bed I planted out 20 "Nicola" chitted, organic tubers. I then covered the 2 beds with geotextile to warm them up and keep them safe from frost.

Today I uncovered the 2 raised beds and replaced the Geotextile with open woven mesh. This keeps the hens off the growing spuds AND provides a bit of frost protection.

They are growing really well!

Master Composter training

2011-04-12T20:57:00.001+01:00

Ooo so busy! I have been busy teaching Master Composters today, was great fun and I enjoyed the work a lot I like my job!

Also had a friend Paul here afterwards ( he was on the training session) and we talked about a lot of stuff over lunch.

Now drinking cider and about to eat chicken with leeks and cheese and saute potatoes and other stuff.

Have also done yet more seed sowing and planting of stuff in the veg patch. Am amazed at the progress of some stuff - tomatoes in particular are very advanced!

Have been up since 5.30 so bed beckons, soon-ish.

How are you all getting on?

Peter and Crystal

2011-04-11T14:13:00.000+01:00

No, these are not some reality show so called celebs! But my two rabbits!

We moved them into the outside run , a few weeks ago. They have a house to go into at night, but basically they live in the run all the time. We move it around every few days and they are very happy in there.

We moved them over into the orchard a few days ago, because Crystal had started digging in the lawn, so we decided she could dig in the orchard instead. See what she has been up to!

She is making a nest! She pulled lots of belly fur out, took all the hay from the feed rack and carried it down into her underground chamber.

She isn't actually in kit, as Peter has been castrated, but obviously Spring is in her blood and is telling her it is time to have babies.

Cassi Cat looks on, bemused by all the flying soil.