Saturday 21 December 2013

Winter's Depths

It's the winter solstice today, and it's not as if we need a reminder that we are in the darkest, dreariest part of the year, but the weather is doing a great job of hammering it home. Rain is lashing against the panes of my rickety windows, and wind and wet are leaking under the back door, soaking the mud-sodden mat. Sigh. Thank goodness for Christmas to bring a bit of light and cheer.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a wreath-making workshop with my friend Nicky and a couple of her other friends, run by Rachel. It was a really pleasant way to spend a morning, with chat and copious cups of tea, mince pies, punctuated with removing poisonous foliage from the dog's jaws. The smell of moss and pine and orange and cinnamon was olfactory heaven so I can thoroughly recommend a wreath workshop rather than simply buying one. We also mooted the point that wreaths need not just be for Christmas and perhaps we should investigate spring, summer and harvest wreaths as possibilities too. Well, once the creative juices get flowing...

Due to the weather, I've hung the wreath over the fireplace rather than have it bashing around on the front door. It's so bloomin' cold in the house I'm not terribly worried about it drying out in the heat (ha!) and it means we get to appreciate it rather than just the postman:


I realise it is a bit lopsided but I'm really pleased with it :-)

Saturday 7 December 2013

A Visitor

I had quite a surprise when I let the hens out this afternoon, as they were joined by a female pheasant in the garden.  The ducks weren't quite sure about her either - she seemed really tame but was limping slightly on her right leg. Amber gave her some corn which she gobbled up before Emu and his two got a look in:


I love the colouring of the so-called 'drab' female game birds - the blends of browns on the individual feathers are exquisite.


Thankfully Scruff was indoors at the time - he's so good about not chasing/mauling the rabbits, ducks, chickens and guinea pigs but I think resisting a pheasant wandering in his patch might prove too much for his Springer spaniel instincts. He spends a lot of his time sniffing out rats as once again the garden is riddled with them. I don't see them at all in the summer, but it's almost like the BST/GMT clock-change is some sort of signal for them to all take up residence in the hedge again and cruise around the poultry pens. I found one suspended in the ducks' pond the other day looking like a, well, drowned rat...ugh. I have asked the cockerels not to do their macho food-scattering as soon as I put the bowl in for them but they don't listen, and then of course none of the hens eat the spilt food, leaving a rat buffet once dusk descends. I have got a treadle feeder but it's outside the run.

I must get on with some knitting this evening. I'm making a tunic version of Kate Davies' owls jumper and I'm on the first sleeve, as I have been for some time now. It's a quick knit really as it's on big needles and I'm using double Aran yarn and the pattern's wonderfully straightforward, but I don't have much time at the moment, so it's proving to be a very slow knit. I've also been short on time for drawing and painting so I need to sort out my priorities...

Thursday 5 December 2013

All Quiet

It's that time of year when quiet descends outside in the garden, and it finally feel I can make some progress before the plants see my attempts to curb their growth and raise their game accordingly. The hens are enjoying all the nettles I'm pulling up as a welcome bit of greenery, and the rabbits work their way through the apple tree prunings, while the ducks and starlings do a great job of clearing up the windfall apples.

I've had to swap the chicken coops around as Emu needs a more accessible ladder than the previous one he was in. He will now go in this one with Mary, and his other wife Emily will go in to this one with Simba and his two [called Honey and Hazel: I knew you were dying to know]. I need to make an extension for Simba though so I came up with a cunning plan! I've taken pallets and stuck willow whips in between the gaps, and woven them between the planks, then stuck them in to the ground. They should root, and provide a living enclosure and disguise the ugly pallets. I will put chicken wire (ugh :-/ hate the stuff) over the top for now, but if it grows well I could loop the willow over the top to provide a roof. It won't be entirely fox-proof so I will keep them in the smaller bit when I'm away from the house, but it means while the other hens are having their turn in the garden, Simba and his 3 girls will have a lot more room. Anything to reduce the amount of chicken wire I have to wrestle with!

I do love keeping cockerels - they are so beautiful and engaging to watch - and the hens prefer having a rooster in charge rather than an overly dominant matriarchal hen. However, it does mean a rota system for letting them out, and trying to encourage the boys to go and forage with the hens rather than posture and scrap through the wire of their pens with their rivals.

Christmas has now landed in our house, and we bought a really nice tree, although it's probably rather too large as the fairy is squashed against the ceiling. Last time we had a tree this big I could still actually move in the lounge as we had less furniture, but now the door has to be open or shut due to the large armchair that's been relocated to accommodate the tree, which means the dog spends his whole time whining to be let through and is driving me mad. How he can manage to lacerate the bathroom door with scratches or barge in to my bedroom when I'm getting dressed yet not manage to negotiate this door unless he has at least 3" clearance each side is beyond me. That and the long-running territorial dispute over the possession of the Michael Bublé Christmas Album amongst my children means the spirit of the season is sometimes left wanting but hey, we'll get there :-)



Thursday 28 November 2013

It's Been a While...Again

...since I last posted. Much is the same, much has changed.

I've almost entirely changed my flock of poultry - having accumulated some, sold some, lost some I've now got 4 pens/coops, with a trio in two of them, 6 in another, and 4 ducks in the last one. I'm currently treating Emu (an enormous and handsome Speckledy cockerel who was reared from chickdom to keep another chick company) with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds as he has a swollen foot. He's been to the vet quite a bit so I'm not counting the ££££ I've spent on a rather worthless rooster - he's a male hybrid so I can't even breed from him due to his parentage, but did I mention he was really handsome? At least it's not Marek's disease which can afflict chickens who haven't been vaccinated as most commercial hens are, but the vet gave him a thorough going over and couldn't find any tumours so fingers crossed.

Simba is another cockerel from the batch of chicks, and we had to keep him as Amber used to brood him in the crook of her arm and consequently got extremely attached to him. 'Him' of course, so that involved getting another coop...

I'm still knitting although plodding rather than rattling through projects as I once did. I'm working for myself part time as a beekeeper/gardener and have less time to spend dossing around enjoying myself. It does mean I managed to justify getting a bit of domestic help - Jo (who I think one would term as a "treasure") has done an excellent job on the house so far, although I was mortified last time when I came down and found she'd pulled out the blanket box which has been there for erm, since we moved in..."Ooohhhhh, let me get you a bin bag" I said :-/ as she unveiled 5 years' worth of crap. I returned later in the morning to a sparkling lounge and all the hair bands/marbles/Lego and plastic beaver sitting neatly on top of the blanket box. However - she then dealt the killer blow: "I found a cheque book in among the sofa cushions..." Nooooooo, not the sofa!!! I then apologised for the amount of Cheerios and guinea pig poo that I knew was under there, just knew yet never cleaned up. I could have got away with it too as she said "Poo? Oh I thought it was guinea pig food". I may as well let her do my fridge now; I can't sink any lower, surely?


Cleaning and Crowing

I thought I'd prepare for Jo's arrival today by cleaning out the fridge, as she said she'd tackle the kitchen this week. After the sofa last week I felt it was the least I could do, so when I got back to find she'd done behind the fridge I realised I was fighting a losing battle. Anyway, it looks very shiny and clean, and despite my eyes smarting from the bleach fumes it has inspired me to tidy up the dining room, which I ambitiously call my study/workroom. Having domestic help is a bit like being married to both a houseproud husband AND wife: half of me feels "Oh no! Look at the state of the lounge - I'd better wipe the table" and another half feels "Wow, look at those taps! You've done a fantastic job..." I'm probably getting the best of both worlds.

I did wait until after Jo had left before I brought Emu in to the kitchen to give him his anti-inflammatories. He's looking much better and squaring up to the other cockerels when they goad him through the wire rather than running back inside. He came out of the broody coop for a constitutional this morning. He can't stand upright in there as he's so large, and has to crow by stretching his neck horizontally which gives an interesting tone to his vocals.


His matching wives, Emily and Mary, are currently running out with Simba and his two, as Emu is on erm, 'restricted duties' due to his poorly foot. Simba seems unsurprisingly thrilled with the arrangement, and thankfully adultery, bigamy, trigamy and anything else is all taken in good heart so everyone's happy.

The girls are now making a cake - in my clean kitchen. They've promised to tidy up afterwards...