Our darling Woody has finally given up. We knew she wasn't looking good, and although a week of antibiotics helped, I think that old age got the better of her. Late last week she laid a lash, which is apparently common in ex-batts and older girls. From then on she was very subdued, although still eating a bit.
So Salisbury is on her own, which I don't think she'll mind too much, with the neighbours chooks through the garden fence. But hopefully we'll get some more ex-batts in September and before then we might acquire a couple of the neighbours hybrids which are not yet at point of lay, so young girls for us!
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Bloody mites
Literally. Still haven't got rid of them from the chook house since last summer. I keep squashing the buggers whilst sat here at my computer, since I picked up a few in the seconds it took to close the girls in tonight. Some more serious bug-killing action is required at the weekend. *scratch scratch*.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Lunch
I'm eating home-grown radishes and lollo rossa in a wrap. Feeling very smug.
Of course, on it's own that would be very boring, so I've also put in a left over sausage, a bit of ham and a dollop of mayo. Nom nom nom.
Of course, on it's own that would be very boring, so I've also put in a left over sausage, a bit of ham and a dollop of mayo. Nom nom nom.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
1st June - Summer is here!
Kittens have been venturing in the garden for a couple of days now. They love it. They also enjoy a game of chase when we want them back inside.
Elderflowers are mostly out now, so made the first batch of champagne and wine yesterday. Looking forward to sunny evenings, popping bottles and relaxing with the kits in the garden.
Monday, 14 February 2011
Monday, 7 February 2011
Garden update
The daffodils have flowered! I love the first sign of spring, and the daffs near our back door make me smile every morning now. I'm also pleased to see Dwarf iris 'Harmony' has raised it's little head after planting last October time. It's even sprung up in a patch I completely forgot I planted it in!
The garlic is on its way up, which is good news as we only got it in the ground about a month ago and I thought it would be slow to take off since we missed the coldest, shortest days of winter.
The chooks are learning to perch, as of last night when I transferred Jemima and Woody from their comfy nest boxes to sit next to Salisbury on the wooden perch. Woody was mystified, Jemima was defiant and telling me off. But they both stayed put. Even laying an egg this morning, Woody hadn't budged. Luckily (or not, some would think) the egg had a soft landing in a pile of poo! After a quick scrub, it'll be perfect for breakfast next weekend. :)
Sonny and Mario have been brilliant fun so far, they're proper looney and probably short of a few brain cells after the number of crashes, bumps and tumbles they've had. They are also superb farters. Our house now has a unique aroma... Oh well.
The garlic is on its way up, which is good news as we only got it in the ground about a month ago and I thought it would be slow to take off since we missed the coldest, shortest days of winter.
The chooks are learning to perch, as of last night when I transferred Jemima and Woody from their comfy nest boxes to sit next to Salisbury on the wooden perch. Woody was mystified, Jemima was defiant and telling me off. But they both stayed put. Even laying an egg this morning, Woody hadn't budged. Luckily (or not, some would think) the egg had a soft landing in a pile of poo! After a quick scrub, it'll be perfect for breakfast next weekend. :)
Sonny and Mario have been brilliant fun so far, they're proper looney and probably short of a few brain cells after the number of crashes, bumps and tumbles they've had. They are also superb farters. Our house now has a unique aroma... Oh well.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Meow!
Success at last!! We found a mate for Mario, and picked him up last Monday.
Introducing, Sonny!!
One week younger than Mario, but full of energy, he's really settled in over the last week.
Both are scoffing far to much food, and the stink that results is horrendous! Boys boys boys. Bleurgh!
Introducing, Sonny!!
One week younger than Mario, but full of energy, he's really settled in over the last week.
Both are scoffing far to much food, and the stink that results is horrendous! Boys boys boys. Bleurgh!
Monday, 3 January 2011
Happy New Year!
Phew!! I'm almost glad it's time to go back to work (almost!). Over Xmas we've had to buy a new car, which was incredibly stressful, but hopefully sorted now and picking it up on Saturday. I've also been hunting for a friend for Mario, who is getting more and more playful by the day, but he is also a bit too boisterous for my poor scratched hand to keep up with! We're taking down the Xmas tree today, before he totally destroys it - we've already had to remove the fairy lights due to nibbled wires in more than one place!
Other plans for today include planting the garlic (the ground has finally thawed!), tidying the conservatory so Mario can see outside, and baking a chocolate and pear cake, all being well. Oh, and not forgetting the leopard gecko, which I'm looking after for a friend, he desperately needs a clean out.
Other plans for today include planting the garlic (the ground has finally thawed!), tidying the conservatory so Mario can see outside, and baking a chocolate and pear cake, all being well. Oh, and not forgetting the leopard gecko, which I'm looking after for a friend, he desperately needs a clean out.
Friday, 24 December 2010
December update
Bottled the elderberry wine last weekend, had a taste - quite good! Added 1/4 cup of white sugar and
topped up with water to about 1 gallon. Didn't have to adjust the sharpness with the citric acid, as I think elderberries are quite sharp anyway. Added the oak maturation sachet, so wine should be ready in 2-3 weeks. Bottled with my new corking tool, which slightly depresses the cork at the top, making it a bit malformed, but seems to seal ok. Maybe we'll try a bottle on New Years Eve.
In November, I made a willow wall hanging from a kit for my grandmother. First time, and think it turned out ok!
And how about these for homemade Christmas tree decorations? Cute, hey?!
And I don't think I've made a bad effort on the presents either...
But I've saved the best til last! Today, a whole day early (because let's face it, it would have been cruel to box and wrap him!), I received my present from my OH. Mario!!!! 10 weeks old, incredibly playful and bold. The best present ever!!!
topped up with water to about 1 gallon. Didn't have to adjust the sharpness with the citric acid, as I think elderberries are quite sharp anyway. Added the oak maturation sachet, so wine should be ready in 2-3 weeks. Bottled with my new corking tool, which slightly depresses the cork at the top, making it a bit malformed, but seems to seal ok. Maybe we'll try a bottle on New Years Eve.
In November, I made a willow wall hanging from a kit for my grandmother. First time, and think it turned out ok!
And how about these for homemade Christmas tree decorations? Cute, hey?!
And I don't think I've made a bad effort on the presents either...
But I've saved the best til last! Today, a whole day early (because let's face it, it would have been cruel to box and wrap him!), I received my present from my OH. Mario!!!! 10 weeks old, incredibly playful and bold. The best present ever!!!
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Activities at the weekend
Bottled marrow rum - got a mouth-full when mouth syphoning, tastes quite good, but with an after-taste of foul rotting marrow. Mmmmm.
Made willow wall hanging for my grandmother - flowers, bullrush and curly willow, using kit from here. Pretty easy and the final look is very effective, particularly the bullrush.
Dried garlic- in preparation for making garlic oil later this week - an option for my Xmas pressie selection.
Bought some fantastic miniuature bottles for the oil and damson gin here - super quick delivery, and the bottles are absolutely perfect! Quite tempted by many other items on the site, and now regret my resistance and am longing for more. Another purchase may be required.... (so much for not spending much on Christmas presents, I 've spent loads, and a fair bit more on myself already!)
Also received my wine bottling equipment on Monday - bottles, corks and a corker, from here. So the elderberry wine can be bottled soon, although I'm not sure it's finished its fermentation yet, without possession of a hydrometer. That's on the Crimbo wish list!
Made willow wall hanging for my grandmother - flowers, bullrush and curly willow, using kit from here. Pretty easy and the final look is very effective, particularly the bullrush.
Dried garlic- in preparation for making garlic oil later this week - an option for my Xmas pressie selection.
Bought some fantastic miniuature bottles for the oil and damson gin here - super quick delivery, and the bottles are absolutely perfect! Quite tempted by many other items on the site, and now regret my resistance and am longing for more. Another purchase may be required.... (so much for not spending much on Christmas presents, I 've spent loads, and a fair bit more on myself already!)
Also received my wine bottling equipment on Monday - bottles, corks and a corker, from here. So the elderberry wine can be bottled soon, although I'm not sure it's finished its fermentation yet, without possession of a hydrometer. That's on the Crimbo wish list!
Monday, 18 October 2010
Piccalilli - illi - illi!
With the glut of courgettes, cucumbers and carrots coming to an end, I decided I would pickle the last few, especially those that had gone a bit bendy in the fridge since picking. I saw Pam the Jam make piccalilli on the latest Hugh F-W TV episode, and thought I'd give it a shot! We bought some silver-skinned pickled onions and a cauliflower to add some colour and extra flavour, then followed Pam's recipe. It's now packed into jars, and awaiting testing in 6 weeks time! :) Can't wait! If it's any good, I shall reserve some for Xmas pressies, because that's how lazy organised I am!
Friday, 17 September 2010
Elderberry Wine
On Sunday, we made elderberry wine, using elderberries from the garden (much loved by the chickens, but we're hoping the wine will make us love them too), and a hedgerow wine making kit like this one here.
It's now sitting in a demijohn on top of our fridge, making satisfying bubble noises every few seconds. Quite a chatter-box actually!
We sadly lost Big Bertha late last week. It seems silly, but these chooks have come to mean a lot to us, and we weren't really ready to say goodbye.
Rose is now top-bird, with the new chooks all doing as she says. But she's very gently about it, and hasn't unnecessarily bullied any of them yet. She's looked down these past few days, so we're not sure if she's just missing Bertha, or going the same way herself. She's over 3 yrs old now, which I think is quite good for an ex-batt. Anyway, she's hopefully enjoying the run of the garden and we know she's loving the elderberries, because it makes quite a mess of the hen house, if you know what I mean! :)
It's now sitting in a demijohn on top of our fridge, making satisfying bubble noises every few seconds. Quite a chatter-box actually!
We sadly lost Big Bertha late last week. It seems silly, but these chooks have come to mean a lot to us, and we weren't really ready to say goodbye.
Rose is now top-bird, with the new chooks all doing as she says. But she's very gently about it, and hasn't unnecessarily bullied any of them yet. She's looked down these past few days, so we're not sure if she's just missing Bertha, or going the same way herself. She's over 3 yrs old now, which I think is quite good for an ex-batt. Anyway, she's hopefully enjoying the run of the garden and we know she's loving the elderberries, because it makes quite a mess of the hen house, if you know what I mean! :)
Monday, 30 August 2010
How have you spent your bank holiday weekend?
I made Damson Gin!
3 kg damsons, wind-fallen, washed and pricked with a fork
1 kg sugar
2 litres gin
:)
I also put the marrow rum in a demi-john, to continue fermenting with a teaspoon of wine yeast. I squeezed as much liquid as possible from the marrow through the tights into the bowl, helping it on its way by poking some holes through with a fork. It had truly crumpled in on itself and had already leaked quite a lot of liquid. Then, having transferred the liquid to a demi-john with a funnel and sieve, I added about another half the volume in water after this photo. Only time will tell if this is even drinkable!! It certainly has an 'interesting' niff to it at the moment!
3 kg damsons, wind-fallen, washed and pricked with a fork
1 kg sugar
2 litres gin
:)
I also put the marrow rum in a demi-john, to continue fermenting with a teaspoon of wine yeast. I squeezed as much liquid as possible from the marrow through the tights into the bowl, helping it on its way by poking some holes through with a fork. It had truly crumpled in on itself and had already leaked quite a lot of liquid. Then, having transferred the liquid to a demi-john with a funnel and sieve, I added about another half the volume in water after this photo. Only time will tell if this is even drinkable!! It certainly has an 'interesting' niff to it at the moment!
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Allotment goodies
It may have been miserable weather the last couple of days, but it's been great for the allotment. Here's just a sample of the bucket load I picked up yesterday...
Friday, 20 August 2010
Eek!
Today was not a good day. It began with lots of furious itching(!) ... The chicken house has got red mites. LOTS of red mites.
I spent all day thinking about it, and reading other peoples accounts of how awful it is. So, I came home prepared. New mite spray, mite powder, rubber gloves, garden hose, disinfectant, overalls and wellies. Those mites don't have a chance of surviving now. I may be slightly damp and still a bit itchy in places, but I think we did a thorough job. The chooks didn't have a clue what the drama was about, but I'm hoping they'll have an easier nights sleep tonight, although it'll take a week or two to see if it's worked for sure.
On the plus side, decontaminating the two houses meant we had to let both the newbies and the oldies out in the garden together. And despite a little over-the-top domination from bully Bertha, the newbies seemed to cope OK, and a sort of calm did descend. We'll see if this continues over the weekend... Fingers crossed...
I spent all day thinking about it, and reading other peoples accounts of how awful it is. So, I came home prepared. New mite spray, mite powder, rubber gloves, garden hose, disinfectant, overalls and wellies. Those mites don't have a chance of surviving now. I may be slightly damp and still a bit itchy in places, but I think we did a thorough job. The chooks didn't have a clue what the drama was about, but I'm hoping they'll have an easier nights sleep tonight, although it'll take a week or two to see if it's worked for sure.On the plus side, decontaminating the two houses meant we had to let both the newbies and the oldies out in the garden together. And despite a little over-the-top domination from bully Bertha, the newbies seemed to cope OK, and a sort of calm did descend. We'll see if this continues over the weekend... Fingers crossed...
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Marrow Rum
So, never tried this before, but here's what I've done...
Take a large marrow (courgette) and chop the stalk end off, about 4 inches down. Burrow a hole in the body of the marrow, removing seeds but not the flesh.
Good tools for the job include:
With all the seeds removed, chuck in a good bit of freshly grated ginger (I used a piece the size of my thumb), a generous handful of raisins, and then pack to the brim with demerara sugar. I found as I packed in the sugar, it was already dissolving and sinking further into the marrow. When you still have a bit of space at the top, pour in the juice of one orange. Again, this'll make the level of sugar sink further in. Top up with sugar and keep packing until it feels like it won't take any more.
Replace the stalk end of the marrow on top, and tape together to hold in place.
Pull a stocking up over the whole thing and hang over a bowl. Word on the street is that the sugar dissolves and the marrow flesh ferments, eventually turning all liquidy and the skin will collapse in. This may take a few weeks. When it looks good to go, help the liquid escape by piercing a hole in the bottom of the marrow and collect in the bowl. Then transfer the liquid to a demijohn with a bubble trap and leave to ferment until no further bubbles come off. Then bottle up and leave for a year or two before drinking!! Not the quickest of drinks to make, but it's strong stuff and hopefully will be worth waiting for. I'm sure my work colleagues will be keen to try some asap...!
Watch this space! :)
Take a large marrow (courgette) and chop the stalk end off, about 4 inches down. Burrow a hole in the body of the marrow, removing seeds but not the flesh.
Good tools for the job include:
 |
| The tongs were a stroke of genius - you can reach right to the bottom and grab the seeds to remove them! |
With all the seeds removed, chuck in a good bit of freshly grated ginger (I used a piece the size of my thumb), a generous handful of raisins, and then pack to the brim with demerara sugar. I found as I packed in the sugar, it was already dissolving and sinking further into the marrow. When you still have a bit of space at the top, pour in the juice of one orange. Again, this'll make the level of sugar sink further in. Top up with sugar and keep packing until it feels like it won't take any more.
Replace the stalk end of the marrow on top, and tape together to hold in place.
Pull a stocking up over the whole thing and hang over a bowl. Word on the street is that the sugar dissolves and the marrow flesh ferments, eventually turning all liquidy and the skin will collapse in. This may take a few weeks. When it looks good to go, help the liquid escape by piercing a hole in the bottom of the marrow and collect in the bowl. Then transfer the liquid to a demijohn with a bubble trap and leave to ferment until no further bubbles come off. Then bottle up and leave for a year or two before drinking!! Not the quickest of drinks to make, but it's strong stuff and hopefully will be worth waiting for. I'm sure my work colleagues will be keen to try some asap...!
Watch this space! :)
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Birthdays, potato digging and marrow rum
Yesterday was my birthday. I had a busy day at work, but enjoyed my lunch break digging up potatoes on the company allotment. Yes, we have a company allotment! This is it's first year, and it's been brilliant! The potatoes we dug up had done pretty well - three Charlotte plants had produced a trug full, and three Rocket plants had some pretty chunky ones. Not bad at all.
Collecting the rest of the ready produce - broad beans, french beans, peas, courgettes, lettuces, onions and carrots - the discussion moved on to marrows. So far, we've avoided growing 'marrows' from the courgette plants, but one of the team said he had quite a few accidental marrows at home. Then came the suggestion of making marrow rum. This intrigued me, being a budding brewer in my spare time, with quite a bit of elderflower champagne stashed away for summer-time drinking this year. So I'm told, you take a marrow, scoop out the seeds, fill with brown sugar and leave to ferment and drip out the bottom.
So, today, when I came into work, I found a 'marrow' aka large courgette on my desk. Thanks, C. So, if I have time at the weekend, I'll be investigating the blogs for recommended recipes and get on with it.
Collecting the rest of the ready produce - broad beans, french beans, peas, courgettes, lettuces, onions and carrots - the discussion moved on to marrows. So far, we've avoided growing 'marrows' from the courgette plants, but one of the team said he had quite a few accidental marrows at home. Then came the suggestion of making marrow rum. This intrigued me, being a budding brewer in my spare time, with quite a bit of elderflower champagne stashed away for summer-time drinking this year. So I'm told, you take a marrow, scoop out the seeds, fill with brown sugar and leave to ferment and drip out the bottom.
So, today, when I came into work, I found a 'marrow' aka large courgette on my desk. Thanks, C. So, if I have time at the weekend, I'll be investigating the blogs for recommended recipes and get on with it.
Monday, 2 August 2010
The family has been extended!
We have SIX chickens!! :)
On Saturday, my OH picked up two more ex-battery hens. They're in fantastic condition, considering! We introduced them to the girls from the previous weekend, and after a few short squabbles, things settled down and they got on with the important things in life - eating, scratching, stretching, snoozing and eyeing up the garden beyond the run!
We've named them all too.
Introducing:
Fingers crossed they improve quickly now and we'll be able to let them roam the garden before summer is over...
On Saturday, my OH picked up two more ex-battery hens. They're in fantastic condition, considering! We introduced them to the girls from the previous weekend, and after a few short squabbles, things settled down and they got on with the important things in life - eating, scratching, stretching, snoozing and eyeing up the garden beyond the run!
We've named them all too.
Introducing:
 |
| Salisbury |
 |
| Jemima |
 |
| Woody |
 |
| and finally, Gwyneth |
Fingers crossed they improve quickly now and we'll be able to let them roam the garden before summer is over...
Miss Floppy Update
Well, sadly, Miss Floppy had to go to hen heaven, via the vets. They weren't particularly helpful is diagnosing what was wrong with her, but decided it was for the best. I like to think that even the few days she had with us was better than a lifetime as a battery caged hen followed by processing for dog food. She saw the sky and felt the wind. So close...
Thursday, 29 July 2010
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