July 2010
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I lost two chickens within a week of each other. Harriet was sudden, possible heat stroke. Little Miss (posting her pic was very late, I was too upset) has had numerous problems, and another came up. We decided to have her put to sleep. That was the most heartbreaking, as I was holding her when she was injected and took her final breath. It was really hard.
Three more chickens moved in, they were...
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June 2010
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No photos this time, but an update. Yesterday I harvested my first new potatoes, some baby carrots whilst thinning them (they were perfect!), and a few peas (eaten right there at the plant, hehe). I’ve also been eating my own strawberries for about a week, and today I’ve brought home some “Devil’s Tongue” lettuce, and some baby beets.
The elderflower cordial is all...
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May 2010
8 posts
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May brings the feeling of summer, and the hopes of bumper crops. But as always, May can be deceptive. Around these areas frost isn’t unheard of in May or even June, meaning we have to be careful what gets planted out, and a careful watch of overnight temperatures to know if tender plants need covering with fleece.
As it stands, I’ve only planted out peas, onions, and early potatoes so...
April 2010
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Off to the vet with one of the hens… =(
March 2010
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I pulled a muscle or something at the base of my shoulder blade which hurts like hell, so gardening and building is postponed. Breathing hurts. Reaching hurts. And how’d I do this? By laying on the sofa and sneezing. Yep, you heard right. Sneezing.
Last night a Windows 7 update screwed my computer over so bad that I had to reinstall, and no chance at all to backup anything. There was...
March = Busy!!!
I’ve collected a lot of scrap wood to start walling the secure chicken run, and yesterday spent a whole day sawing and treating the wood. Tomorrow I’ll start screwing or nailing it in place. I don’t know yet if I’ll nail or screw; I don’t have a cordless drill driver, and it’s a heck of a lot of screwing to do by hand. But, if nailing...
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Today was glorious! I desperately hope that today is the start of spring around here. I made use of the mild weather to gather up and treat wood to build solid walls for the chooks. I even took my hat off! There were so many people at the allotments, the sunshine and warmth seem like such a rare thing to us pale-skinned english, that as soon as there’s a glimpse we’re outside, hats...
February 2010
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I’ve decided to make or buy a shed-type structure for the chickens. All this wet weather means that they’re hopping out of their coop into puddles of water… and although they don’t seem to mind the wet weather at all, *I* do. I mind that such a wet ground makes it impossible to sweep out, which means it smells. Nothing else will work. I’ve already given them a roof...
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Just woke up to a blanket of white again this morning, and it’s still falling. Thinking that the city was going to warm up was just silly.
I’m heading out to work in a National Trust garden in a few hours… the property has award winning snowdrops, but I hope we’re working in the greenhouses or forest today.
Scrap that. Just recieved a call saying there won’t be...
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I’m browsing through tumblr. reading at other peoples gardening posts. A common theme at the moment is SNOW! We’re all watching our thermometers and scooping up handfuls of soil to see if maybe a little love will encourage the sping to come soon…
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