Just a little flower arranging.

 I've done a little bit of flower arranging - a design for my garden room.

 Inspired by an ornamental cage using bear grass, garden foliage and bought flowers.

 There were some flowers left over.....

So with different garden foliage I created different designs.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed messing around with a few flowers.

I mustn't leave it so long again!

It would have been my mother's birthday today - she would have been 94 had she lived.
She passed away 48 years ago - I often wonder what she would have been like.
In a nice warm way - not a sad way.
Happy Birthday Mum

Chooks 'fix'

Well  you have told me how much you like to see my flock of rare breed chooks - so I thought I'd give you this week's update.

Caught in the act of eating my hosta plants along the wall of the conservatory.  It's the first year that they have ever done that - and now they have 'acquired' a taste for them!

 Last week one of the girls laid a 'soft shell' egg - or a lash as it's often called.  It's a perfectly formed egg within the membrane  - but without the shell.

It happens once in a while, usually when a chook starts to lay at the beginning of the season, or is coming to the end of her laying period before a moult.

Just a snip of the egg sac - and  hey presto - a perfectly formed egg - delicious.

 And talking of eggs.......I had a surplus of 54 despite giving some away.

 So I beat up six at a time, and popped them into bags.

Then they went into the freezer for use when the chooks stop laying over the winter.

One bag is perfect for a cake mixture, or omlette - and lots of other lovely recipes.

I decided to move the chooks onto the lawn for a couple of weeks to do a bit of weed and feed.
They did such an excellent job of it last  year.
Now that the  hosepipe ban  has been lifted I can pressure wash the paving slabs too.

 7am breakfast roll call

Maudie and Zola buddy bantam

And all the rest!

 Cute aren't they.

2012 Allotment Diary - Me: 48 hrs He: 45.hrs 2012...

 Thank you for all your messages whilst I have been 'off air'.  I haven't been able to work up the allotment, and decided what little I posted was just too boring for words - so I intended just to makes notes for myself and keep the blog off line.  But you have persuaded me to return - I hadn't realised that so many folks actually read this.

We have had torrential since my last post, the plots have been so sodden and flooded in places, and the ground was just not workable.

The grass grew long, the weeds returned with a vengeance - I was so downhearted that I didn't even bother to take 'before' photos these past few weeks or even today before we started.

 It was cold and windy, but I desperately wanted to make the most of a 'dry' cloudy day.  Mr Lottie mowed the paths on the highest setting on the mower as the grass was so high - even higher than it had been over the winter months.  The veggie beds above were the 'neatest' out of the whole plot and full of weeds even though they were weed free a few weeks ago.

 Mr. L. did the end bit - all annuals so easy to get out, and the strip behind him which runs along the path.

I tackled this side, which was totally covered in weeds - so much so that  you couldn't see where the plastic area is now.  It looks a mess, I know, but I've kept it covered up to keep it warm and hopefully weed free, until I can fill it with squash plants in a couple of weeks time. when and if we get sunshine and it warms up a bit.

 Mr L had a little visitor.  He says it's a lizard but I think that it's a newt.  Now that does show you how wet it is up there as there are not any ponds on the plots!

 I weeded between the broad beans and as they'd been blown over by the high winds, I put some stakes in and 'fenced' them in to keep them vertical.

 I have got rolls of this ribbon from my flower arranging days - it's that strong papery type and just perfect for supporting so many things.

 This year, as I am old and decrepit and it's harder and harder for me to keep the plot going, I have decided to cut down on the crops I sow.  Instead of rows of climbing beans - enough to last us for a year or more when frozen - I have just one row.  I bought netting - 5'6" x 13'.  It was a nightmare to put up - all tangled and really difficult to do.  Mr L was all for throwing it in the bin, but I am quite patient and did it in the end.  I've added some canes for strength, but it looks fine. 

Because I had been doing do much work on this bed,(before photo above) it was easy to weed it, and rake it - it looks nice now with the climbing beans in it.

 Look at the pile of long grass though from around the edges! 

There is a nice crop of potatoes growing in the spare compost bin - I left some well rotted manure in the bottom and they are romping away.

After almost five hours each we were worn out - and dragged our weary selves home.

Aching from head to toe now, but revitalised after a hot shower and nice lunch of Salmon Shanties, a spicy veggie mix courtesy of my freezer stash of frozen mixes of last summers crops, and new potatoes - yummy.

I think I'll just chill out for the rest of the afternoon what's left of it!

I have given up keeping a running total of the chooks eggs - too many of them.  They were laying 6 eggs a day, but this past week it has dwindled to 4 or sometimes 3.  I think that this dreadful weather is even getting to them too!

Please excuse any typing errors - I am so worn out that I don't have the energy to check this!

6 more eggs
stalls in market
bought 8 climbing beans - scarlet emperor
3 bronze chysanths
1 butternut squash
rubeckia
german cabbage
marmalade

2012 Allotment Diary - Me: 41 hrs He: 36.5hrs 2012 Eggs: 303

Monday (yesterday) was so hot hot hot.  Lipreading in the morning, then in the afternoon I mowed the back lawns - twice.  The battery doesn't last for me to do it all in one go, so I had to finish it off today after spending three hours up the allotment.

 You wouldn't think that it would take that long would you - but we had to weed the beds again.

You wouldn't believe the amount of weeds had grown again, even after we had painstakingly dug them out before we put the wood chips down.  I did pick another big bunch of rhubarb though.   Shane phoned on Monday to say that he had mowed my paths for me - but they don't look any different to us, - except in one place some wood chips had been scattered - there aren't nice lines like there was.

The chickens are laying half a dozen eggs a day on average, sometimes more.  I am still leaving some out for Karen the post lady - although she didn't see my sign today as we didn't get any post.

I was absolutely shattered when I came back from the lottie - so we just had salmon shanties for lunch - Pat with chips and me with salad.

I am still getting up around 7am and doing a village walk and  getting the papers.  My muscles ache but it's worth it.

Here are some photos of the garden today.

This  bed is looking really lovely, but because of the bright sunshine you can't see the depth of the colours.

 This lupin has really gone 'mad' with all the rain we had and is loaded with lovely pink flowers - not quite out yet

 The lawns are looking green and lush and the trees and shrubs are getting lovely leaves.

 The strawberry plants are overflowing their beds

 I am so looking forward to getting the fruit - there are so many flowers on them.

I have three beds full and am hoping that they don't all ripen when we are away

 This afternoon I finished off the mowing - even though I was shattered, but it's worth it as I am really pleased how it looks

 The back of the raised beds look nice too!

 

There are nice flowers in the gravel

 I dug over some of the flower beds too in the woodland area.

 Dug over and weeded these raised beds at then end of the fruit cage

 The woodland bed is really coming into it's 'own' now

 And the shrubs are bursting into life - so too all the flowers

 I gave it a big overhall and pruned lots of shrubs in it at the end of last year, and of course we added the railway sleepers which came from the bed where the garden room is now.

 The remainder of the sleepers I used for the bed you can see in the background

 I ache for England - but I sure am happy with the way the garden is progressing

 My mixed leaf salad bed is at last beginning to mature

 And there are lots of seedlings appearing too.

Even the beds at the corners are looking nice and neat now that the chickens are unable to get to the gravel

That's it for today - off to geat my tea - cooked mixed fruit salad.

Come and get the Sunday papers with me.

My allotment blog gets rather boring for those who visit, as it's really just a record for me - so I thought I'd take my camera with me this morning on my circular walk around the village on the way to get the Sunday papers for Mr Lottie, and Mr and Mrs Neighbours.

As the weather has been exceedingly hot and dry here in the East, I've been doing my gardening in the evening and going out for my daily walk at 7am when the sun is not too hot.  I only do an hour so am back home in time for breakfast.

 Someone was walking their dog through a tiny alleyway that I love so I couldn't get a photo as it's a one person wide footpath, but out onto the main road leading to the city of Norwich (eventually)  I briskly walk with the milky sunshine on the deserted road.  No a soul in sight!

 

Past my friend's cottage - Mr Thetford - the gardener and plantsman - there are lots for sale.  I bought Mary, my lemon millefleur Sablepoot bantam from him, together with Dolly  the dopey Silkie.

 Not far from him is this alley with just a narrow path worn away through the grass.  Right at the very top where you get a glimpse of the sky in this photo are the allotments - so off I go to take a look.   At the gates a car had driven up, so I opened them for him - he was very grateful, as it's a bit of a palaver getting out your car - opening and securing the gates, getting back in and driving through, then doing the reverse, them driving up the lane, and doing the same with the gates to the actual allotment field

It's the first time that I have seen anyone up there so early!  I took some photos of my plot then headed back down towards the village centre on another route

 

Past the village school - eerily quiet on an early Sunday morning.

 

Onwards past the village surgery.

And right up to the end of the road.

 I thought I'd share some photos of the houses I pass most days.

 I have always loved these pair of cottages - many years ago they were one house

In the white alcove above the doors in the middle is a white statue.   It's not showing up today because of the sunshine and it's been newly painted

 We have a number of churches in the village catering for all denominations - I love this little old modest church tucked away - and can just imagine villagers a hundred years or so ago, walking along the lane dressed in their best for Sunday service

 I took some photos of some of my favourtie Dickensian style old houses along here - but the sun was on the camera so they don't show the houses to their best, so will take some more at a later date

Tally alley which meanders behind and between the grand houses, the pub, and old houses, now shops, in the heart of the village  which eventuallyleads to

the Candlemaker's Cottage which you can see on the right hand side which is now a little  house.

As this is a bit photo heavy, I'd best leave the rest of my walk home for another day.

by 8.30am I was back home in the garden room with all the windows and doors open - eating my breakfast with Mr Lottie and reading the Sunday papers.  The only sound was that of birds, and softly 'clucking' chickens content after eating theirs.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone