Go Girls!

We made another trip to Little Hen rescue on Sunday and collected another 6 hens to add to our flock.

It would be good to say they all got on famously from the minute the new arrivals stepped out of their crates, but that wouldn't be the truth.  In fact poor old Brutus aged about twenty years in the first hour from running around stopping fights, rounding up the ones who were wandering off.  It was hard work, this I know because as Brutus was stopping one fight I was stopping another!

But I take my hat off to the boy, he knew what he was doing and did it very well, and very calmly until one of the new hens went under the trailer at which point he just gave up and walked back to the flock.  Mr Bumble helped to shift the reluctant hen from under the trailer and got a peck for his troubles.

Two days on and I just went out to lock the coop doors and all 10 hens and Brutus are crammed into one coop and very contented noises they were making too.

Egg production is up as well we have rocketed from 2 a day to 7 a day and very nice they are as well.

On the downside I have replanted my onions at least twice now, and in the case of the poor little onion closest to the hen houses, at least a dozen times!

Nanny Southwellski suggested that we introduce the dogs to the hens and I thought she was a little premature but I followed her instructions and the dogs have developed a very healthy and wise respect for the beak.  Mr Bumble has had a couple of pecks on the noggin and that was more than enough for him.  He now keeps out of reach.

The plot is taking shape very nicely now and a handful of corn scattered in the right place means I get the grass stripped up by the chooks leaving me to turn the soil over. The sunsets have been beautiful these last few days although a bit of rain, more than the few drops we had today, would be very welcome.

Our strawberries are in and under fleece cloches now, to keep the chooks away as much as protect them from the weather. Our potatoes are also in and the runner beans that didn't get frazzled are almost ready to go out.

I ordered the middle level fruit and nut trees for the forest garden at the weekend there are some good offers out there at the moment if you look for them.  I used D T Brown, I bought my hedging, strawberries and potatoes from them and was very pleased with the quality and prompt service they provided.

I also finished the deck at the front of the potting shed so that Coco and I don't have to tiptoe across the bearers anymore and it gives us somewhere dry to stand as well. While I was doing that Coco dismantled all of my neatly stacked pots and emptied my compost all over the floor, bless her!!!!  It looked like we had been burgled.

If the good weather holds it will be more digging tomorrow.

No rosettes today

We took Scarlett and Mr Bumble to a dog show at the showground near Norwich today.  Came away empty handed but met up with some familiar faces again so it was worth it. Before Coco came to stay with us we did about twenty or shows a year and travelled all over the country.

Last year we did maybe two or three shows, Coco's first show was at the Royal Norfolk Show in July last year and it was a scorcher of a day. We did quite well there with a first for Mr Bumble and a Third for Scarlett.  Now that Coco is a bit older we will be doing more shows this year, fuel prices allowing of course. 

Mr Bumble moved really well today for Nanny Southwellski and he looked a picture.  The judge seemed to prefer leggier dogs and the terrier group was won by an Irish Terrier, in fact in both Scarlett and Bumble's classes the littlies came in the last positions.  Scarlett looked lovely like she always does, but judges generally don't seem to like her very much.  Never mind we love her and are very proud of her.

An Orpington Cockerel

The Norfolk Poultry Club had their show at the showground today as well, so Coco and I had a little look in the building and boy what a racket! Coco was completely overwhelmed by the noise of whole plethora of cockerels all crowing at the same time.

I thought Brutus was a big lad but compared to some of the cockerels there today, like the Orpington (Left) he is a budgie!

We were surprised at how many entries there were in the show, it was packed with cages.  The website address for the club is www.norfolkpoultryclub.org.uk.

Our girls, with only enough feathers to make one decent hen between the lot of them, would have looked out of place there today but they were happily scratching about in the paddock when we got back and they laid two eggs today which seems to be the average for them at the moment so we don't care what they look like as long as they are happy.

We took some photos of Coco sitting in the apple tree in our garden it was meant to have been taken on her birthday but we just ran out of time and never got round to it but we will make sure we take it on the right day in future.

Just to put your mind at rest I was behind the tree with a handful of wooly trousers while Nanny Southwellski took the photo.

I love you.... says it all really

Never look a gift farmer in the mouth!

When Coco and I started work on the plot it seemed the right thing to dig it all by hand.  Uncle Robin, our farmer friend had offered to come and cultivate the plot with his tractor and cultivator.  It felt really good saying "No thanks, we'll dig it by hand".  What we should have said is "Please, please, please come and do it for us!" Ah well, lesson learnt. So today we have been digging the plot for the potatoes to go in.

Digging for Victory (Well potatoes actually!)

We had one plot already dug over and we planted our garlic and onions in there this afternoon.  While we were doing that Uncle Robin and Auntie Angela arrived for a visit, so while Nanny Southwellski and Auntie Angela chatted the three of us started digging the potato patch.

It wasn't too bad digging the plot, it had been covered by our caravan while we renovated the bungalow so all the grass had died off and the digging was easy(ish).

Less click click Nanny, more dig dig!

Coco did really well digging but got very tired and just watched for a little while from amongst the canes which mark the rows of onion sets and garlic.

Nanny Southwellski was busy taking photographs of the progress in the plot, (you can see these on Southwellski on Flickr) and Auntie Angela came and played with Coco they went went indoors to help Nanny  make some tea to have with hot cross buns.

Faster Auntie Angela!

On the way Coco and Auntie Angela took a little detour and they played on the swing for a while.

Uncle Robin and I kept digging until we had finished the potato patch and now all Coco and I have to do is take out the clumps of grass and rake it over.

The chooks were very good at scratching up the grass clumps on the onion/garlic patch so we hope they will do the same on the potato patch.

Stop thief!

We have been taking time to introduce the dogs to the chickens and today we brought Mr Bumble and Scarlett, our two Norwich Terriers, through into the garden.   

They have been through before but today we had more time to supervise them.

Mr Bumble is the leader in our dog pack and felt that he should now have the chooks under his 'wing', however when they first met Brutus had a quiet word and now you can see the mutual respect between them. Except when there is a stale crust of bread about.

Just another chook.

Scarlett is a regular visitor and we are sure she just thinks the chooks are dogs just like her.

Our other two terriers, Monty and Blossom are a different matter altogether, as they are both very highly strung we will take a lot more time to get them used to the chooks.


Blossom managed to clear the dog run fence on Thursday and get in with the chooks but I was able to stop her before any damage was done. In all honesty I was more concerned about what the chooks would do to her than the other way round.  The dog run fence is now doubled in height!

Our two old girls, both cross breeds and both 17 years old are almost oblivious to the chooks although we do keep an eye on Lou as she has previous for killing chickens.

Anyway back to the garden, we have planted 9 bulbs of garlic and about 50 onion sets this afternoon, 8" (20cm) apart in rows also 8" (20cm) apart.  The soil is really good and Coco and I are really pleased with how it has cultivated into a really nice crumbly soil.

We have a dog show tomorrow but when we get back its all hands to the potting shed to plant some more runner beans to replace the ones we lost last week. We also have some peas to get sown as well and as these are Coco's favorite veg they are high on our list of important jobs. Off to bed now, early start tomorrow.

Its been a while I know but....

Brutus!

Its been a busy couple of weeks, hence an abscence of news from the garden.

We have 5 new additions to our menagerie, 4 ex battery hens and a stunningly handsome Cockerel called Brutus, no other name seemed to fit.

The girls are settling in extremely well, although they seemed a little overwhelmed by the amount of space around them on the first day we got them home, but now, almost a week later they are happily exploring the paddock which is their new home.

They also seem to have got Brutus exactly where they want him, it's a cold night here in Hockwold and when I checked on them a little while back, all 5 were crammed in one of the nesting boxes in the hen house, and who was in the middle? Brutus.

Two of the girls

 The girls aren't looking their best just yet, these pictures were taken a few days ago, but already we are seeing a change in their confidence, and they also seem to be putting on a bit of weight.  They have given us 10 eggs so far and very lovely they are too.

They now follow Brutus around and its lovely to hear the gentle clucking coming from the hen house in the morning. Coco and I go and let them out first thing, fill up the feeders and put down fresh water.  

Coco has got the hang of throwing some corn down for them, that is now she has discovered its not that nice to eat it and it is in fact a bit hard to chew when you only have four teeth!

We got the Chooks, as Nanny Southwellski calls them, from Little Hen rescue, at Flordon near Norwich.  Their website is www.littlehenrescue.co.uk and even if you don't want hens you can find a whole wealth of info about chickens, and while you're there why not put your hand in your pocket and donate something or better still get some chooks!

This isn't our first experience of ex battery chickens, we had three a few years back, they came to us after our dog, Lou a Rottweiler cross, killed our two young hens we had only just acquired. She thought she would try and do the same to the three ex batts.  When she tried they cornered her, and we found her penned in tight against a fence and squealing like someone had beaten her. She never went near them again. Beanie, the leader, had real attitude and on more than one occassion fronted up to me. If she was human she would have carried a knife!

We hope the new chooks are as happy and live as long as Beanie, Irene and Ida.

One piece of advice though, and ignore it at your peril, if you have chooks, DO NOT GO NEAR THEM WEARING CROCS!

Anyhow, we are planning to start planting tomorrow on the garden, our onion sets will be going out, and we should finish the bed for the potato's, we did have a bit of a disater, our runner beans which have been living happily on the shelf in our potting shed protected from frost by the pariffin heater got scorched by the sun on the one really warm day we had last week and we have halved our plants.  Never mind we can plant some more.

Anyway enough for now, busy day tomorrow.

A day of rest? Says who?

Don't really know where today has gone, Great Little Nanny Mero came over today, we collected her at around noon. The curtain lady arrived and fitted our lounge curtains, and we did some shopping in Brandon. What's the relevance of all that I hear you ask, and a good question it is too.

Now, if you're expecting a profound and sage like answer, then prepare to be disappointed because I don't know.

I am sure though, that if young Coco could talk she would say that every visit with Great Little Nanny Mero is an experience, yep, have to agree with that, seeing hailstones for the first time was exciting too, mmm another agreeable statement although didn't think much of the one that went down my back brrrrrr, building compost castles in the potting shed with Mummy and I, another first, even for me.

Maybe I am looking at this whole life thing through the wrong set of eyes, if I look at everything as if I have only just seen it for the first time then it brings up a whole new exciting and forgiving world, every day!  Coco doesn't bear a grudge today because the Rich Tea biscuits ran out yesterday, (she has one for supper with warm milk) because someone ate them all.  No names but, Nanny Southwellski and Nicky Perkins you know who you are!!!!

Nope, no blame from Coco just excitement because she had something else.  In fact she had a fortune cookie, I know call me a bad Grandpa but she really enjoyed it and she had not long eaten a huge portion of Nanny Southwellski's Toad in the hole, minus toad!

Anyway to get to the chase, the fortune cookie had its little piece of paper in it and it read 'If you love and are loved back its like the sun shining on you from both sides'.

I look at my family, and realise that the sun is not only shining on me from both sides, but front, back, top, bottom and inside as well. How rich am I?

Anyway, we finished digging the first plot today and sowed our sunflower seeds, morning glory and sweetpeas in the potting shed as well, and a few minutes ago when I went over to turn the heater on in the potting shed I looked up at the stars and stood in wonder at how small and unimportant we really are.

Sky blue linen posts? oh and Forest Gardens.

That was what I thought when I opened the packages for the new linen posts, not new really, we've had them for about 5 months now.  Nanny Southwellski just couldn't settle on a final position for them.

Now when I say Sky Blue I mean SKY BLUE!! The same sort of blue you see in the sky over a Greek Island!

I had some concrete left over from the new path around the dog run and managed to get a decision from Nanny Southwellski and before you could say 'its a good drying day' the holes were dug, the post were in, uprighted and concreted!  Job done!

I only managed to get about half an hour on the garden today before it rained, bit of tidying up was all I achieved.  Coco had her friend Calypso over for a visit this afternoon so I had to do the work on my own.

I've been reading about Forest Gardens just lately in a book (Left) that Nanny Southwellski bought me, and the idea of having a productive woodland bit really appeals. When I say productive, I mean more than just fruit trees.

The basic idea, as I understand, it is to set up a stacking system where each layer of plants compliments and protects the layer below, so you have tall fruit trees over fruit bushes and dwarf varieties.  These in turn shelter herbs and veggies and finally root crops underneath all of them. By covering the soil with plants, it is protected and water loss and erosion are reduced.

Obviously there are certain plants which need plenty of light and these can be grown in clearings or as we are planning, in the veggie patch. We have decided that some of our plants such as the runner beans and strawberries will be split between the Forest Garden and the veggie patch.

We already have the woodland with well established fruit trees and a few soft fruit bushes dotted here and there which will be moved in due course to make it flow.

I particularly like the idea of nature taking a lead role in what happens and when for example as one plant finishes and dies back it feeds the next one coming through.  It being low maintenance also appeals, Nanny Southwellski will tell you I'm not brilliant at time management which is why all my posts are late in the evening.

A lovely day to be outside

It rained all day yesterday so we didn't actually manage to get outside, so Nanny Southwellski found us jobs to do indoors. Today was a completely different story with blue skies and sunshine although we didn't really get started until late in the day. You see Coco has new curtains and didn't wake up until 8.30 this morning, then there was breakfast, playtime, toast at 11.00 and then chores to do before lunch and then outside. 

Can I have a go too?

While Coco had her afternoon nap I prepared the new path around the dog run ready for concreting and put a hammock up near the apple tree.  When she woke up, Coco and I gave it a test run along with Blossom, one of our four terriers, she wasn't invited by the way. 

Mr Bumble, our Norwich Terrier just couldn't quite get onto the hammock with us.

You will remember the little bird we rescued, well he left us today and headed straight to the nearby hedge.  He wasn't flying as well as we would have liked but he found a gap and off he went so we reckon he thought he was ready.  We finally identified him as a Dunnock.

See, what you do Grandpa is......

We planted the rest of the privet hedging and started to prepare the beds for the strawberries, here you can see Coco giving them a very close examination in the potting shed.

If it stays dry tomorrow we should get the path concreted and the beds finished.

Great 'Little' Nanny Mero bought us a very special packet of seeds which we are going to plant in our 'Forest Garden'.  They are 'Forget-Me-Nots', to help remind us of Great 'Little' Nanny although everyone who knows her will tell you she will never ever be forgotten!  We all love you 'Little Nanny'.