Wordless Wednesday - Bum feathers returned.

Omlet netting, far too easy to put up. Never listen to a hen.

Extended hen run with omlet netting.

Well, as we've had nearly 600 page views yesterday, I'm assured whilst few comments land, someone [other than me and my mum] is reading, so here's yesterdays' installment of garden antics. Its very chicken focussed, as I've hardly anything left to chop down. So we extended the chicken run. I'd been thinking of letting them move into the next area for a while. But they are a tad impatient to get on with it.

So, yesterday, they, those pesky chooks, took over the second quarter of the veg patch. Quite spectacularly, in less than half an hour, they staged a break out.  I fear it was actually planned that way, chickens are sneaky.

Omlet* chicken netting, quick and easy to assemble.

Dear hearts I fear, I was, however, a bit more than an accomplice to their chicken will. Persuasive things chickens. They made me buy them this, on the premise that I'm shockingly bad at instructions, I agreed. [It would never make it up, my skills with instructions are, lets say, limited.] However I gave it a go. They'll have less internet shopping privileges in future. Let me tell you.

Omlet net laid out. It came with pretty red ribbons too. Aww.

They even sent in 'Greta' to supervise. The instructions were not in Swedish, but she was very helpful nevertheless.

Omlet fencing gate post. 

Of course they watched too, voyeurs these chooks are. Watching my every calamity experiment in the garden. [NB other brands of mobile netting with suitable silly egg-tastic names are available too.] THEY thought this one was funny given how many eggs I've dropped/they've stood on.

Tracey Island

They wanted to invade Tracey Island. Home to the thunder birds and various slugs. A rowan acts as HQ for the slug master 'Dr Slime'. Inbetween here and their 'old home' is the second quarter of the veg patch. So really, they told me, by linking them up to clear both, they'd be doing me a favour. Hard to actually argue with a chickens logic.

Fun stuff for chooks to allow slugs to hide under. Cunning eh.

They also asked for 'fun stuff' which I'm sure is code for climbing and escaping material. So I left them some logs and various things to 'climb and perch on'. I have to say ex-commercial farm rescue chickens seem to have many opinons. Maybe its the close quarters they lived in before, too much chat, not enough action.

Scheming hens.

They also demanded a chair, ropes and scissors. Now, we all know not to give hens scissors they get unbalanced using them. [Or rope, for obvious reasons, they do a lot of knitting, its just not suitable, but they never listen, although I've told them they might enjoy macrame.] I gave in and left the old chair. I'm sure they'll be using it soon for an escape launch pad.

Then they demanded a drink, don't be surprised to hear Scots hens don't drink just water. They're gin lovers** pure and simple. Given how enraged they get without any, I gave in.  Of course they don't drink whisky, that's for dragons and ducks.

By the time I'd got it up and finished due to FAR TOO EASY instructions. [Curses]. Haggis turned up to see how easy it was to get at the chooks grub (and gin, he loves gin). Not easy at all if its put up right and thanks to stupidly easy instructions, it was up in less than 15 minutes. Blast.

Happy lasses in their new extended run.

They seem pretty pleased with themselves. Tracey Island invaded. So they demanded an audience with the master, Dr Slime. I couldn't refuse. Seven hungry chickens can be very persuasive.

So that's the next phase of the chickens taking over the garden. They've cleared the first quarter of the veg patch in record time, scoffed a goodly amount of slugs, so it only seemed fair. Less grass to mow, more for them to eat.

Dr Slime's companions have been seen retreating to the Grey Shed looking for a Fushia to hide under.

Next time slugs, next time. [We will eradicate you in a kind and natural fashion, unless you leave the premises.]

Of course the hens were happy with their new home. They left me a present to say thanks on the roof peak. Cheers lasses.

Egg production peaking? Who said chickens can't climb? Buggers the lot of them.

These hens came from Wing and a Prayer rescue in Central Scotland.  British Hen Welfare Trust has more information on rehoming birds for other areas of the UK. Have a think if you can. For Scarlet and all the others who are 'let go' very early in their laying careers.

Scarlet, rescue hen, happily rehomed. Feathers returning day by day.

*no posts on here are sponsored, my opinions are entirley my own and there's no advertising. Just gud stuff, I did my research. Other brands are available.
**no hens were fed gin or cairns either in this household. Twas just a jest before you get me in bother. We all know they prefer tequila in the summer.

The dance of the raspberry

The McFlowers Wedding Pavlova - Photo by the lovely Robyn

Why a dance? Well why not. I've been thinking muchly these few days about raspberries. They often enter my thoughts as a fresh fruit and particularly a raspberry pavlova is one of the few things that will get me all weak at the knees. In fact as you can see, we had a huge 16 egg one for our wedding cake, with eggs donated from a local friends hens and of course, raspberries.  For a decent pavlova you require decent eggs and decent raspberries. Indecent fruit or eggs will just not do, believe me I know a thing or two about these type of things, shady past that I've had. But decent ones perform better and a decent recipe never goes amiss so here's our 'family' one here, complete with secret ingredients.

Its approximately a month until we up sticks and head 'doon sooth' to Fife. Whilst that's sad in some ways in others, like decent eggs, its exciting. Why the eggs adding to the excitement? Well as much as I often visit the 'ladies' we've rehomed, I miss having chooks. They are the ultimate in 'garden pets' I think, most perfect household recycling machines and I am looking forward to having some again once we're moved. The garden I have always thought, should be a productive place, so that's the remit for the 'under offer' garden we're currently pursuing.

The other thing that's making me dance is the idea of a productive edible garden, my plants are forced to work hard for me and I reward them by scoffing them. Not much in it for them really, aside a happy well tended (short) life and a psychotic hungry gardener to hide from. Raspberries will form a good first attack contingent of this, so therefore, some dancing, Polka's or otherwise never goes a miss. People rain dance, I raspberry dance. And as my birthday looms, the children (trained well) ask for requests as they know I like a good fuss, and fussing soon it will be time for April is the best month for birthdays. So they ask what I want - the manchild has been 'selected' as their joint spokesperson for the birthday negotiation.

'Fruit' I say.

'Fruit you say mither dear ' - [Pauses] 'hmm, rasps, first of course - you're thinking pav?'

'Yes I am! Those will do nicely love'.

'Autumn fruiting or a mixture' - he ponders.

'Autumn I think love, thanks all the same but I'm a lazy type'.

'Never said a word' he quips, 'Lets just call you 'efficient''.

You've got to love a young man who not only knows what would be the first fruit of choice for a new productive garden guided by first pudding of choice. And, he also knows his raspberries, he's been well versed (brainwashed) and autumn fruiting types, who rather helpfully fruit on 'primocane' the newly grown stems**of this season, so don't need much in the way of staking or tying. Once established they need little management and if you're canny will crop from the old wood early prior to the 'proper crop' in late summer. Two crops, one season, no faffing, that will do nicely.  I've read alot of good things lately about 'Polka' (both a raspberry and a dance), the first, parented by my favourite 'Autumn Bliss' said to be a heavy cropper and very disease resistant with a good flavour. 

So dear reader we will be doing the dance of the raspberry thanks to my children. I may keep them a while yet, as long as the fruit keeps coming. In return I just grow the fruit, feed the (future) hens and maybe ask my son nicely to help make the first pavlova of the new kitchen. He's just mastered his aunty Claire's (tame family chef) recipe and he's rather good at it. Clever chap on all counts. Teaching your kids to cook (anything) makes for a life long love of food.

**main crop raspberries fruit on 2nd year growth so require more help by staking and pruning to get a good crop. They're fun but not in my opinion as easy for the lazy gardener like myself, so I buy autumn fruiting types and save myself a bit of work.

After all that means more time eating pavlova and, we'll need an 'anniversary pavlova' this year, so making it with our very own rasps and eggs is a must in the new garden. Just saying.

[As I'm dragging myself into the 21st century I've just created a Wind and Wellies facebook page - I wonder if you'll be so wonderful as to pop over and join me?]

I'm giving up gardening, becoming a plant detective

OK, its dreich today, grey and 'up and down rain' (i.e. the kind that falls straight to the ground and not our usual 'Ninja rain' which hits you in the face from a sideways angle at 70mph, sideways rain is NOT your friend). Anyway dreich I can cope with its a HUGE improvement on the weather over the past 4 days. A peedie bit windy, look its knocked me over - I'm windswept (a normal look for me) - the local radio had to update things via Facebook as their transmitter was hit by lightening I think, far too windy to hear information properly never mind take anything in properly. I'll let them fill you in.......

'A maximum gust of 130mph was recorded at the wind turbines at Hammars Hill at 6 am on Sunday morning. The highest average windspeed was slightly earlier, and reached 83mph. These windspeeds are equivalent to a Category 1 Hurricane, and are a new record for the site. The previous record was in February this year when winds reached 120mph. The highest 'official' gust last night (recorded near ground level) was 80mph. A breezy old night! Thanks to Richard Gauld of Orkney Sustainable Energy Ltd for the Hammars Hill info.' {thank you Radio Orkney}

OK, during this weather I've decided two things. I'm not cut out for extreme gardening. I think I might give it up and take up far less dangerous like base jumping, down hill moutain biking or alpine ridge skiing or perhaps orienteering without a map.  The latter hobby might come in handy when locating vegetables in the garden from the vegetable patch, as the wind decides where the vegetables will end up. Orienteering skills I feel might be handy here, maybe that should be my new hobby now that I've give up gardening?

For example yesterday - still windy but only gusting at a mere 50mph - I went to survey the damage (can't see out the windows due to the salt mines which are deposited on there so I can't exactly 'see' the garden through glass at the moment.) As I walked through the garden gate at the opposite end of the garden I find the very bonny leaves of my lovely hybrid 'fully hardy' flower sprout - think it  was 'Petit posy'? Anyway, it appeared to take flight here and in my mind, NOT Orkney hardy. But clearly likes to fly and is a good candidate for vegetable orienteering adventures. Another keen hobby I might take up is guess what this use to be............

I think it might have been a winter vegetable garden - but until I've mined my way through the layers of fencing, bits of wood and pathways strewn about the rich brown earth (which now resembles the wind blasted surface of the moon), who can say. 

I'm also going to be a plant pathologist I think, not the kind who look at bugs and diseases, although that would be fun, I think I'll be the kind of plant pathologist or detective who turns up like Inspector Cleuso or the Pink Panther and identifies plants after they've been absurdly abused by the weather or folk who don't look after them. I'd be good at that - looking at a withered stalk and saying 'OK its from the Rosaceae, hmmm, maybe been subjected to 70mph winds, yes of course its ladies mantle.' Maybe wind tunnel experts need my kind of assistance........? I think I'd make a great career at that. 'That plant use to be.............Alchemilla mollis' 

 Hmm, now in this particular 'crime' scene - these plants use to be hardy kale, hardy parsley, leeks, and winter cabbage.

Hmm, now this one a bit trickier - hmmmmm by the looks of it, it use to be a vegetable garden with HARDY kale, HARDY cabbage, winter lettuce (OK I was chancing my luck with that, I hadn't pulled them out yet), winter HARDY cabbage and WINTER leeks (they were the experiment, can they actually survive, I'd pulled the others after a bad gale in September). I'm afraid most of them have had it. You see, I am good at this. I can identify dead and shredded about to be dead vegetables. Its quite an art, I can tell you. However to be fair, I'm quite chuffed, half the fence is still there - which I didn't expect and is a bonus and whilst the wooden path has blown up, it didn't leave the garden, which is also a bonus - a real positive result I think, the gardens actually still there - well most of it, I have lost half the net fence. (I'll add this part of the garden is the most sheltered, surrounded on two sides with a hedge and the other by the house). 

I really do think I might give up outdoor (in my garden) gardening. A nice lawn that's what I need, no silly plants and grass kept nice and short to keep the wind at bay.  Another thing I've decided is that chickens are hardier than I am and far more hardy than so called 'HARDY WINTER VEGETABLE GARDEN'. During all the gales and the ninja rain, they wandered about and stood under the tree.

They are either very hardy and brave, or utterly stupid. I'll leave you to decide that - and don't feel sorry for them huddled under a tree, they have a perfectly bonny, dry, cosy, lovely stone byre to live in full of straw, lovely nesting boxes and ample floor space to play twister if they want too - they prefer huddling under a tree or wandering around the field/yard in hurricane force winds looking for tasty delights. Hardy outdoor free range, Orkney chooks. I am not a hardy Orkney chook, I've giving up the great outdoors for good, or maybe just for a while or I might lie down in it and never get up - now there, a fine plan!

I'm seriously rethinking the garden I may move the whole thing under a polytunnel and read books on the perfect lawn. Did I mention I use hate grass? Oh well, I might change my mind. In the mean time I'm huddled with books on 'pick your new hobby' and tucking into bread and cheese (I don't like cake, or chocolate, bread is my comfort solace food) as I console myself that gardening just isn't for me. NOT in this garden.

More bread please, I'm in mourning.

Its a sair fecht, on the Orkney good-life 'croft'

OK, its not really much of a sair fecht here and its not really a croft, but I do love that scottish phrase. I can't complain today, windy, yes but not raining sideways. However, maurading chookies in the stripey household first thing, isn't really what I'd expected to see when I ambled through to the utility room of doom (its very big which equals very messy). I should have known of course the chooks were lonely - needing company and wanted to pop in for a cuppa - however, their 'gate' was closed - so I was a bit perplexed as to why they were out, or rather IN the utility room.............waiting for breakfast maybe?

Peedie, the guard dog extraordiare, looked on unsympathetically. He reckons the chickens get more food than him, so if there are chickens around, he's not too bothered, it might mean a bit of extra nosh for him........

OK, having told the chickens to get out - and believe me they are intelligent, they now know the command, 'out' and finger pointing towards the door, appears to work with them, I've had plenty of practise...........The gate was closed - but a rung had fallen out........providing a handy 'chicken flap' to the world outside.

Now, who else would lead but Karyn the chook, she doesen't even look bothered does she - this chicken has adventuring blood in her, I think.

Now, when I say gate, I mean recycled gate, made from an old pallet, cut to fit the gap, the gap made cunningly big enough for a wheelbarrow to go through, but only just. The hen coop is largely fashioned out of recycled 'stuff' we find lying around here, or readily available in Orkney. Pallets are readily available, old fencing stabs (posts) are often kicking about, hen wire we bought, but you often see it on local freecycle and of course trusty baler twine (agricultural string) is put to many a good use in most households in the countryside. Here I used baler twine as a temporary gate hinge, um, over a year ago, it worked very well - baler twine rocks!

The gate clearly needs a bit of attention................to keep the mauraders at bay. I don't mind them being free range during the day, I'd rather they didn't come in for brekkie and they do wreck areas by the house if they are left to thier own devices - the dig stuff up - like the edge of the house bed with the ladies mantle newly planted in it last week.....................

Nothing else for it then, out with the hammer and the nails (in a trusty recycled tin can, excellent for holding stuff like this in)..........................now whilst Mr Flowers is currenty newly arrived back from his travels, DIY really isn't his thing, neither is gardening or many 'croft' like activities, he has his own interests and talents which I appreciate him for and thankfully I love this kind of work, so we make a happy pair, each doing what we love.

Once the rung was fixed, I thought about it and found a bit of an offcut of chicken wire, 'just in case' and made the 'gate' even more secure.

Ta, da, a new gate for the chookies - I love the practical side of having a go at good lifing - using recycled materials is grand but it does make you think - OK I need a gate, what can I make it from........a pallet makes a brilliant gate. Now as I work away, you'd think the maurders would be off exploring - um no, they took time to watch me from their coop, under the elder tree as if butter wouldn't melt in thier little beaks. Irony of taking off the gate, they prefer to stay in there...........I'll never understand the workings of a chickens mind.

Whilst I'm out there being all things in chicken management and diy - I decided to clear out their beds too, which are in the shed through the window - which is hidden by the tree in their coop.

 Each week they get a full maid service - cleaned out nest boxes and each one rebedded by straw.

In the summer its not too dirty, in the winter it can be worse - but they get this spread out in their outside coop - one clean out will cover about half the area outside, not that I get a look in to spread it out, the minute it goes in there - they love it start squaking and scratching around in it - maybe they think there is buried treasure with it all?

I think chicken keeping is getting very much more fashionable and rightly so. However, if I was starting up I'd be a bit daunted by the expense of a coop and houses for them etc. However, if you are willing to give a bit of lateral thinking a go, keeping hens doesn't need to be very expensive and you can make alot of what they need for next to nothing. Living out here - we did look at a fancy house for them, the cost to get one here was as great as the house for them - so we put our thinking caps on and make alot of their kit from recycled stuff we had here...............in the byre its the same, all the hen beds/nests are free and recycled  - we've one old rabbit hutch converted to a hen roost/nesting box.......

One old cheese/meat store from our old house, which we were given, painted for outdoor use, currently indoors in the byre.............

In between these two is an old TV stand on its side (are you still with me?) and the straw is tucked into it - again free, we found this in a shed..................

 An old drawer is an excellent nesting box......................

 And an old wooden wine box........................

 And an old crate...............luxurious recycled beds for some very well pampered hens...............

 An old pallet and an old bedstead allow the chickens to get out into their coop, or into their beds - they tend to sleep in the tree at the moment, hens are naturally woodland birds, so nesting in the tree is second nature to them.....

 I love the view out of that window, through the tree - the only one here at our homestead..........

The byre also holds the bale of straw we got for free from work, being old and mangled, it was free if we could pick it up, so we picked it up, amazing what you can fit in a transit van when you need to!

 Of course give hens a comfy few houses and beds and stuff - and without doubt - they'll clamber up like acrobats and lay eggs on the bale - I'll never fathom chickens!

 Pretty lovely eggs though, seven today - these hens have laid all year, and through the winter, every day. Worth a bit of work I think, to keep them happy!

Time for lunch.....................not eggs today, these are earmarked for a pal, I sell my eggs at £1 for each half dozen, the money from the ones we sell pays for the extra hen food we buy each month. Extra bought in hen food costs £8 a bag - which lasts my ten hens about 2 weeks they don't need extra food being free range, but I do like to make sure they get their minerals, keep them healthy for all those adventures!

Its not really a 'sair fecht the croft'! Its really quite fun, baler twine, pallets, straw and recycled boxes just add to the variety!