Eggs & more eggs

It is now over 2 months since we had our chickens and I never realised how many eggs we would have !We have had over 100 eggs of which 4 have been double yolks.

We were told when they came to us that it could take a few weeks before they settled down and started laying . Low and behold we had our first egg after 5 days.

Hen fever

 They have taken over! I live breath and think chickens.

I would never have thought 2 months ago that things would have changed in my priorities so much.

The three girls and I  have become confident between us and they know exactly when I’m due home from work I am sure as they are waiting to be let out from their walk in run to forrage around in the garden as they wish.Their eggs have got bigger , the smallest chicken poppy , her eggs were the smallest at first at about 48 grams they are now on average 56 grams.I must be doing something right as this is a great learning curve.

Photo time I reckon, so here goes

Florrie being a poser

Florrie again with Clover otherwise known as madam.

A small leap , Poppy on the kitchen windowsill using a box as a springboard.

The chicken venture

It is a few weeks since I have written on here , as chickens have taken over my life. We have 3 chickens which have settled in beautifully.There are 2 Ginger rangers and 1 Miss Pepperpot. I thought perhaps they would take a time to settle in but they have made their pen and coup a home from home.

I have never had a pet in my life but after growing our own vegetables and trying to live a “good life” chickens seemed the next step.It was after a few glasses of wine one Sunday evening that my husband said “If we don’t do it now we never know if we could have “…Before I knew what had happened I had ordered a coup.

Strawberries at last .

It is the strawberry season at last , the weather has been so hot the last couple of months here in the south of England that the strawberries are at least a month early. They are huge possibly the best I have ever grown.Tomorrow is the first of the pickings for me. I just can’t wait …A tub of cream awaits in the fridge !I have been to the allotment every morning really early to water everything as we have had hardly any rain at all. We really need it but  there does not seem any sign at the moment.Tomorrow is the first of the pickings for me. I just can’t wait …A tub of cream awaits in the fridge !..So what else can we do with strawberries as there is certainly going to be a glut of them?

A New venture

Well we are  finally doing it ! Something we have wanted to do for years … Getting chickens.

After talking about it , rejecting the idea and then back and forth we decided last  Sunday evening to order a chicken coup.

OK I know it is a big step  for a couple who have never except for 4 children ever had pets before …and please don’t say it is because we need a replacement for the children who are now all adults and flown the nest .

And theres more…

It is a while since I have updated my blog for various reasons ,but feel I am missing out on something special, you see this blog is me and the only written thing I have ever had in print. I know that may sound corny but I feel it is important that I carry on and add to my pride and joy.

Most of my life is enjoyed by sharing it with family and  gardening on my allotments which are set in the most beautiful countryside .This time of year I am at my best as it is light enough and warm enough to go to the allotments 10 minutes by bike from my house and water and weed for England! Trotting around are pheasants and partridge with their young ,rabbits  (too many) small deer and others.I go around about 6 . 30 – 7 and stay until 8.15 when I have to go to work in my local shop .

The weekends again are spent most mornings weather permitting watering,weeding and planting. It is now mid April and everything is late this year , but nature always has a way of catching up.

I am nearly into my mid 60s and since having the allotments and losing loads of weight I have changed my life for the better.I grow all our vegetables , I don’t eat much meat as I can’t see the point (the occasional sausage or chicken )and eat a lot of wonderful fish which we get delivered from a company in Grimsby .The more vegetables I grow the less meat I eat as believe it or not vegetable cooked properly are wonderful. The less rubbish I can put in my body the better..”You are what you eat” they say and I believe this to be true.

This weekend being Easter weekend and a little more time, we have dug an asparagus patch , I should have done it years ago as not only one of my favourite vegetables but it takes 2 years at least top establish itself,another small challenge.Any advice would be gratefully received.

My next project is to get some chickens…I have been thinking about them for years,  I have had a lot of advice on this from a friend who has some, I shall keep you all posted!

Eggs…So many ways!

An egg must be the ultimate pre packed food and one of the first..So many ways to cook them and so cheap and filling.I often   wonder when man or woman  started realising they could cook an egg. Did they drop and break an  egg on a hot piece of ground and it started cooking? I am sure it must have been before humans  discovered a frying pan !

Left overs

Having an allotment or growing vegetables in your garden , makes you realise just how important it is to use up every scrap one way or another . A vegetable or fruit has taken so long to grow from seed to  full-grown produce , it seems criminal to throw left overs in the bin.The same goes for meat , poultry or fish.If it is caught or killed for eating the least we can do is to do it justice by enjoying the results through cooking. Even if the produce has been brought from a super market the same applies.

Back again.

Summer seems such a busy time with not only both the allotments but  the reaping the rewards and cooking all the     produce rather than let any go to waste.

It has been a great year with a shaky start due to the hot dry weather earlier in  the year. Rains later revived every thing and it has been a great year in all with about an 80% success rate. The main successes were the bollotti and haricot beans , beetroot , potatoes , savoy cabbages and almost every thing else.The big failure I reckon were the onions which although were fine , were not as big as usual or as juicy but hung in our garage though in onions sacks they look quite impressive. The other Failure was our early purple sprouting broccoli it just fried in the early hot weather and was only a couple of meals … oh well !

This year for the first time we grew late potatoes.Planted in late August the advert said the late Charlotte  and Bambino potatoes would be ready to pick in October and you could still be digging them up Christmas day! As we had space to spare we thought we would give them a go….What a great crop! we have new potatoes now and I reckon we could still be digging them at Christmas….Where there are potatoes there are fewer weeds..A result. These were ordered from  www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk

The next entry will be … what do I do with it all ?

Roda Corfu..Wonderful

After booking a holiday in Roda Corfu I read holidays uncovered and worried  if I had done the right thing.The reviews for the apartments we were to stay in did not have the greatest of reviews and the resort mixed…How wrong I was.