And it shows.
The last thing I did was dig over the garlic bed two weeks ago! I haven’t even had a chance to check the “to do list” to see what I’ve not been doing. Luckily it’s not as dire as all that as it is winter after all! Two weeks of neglect in spring would be catastrophic.
When I haven’t been head down – bum up working away on my project (which is on track and three quarters finished), it’s been raining and yucky and all wintery so I guess that’s ok. But the hardest thing is the weather all this week has been clear blue skies – that admittedly started with freezing crisp frosts and there was still a bit of a chill in the air all day, although nothing a pair of long johns wouldn’t take care of. So while I was inside, working my fingers to the bone on my keyboard, I had half an eye on the sun drenched garden, and I promised myself if I got to a logical break by the end of the week then I would reward myself with time in the garden.
Then when I woke up today, the day I had been working towards all week, was cold and wet. WET? That wasn’t on the radar… I wouldn’t have been half as motivated if there was a big rain cloud on the weather chart. If there was, then maybe I wouldn’t have worked as hard. The good news is the sun is supposed to come back tomorrow and it’s a weekend so tomorrow it’s all on. I shall sink my hands into soil – no matter how cold and claggy! I shall even get Hubby the Un-Gardener to do some digging. I’m sure he wont mind giving up his weekend to dig in the cold for me…
But amongst the cold bleakness of the day there was a wee ray of sunshine. Brandy the Escape Artist Chicken’s babies hatched. She had been hiding under the hedge with 12 eggs. Today wandering about in the driveway were 6 cheeping egg shaped fluffy bums! I have to say I am a sucker for baby chickens – they are too cute for words.
There were still 6 more eggs in the nest, but the driveway isn’t the safest place for babies to play so a made a nest in a box with hay and moved the eggs in to it. Then I had to try and convince Brandy to bring the babies and follow me to the chicken coop. That didn’t work so I tried to carry the box and the babies and get her to follow the sound of the peeping, but that didn’t work, she just frantically wandered around looking for her babies, so I set the box on the ground in the middle of the driveway and she climbed onto the eggs and the chicks disappeared into her feathers. Then I carefully lifted the box and moved the whole family off to the coop. After a huge feed of chicken food they have all settled in well. A proud Dad and bemused aunts cautiously watched the new arrivals wondering where they all sprung from.
One thing I did manage to do was take my monthly photo. It shows work has been done – but not much. But then that’s winter for you.
Come again so – there’s going to be gardening going on!
Sarah the Gardener : o )
Our resident escapoligist is “Houdini”…she looks a lot like your girl but she has raised 2 clutches of eggs (hatching every single egg she sits on) without once setting foot inside the communal hen coop. We have had to hunt the roosters old school style when its time to dispatch them from this mortal coil and there is nothing more difficult than climbing up an enormous conifer to grab yourself a mistrusting rooster. If Houdini lays any more eggs outside the roost I am going to use your box idea! (I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before! 😉
Hi there. This is the most eggs that any of our girls have managed to hatch. I don’t think the other 6 will hatch as the temperatures are too cold so when she gets off the nest they eggs go really cold, really quickly. Any boys end up on the freestuff website as we haven’t got the heart to “take care” of them – must be the remaining city slicker in us! Cheers Sarah : o )
The chicks are too cute fo rwords aren’t they – pure balls of fluff! And it’s been rainy and cold here too, and it’s summer. All my plants look miserable we all need a good doe sof sun!
Hi Claire. I have to say I’m a bit of a sucker for baby chicks. They just look sooo cute and they even sound cute with their peep peep peeping ringing out across the garden! The last couple of days have been absolutely gorgeous – although start with heavy frosts. But then that’s nothing a weekend sleep in and some long johns cant fix. I hope you get your sunshine soon. Cheers Sarah : o )
Gotta love that Brandy!! We’ve considered raising chickens. Haven’t done it yet…can’t even keep up with the other stuff – although, our greenhouse is *almost* finished finally, at least to the point of having plants inside. It’s been a very unsummer here so far; the tomatoes look pretty pitiful, but the broccoli and cauliflower are coming along, so hubby the gardener is encouraged, somewhat.
Hi there. A greenhouse makes such an amazing difference to the whole gardening thing. I hope you enjoy it. Our summer (the one just gone) was dreadful, more rain than sun and the garden suffered for it. It can be so frustrating. The upside is: there is always next season! Cheers Sarah : o )
When I grow up, my garden’s going to look like yours. 🙂
Thanks. I like to think of it as a “rustic” work in progress. I can’t see it gracing the pages of a fancy garden magazine any time soon – but it works for me. Cheers Sarah : o )
The aunties leave the babies alone? They’re adorable!
Hi there. We seem to have a polite society in our chicken coop. The rooster and all the other girls are giving the new mum her space. I have to say the babies are the cutest things. I love having baby chicks, but then half of them grow into roosters…. Cheers Sarah : o )
So adorable. 🙂
Hi Katie. I know…. I just go out to the coop and sit and watch the babies for ages. The cutest thing. Cheers Sarah : o )