september? when was that?!

So there was another month been and gone, and a horribly hot october has struck. I am an autumn person. I like the smell of falling leaves, and a breeze on my face, and the need to put a hat on sometimes, and maybe a cardie. I like snuggling up to watch a movie,closing the windows at night, and eating apple crumble. So october was looking good for all that. Thought I had got away with a cloudy summer, and that the cold weather would have had a head-start. Instead we get this blazing hot THING. I can't work out how many pints of water I am drinking a day to stave off headaches, and have had to put aside special "chicken" clothes to protect me from there red mite, whos numbers have exploded in the heat.

Summer of eggs

So shoe making did not really get anywhere. I decided really, I don't have the correct tools. A draw knife would make it more managable, looking at that piece of wood and thinking about carving it up with a swiss army knife, or a spoke shave made me go put the kettle on and get a sock to knit on!! Also, a couple of weeks later, I noticed a cracked paving slab where they had all been fine. It dawned on me that it was just about in the area I had been smashing logs attached to axes on the ground....

So having decided it probably wouldn't matter if they got burned this winter, I promptly went out and bought the pair of clogs that helped inspire me in the first place, but had decided where rediculous.

never mind, I have them now.

The other factor was the addition of 6 new members of the family. Well, as I keep them behind a wire fence in the garden, they are more like prisoners of war, as I don't really do that with my children, or siblings. I have chickens!!

Allosaurus, Babs, Cloudy, Diplodicus,Edwina, and Milly are Ex-battery Lohman browns, recovered through BHWT. I have heard of other organisations that recover hens too, and in future I will find a less commercial scheme.

After estimating we needed 6 hens to give us 18 eggs a week, I have been inundated with eggs. They are providing on adverage 5 a day since we moved them over to an Organic pellet feed instead of the Ex-batt crumb recommended. Their digestion is rather sensitive, and it is taking a while for their plumage to come back fully. But as someone who is unclear where she stands on the ethics of keeping animals primarily for human benefit, Ex-battery hens are a safe option. I have figured they will have paid for themselves after 1 year, though if they keep popping so many eggs it will be much sooner!

So with the vegetable garden in full swing and EGGsellent hens, it is all feeling very bountiful here in my house, even without home-made clogs.

first trip out for the boldest hen.

woops, spring sprung!

So the camera hasn't come out in the craft room again yet, because I am struggling to get in there. the sunshine came out, and so did I. Into the garden, that is.
After only one afternoon of timing the children in the garden(making them stay out in the "fresh air". what a tyrant!), we have managed to fall back into a nice pattern of spending a couple of hours out there every afternoon, while they play in the chicken house, digging patch, or with the big ball, whilst I dream vegetables. I can tell when the soil is right for planting because the neighbourhood cat starts doing its business in the beds again.
Dug over last years beds and covered them with black plastic just before those really strong winds came....luckily I have a lot of bricks in the garden, so it only took one midnight garden visit to stop the plastic going halfway down the street. Now I just have to be patient and let the soil warm up so I can put in my beans and onion sets. horray!