occasional blog...

Calendula officinalis prolifera

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:28:38 +0100

Well, after three years of growing these and having only the plain Pot Marigold emerge, I finally have some hen-and-chicken flowers.
Perhaps it was the cold winter that affected the seed as it lay in the ground, shed from last year’s plants.
Perhaps it was the hot dry weather this spring, or a combination of both.
Whatever, only one plant is doing it, so I will be saving the seed, properly, in an envelope.
Some of the blooms have masses of flowers;

Better late than never

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:16:48 +0100

The Spotted Flycatchers have successfully hatched their eggs after a rather clumsy incubation. I think this pair may be first-timers and probably 2009’s offspring as they didn’t appear to have much of a system and were far flightier than last year’s lot. At no point could I lean out of the window and catch the broody bird leaning over in the nest to have a look at me in return. Lots of flitting about off the nest, lots of beaks closing on flies with an unbelievably loud ‘snap’! and lots of yelling at me when I dared to go into the bedroom (the nest is about five feet from the window, under the eaves).
I have spent the last three weeks sidling about in my own house and tip-toeing round the garden. Midge hasn’t been able to relax in his stealthy observation of the air-bricks for mouse egress, and even the chickens have been reprimanded. ‘Zjippp!’
So far I have seen two urgent little beaks waving about - hopefully there will be four, as last year.

Midge’s official birthday passed quietly - he is at least twelve, and we regard the day I brought him home from the shelter as his anniversary.

Saved for the nation

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 17:17:40 +0100

Today saw the beginning of the end for our village hall - such a shame that they couldn’t have simply refurbished it and put in good disabled access, but these days everybody seems to want exactly what everybody else has, in this case a dull unimaginative horror no doubt in that grim orange brick that never mellows.
Even worse is the revelation that just about everything is going to landfill. I passed by this morning and saw that there was already a huge pile of splintered wood and a couple of very good quality heavy doors from the loo. As soon as I saw the little sign I knew I had to have it, so nipped home for my screwdriver, and to phone Tish whose husband David is a bit of a Womble like me and can’t pass a pile of rubbish without sifting through it.
They rolled up with their trailer and proceeded to fill it with wood for kindling, and I installed the smart Bakelite sign in its new location;

Fly away home...

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 12:15:38 +0100

The chicks, aged eight weeks old yesterday, have gone back to Lucy’s to be integrated into her flock. I’ll quite miss them charging about, and we had a very hot journey over there with a great deal of worrying panting as I tore more holes in the box to cool them down; but they are nicely settled in now and scratching about in their own run with a pair of slightly younger cuckoo (or coucou if you’re of that persuasion) Marans pullets. They all seem to get along fine and haven’t, as yet, caused any trouble.

There’ll be more chicks here soon though, as I have given in to Gladys’s demands - she’s currently sitting on two pot eggs in the broody run. It’s far too hot (hovering around 30 degrees most days) to faff about putting her in the crate, and she does love being a mum, so on Friday I am picking up eight silver-grey Dorking eggs, from a blue egg-laying strain. I have a feeling that among the chicken intelligentsia this is a feature that is frowned upon, but am I bothered?

She’s sitting quite happily, but yesterday when lifted off for her break demonstrated that she had rather an upset stomach, to say the least, although is as bright as a button otherwise. I picked up some Baytril today for her, so if she’s still producing grim runny poo tonight I can start her on those. It could just be the heat, even though she’s sited in the shade, or the strange noises and poundings from the men putting in my dog-proof fencing.
The lady I’m getting the eggs from also has gold-laced Wyandotte bantams...

Still no rain here for a good two weeks, although we had a token sprinkling the other morning that didn’t even register in the gauge. Most things in the garden are coping, even the shade-loving Astrantia. This one is ‘Shaggy’;

That time of year again

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:11:05 +0100

Here’s Jen, parked up in front of Herstmonceux castle with a nice Austin Healey 3000. Yep, it’s the Hospice in the Weald classic challenge, and what a lovely day for it we had last Sunday. Not too hot, although too hot for some...

A bird in the hand...

Sun, 6 Jun 2010 17:45:45 +0100

This little chap flew into the window yesterday; very un wren-like to get it so wrong, but it has been very hot so perhaps he was a bit confused. I dripped some water on the end of his beak (which is much longer than I had thought) and after a few swallows he flew away, resting first on the fence;

Ladies who lunch...

Thu, 13 May 2010 17:57:10 +0100

There’s always one that refuses to be in the photo! Babbs’s remaining eight chicks (I’m afraid the chick with the dodgy leg was never going to thrive so Jim-up-the-lane came to deal with it for me - he’s a gamekeeper and genuinely loves his own rescue birds, cats and dogs and was the best person for the job) are really growing up fast - they all have healthy appetites and go to bed at night looking as though each of them has swallowed a grape.
Their wing feathers are coming on apace too - after only nine days they have perfect, tiny wings.

a little bit of hope...

Fri, 7 May 2010 11:33:03 +0100

Some good news at last in what has been a dreadful year for so many people and their animals.
Babbs successfully hatched nine of the twelve eggs under her, starting on Wednesday morning. There are four white Sussex, (the yellow chicks) and five speckled Sussex. Unfortunately one white has either a badly sprained or broken leg, probably due to Babbs standing on it. I’m not optimistic as it can’t get out into the run, but I’ve seen it pecking at chick crumb in the bedroom area so if it gets stronger it may cope.
If not I’m going to have to get a braver person than me to deal with the situation. I smeared a tiny bit of metacam under its beak tip to take care of any pain or inflammation so we shall see.
They’ve had some scrambled egg;

when I grow up I want to be...

Mon, 3 May 2010 13:37:12 +0100

These seedlings always catch me out and each year it takes me a while to remember what they are. There are masses of them in the woods, struggling up through six inches of dead leaves.

a nice sit down

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:48:45 +0100

Here are Duck and Big Girl, doing what they do best, having a little siesta. In colder weather Big Girl actually goes back to bed in the house, but then she is five. Getting on a bit. Duck has already started the year’s weird egg nonsense, this morning laying five yolks, all in a row in one membrane, like tiny tangerines in a Christmas stocking. She seemed quite troubled at first and I gave her some metacam in a sultana in case she was in any discomfort but she was soon up and about, and eating well.
She had a few more sit downs during the day, so we’ll see what tomorrow will bring.

With all the doom and gloom I had forgotten to report that Tort is up and about and characteristically grumpy;