We have had a very traumatic weekend.  I let the chucks out as normal on Saturday morning and toddled off to another wet and soggy football match. It always gives me such pleasure just to be amongst the chickens, they follow us around scratching and clucking their stories.  After the  match we dropped by (we don't live at our small holding, we unfortunately live about a mile away from it) and everything was fine.  We got home and I pottered about doing school stuff and at about five o'clock had a phone call from Husband, 'you need to get up here now, it's bad'. So we jumped in the car and went, he was right it was utter devastation. A stray dog had got onto our field and had a killing spree. There were dead chickens everywhere, he killed thirty chickens and mauled a few more. Husband caught the dog in action and called him.  He dropped the chicken from his mouth immediately and came over to him.  The owners came to collect the dog and are every bit as devastated as we are - after all this is their family pet.  They have without quibble reimbursed us for our chickens, but farming life is not quite the same.  The chicks that we raised to adulthood last year were all killed, the broody sitting on a clutch of ten eggs has also gone and these eggs were just hours from hatching.  It is difficult not to dwell on such sadness.  We have still got 16 chickens left.  Hopefully a happier post tomorrow.
P.s Groovy thank goodness was in her pen with her chicks and although upset she is alive!

As I wandered around Ikea last week I noticed some very pretty glassware...

which is not a million miles away from this design from Cath...



How was Friday 13th for you?

Mine was interesting shall we say!  It started off well enough, another day in the field trying to make it look a little more 'presentable'.  I drove on as normal and the chickens came to greet me. In order to avoid the chooks I took a slight detour - this was my first mistake as I got stuck in a hole! Don't get me wrong it wasn't a huge hole but it was still enough to get stuck in! I tried rocking the car gently but nothing. I asked No 4 to jump in the drivers seat and drive out GENTLY whilst I pushed. She jumped in the driver's seat and revved it for all it was worth - the wheel was spinning and the black smoke was billowing. I was shouting STOP! at the top of my voice. When she looked at me, she just said "I am deaf you know!" I had to phone husband to rescue me! He did...and I need a new tyre.

We had also moved the big chicken house, so that the chooks could have fresh grass. We decided on the middle of the field.  It was hooked up (it's on skids) and husband drove slowly pulling the house behind him (the chickens were still inside it after all).  It was all going well but he kept on pulling way past the middle.  "It'll be fine!" he said.  The chickens were let out, they were fine, it's not as if it was a new field and after all they often wandered up that far.  It was all going very well, they still laid in the house, ate the food, drank their water.  That is until bedtime...they all huddled together in the spot where their house once stood. I only have to pick up a bucket and the chickens run after me, so I thought if I shook my bucket they'd come running.  It worked like a charm, I was the Pied Piper of the chicken world!  When we got to their new spot I scattered some corn. Great! I've reminded them where their house is, no problem...except when they ate the corn they all drifted one by one to where their house once stood, again in a little huddle. By this time it was getting dark (and it was cold).  There was only one thing for it, I would have to catch them! All thirty five of them!  I scattered a little more corn and as they were feeding I grabbed a couple. It was going to be a long job! Too stupid to recognise their house but clever enough to avoid capture! I began rugby tackling them, using muscles that I didn't know existed and my 'work trousers' just weren't up to the job! With my bum cheek almost hanging out I caught the remaining chickens. I was cold, fed up and quite frankly thinking about the two hours of my life that I won't get back. We are due another Friday 13th soon, I think I may stay in bed!

Link for free ebooks

http://www.ereaderiq.co.uk/free/

A new look!

Thought it was about time that I changed my look!  Hope that you like it! Not quite sure how long I will keep it as the middle panel is a little too white for my taste which makes it harder to read than a cream or beige!

Knit your very own Elizabeth II designed by Fiona Goble.  The pattern is free and can be found here

Blighty Love!

As I passed the Works, they had baskets of Union flag items for sale. It would have been rude not to stop and look and maybe buy one or two (or four!) things...

a cake stand,

paperchains,

and cupcake cases and flags. And all for under £5!

What cards do you send to a fifteen year old boy? Why these ones of course!

Happy Birthday son!

Today we have planted some fruit trees in the hope of having our very own orchard some day. Unfortunately new dog had other ideas...

She was either stealing the trees or the tree guards!

Groovy and the Chicks

I know it sounds like a band but it is the name of one of our chickens!  The chicks are two days old and Groovy brought them out in the sunshine today...

A lovely start to our Easter weekend.  Hope that you have had a good Good Friday too. Happy Easter!

My Dad

Today my Dad would have been 73 years old. I still miss him and think about him every day. This year I was going to be brave and not cry, oh well, there is always next year.

Anyone for tea?  The cold and wet miserable day has finally been the instigator for doing some crafty bits and pieces.  After giving away the batch of tea cup candles as gifts I thought that it was time to make some more...

I've also been doing some patchwork, something else that I carry around in my handbag (remind me why I have a bad shoulder?)  It's a very slow job...

My hope is to one day to finish this...

This was a partly made quilt that I was given by Uncle Derek when Aunty Jo died.  Once he found out that I loved to make things he gave me lots of little bits and pieces and also her sewing machine.  I have started to 'straighten' the left hand side edge and intend to work my way around the whole of it. Is now a good time to confess that I had one of my own that I was making that I started (cough! cough!) twenty five years ago!

kindle

Husband bought me a kindle for Christmas.  I had resisted for ages because I really love proper books, however it is amazing! I quickly signed up to a website that emails me the daily free e-book listing.  This book is one of those that is free today...

This has had some good reviews so thought it might be a good read to have with a pyjama day! Sometimes it's good just to read books that just don't need much thought! If you're quick you can get it digitally for free too - before it returns to the £4.99 that it was before.

Last Saturday I went along to help at my jumble and saw this corner wall unit.  I snapped it up straight away!  I've hung it and husband hasn't even noticed! I'm also rather pleased with the wooden bunting that I've bought from Sainsbury too.  I've also got some other 'tat' (as husband calls it!) to go on the shelves.  The mirror belonged to my Nan and it's many, many years old - I've probably had it sitting in a cupboard for twenty five years and goodness knows how long she'd had it for!

On a different subject, the turkeys have started to lay.  So I'll leave it a couple of weeks before I collect the eggs to incubate.  We spent all day yesterday at the field, clearing the 'allotment' of stones and rubble.  Farmer Jack has had the idea that we should plant potatoes so we're doing as we're told!

This time last year this area was very much overgrown, with weeds, brambles and years of neglect and flytipping!

We were also very lucky that we had help from our friendly neighbour...

It's very easy to forget how much has been done at the field.  It does look very easy to get a machine in, but we had worked on that area for two weeks before he came in!  It was so overgrown that one of the things found was a huge metal cattle feeder that was about six foot tall that hadn't been seen before!