Just about bordering on odd, I see things through different eyes.The heading says it all - I live, I love, I craft, I am me...
Showing posts with label hens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hens. Show all posts

04/05/2017

Potager and garden update

April was a month of  incredible greening up.  Not only did the garden suddenly take on a feeling of lushness and promise but the lanes and hedgerows also looked greener and fatter - it felt so much more positive.
Watering can, sweet peas
spinach, comfrey

Our little potager continues to grow and develop. The seedlings in the greenhouse have been thriving in the warmth and the cats have continued to walk across them (sigh). Our girls are allowed to sunbathe and recharge in the greenhouse so they take every opportunity (it is a cat right) to lounge around on anything they fancy .... kale seedlings ....purple sprouting broccoli shoots .... twisted willow cuttings ... nothing is too sacred. (more sighs).
The chive 'fields', Little Gem lettuce,
Valmaine lettuce, Eldest weeding the potager

More bricks have been laid out, doubling the size of the potager beds and a new lawn area has been reseeded (twice ... cheers little hungry birdies who are not put off by anti-bird nets). The main lawn has also been reseeded (Moss is a little boisterous for our lawn to cope over winter and spring so needs help until it can grow and toughen up).
The almost daily egg from the elderly hen!, spinach, chard, lettuce growing
'Staff' enjoying a tea break, strawberry blossoms

I've continued to heap generous quantities of home made compost into the garden - it is rather rough and ready, but I keep telling myself that it is good to help counter the heavy clay I have.  I do sift it for seed sowing and the seedlings but when they go out in to the potager, they have to take the lumps - like it or ... erm... lump it!

Pan in the greenhouse, cherry blossom at the end of the garden,
Himself demolishing and rebuilding 4 compost bins, Pepper in the sun

Weeding and general gardening still stresses Moss out, tools have to be wielded with all the slow method of a tai chi movement however she is improving and hopefully by the end of summer she will no longer fear gardening and all the apparent death-by-hand-trowel issues she harbours in her little head.

Right. Best stop blogging. I have paintings to complete, a new commission of a rather handsome ginger cat and stock to create for the art exhibition. But before I do, a quick wander through the garden will do me a world of good  .... so if you'll excuse me..... until next time :)


The Potager Gardens page has been updated

10/07/2016

Conversations..... three short stories from today

Conversations whilst walking.... especially with teenage lads can be (how can I put this) rather random.

Here, let me explain.
Story 1.
Today we were out and about yomping across some soggy moorland hillside, the wind was quite strong and it was flipping and flapping my hair around. By the time we'd traversed the lump of a hill and dropped into a relatively sheltered village ... this snippet of conversation occurred.
Youngest (to Eldest): 'Mum has warrior hair'
Both boys turn round to look.
Me (flattered and with romanticised visions of flame haired Celtic warrior queens) said: 'like Boudicca you mean?'
Youngest (deadpan and with teenage honesty): 'Nah, it's coz it's fuzzy and all over the place'
(loud crushing mental picture inside of head occurs).

Story 2.
We approached a rather large field with a sizeable herd of beef cows and calves. I used to be fine walking through this sort of scene until our previous dog was charged at and headbutted by an angry and protective cow and at the same time as the herd's bull followed Himself very closely for the full length of the field with his nose within snorting distance of his back ... I am a lot more wary now.

So when I see a field full of large beef beasties - I can feel my toes curl in my boots and my hackles rise. We entered the field and were immediately confronted by a number of cows, we made the usual farmery shooing noises at the animals which set them off and as they did, they collected up the rest of the herd in a massing gallop around us.

We formed a protective four square block so we could watch each other's back, continuing along making firm and farmery-style whistles and loud 'phfssssshhhing' sounds as we carried on. The cows bellowed and hollered for their calves at an alarming level and the calves responded by cantering round with their tails up. I was very relieved when we reached the far side of the field and climbed over the style.

You could still hear the cows roaring and bawling as we crossed several fields and when we found a cute little bridge and stream we stopped for a rest.  After a while the mooing seemed to fade and then stop. I was sipping my tea when the sound started again and as I started to wonder if some other poor walker was being subjected to their bellowing, when I realised it was a motor bike coming down the lane, Himself also had thought it was the cows starting up and mentioned their bellowing ... with a smug grin I replied 'Not so much  a cow a-mooing more like a cow-a-saki (Kawasaki) motorbike' .
Himself just rolled his eyes.

Story 3.
Just before we reached the car we pootled through a village - a sleepy affluent little place - passing several houses selling hen and duck eggs. We spied a number of both types of bird around the green being busy doing what hens and ducks do. As we left the village one of the boys spotted a duck hidden in a flower bed sitting on a nest. I said she was 'nesting' and Eldest replied that he thought she was 'hanging round corners selling drugs to the other ducks' to which Youngest quickly replied ...'Is she selling quack?'

Hmmm.

Other things happened - like deep gelatinous mud, sharp showers which had us scurrying for shelter or hunkering down against walls, an electric fence that zapped Eldest and the dog so hard they both yelped and leapt at least 10 foot in one bound. There were bridges a-plenty and lots of puddles, long rolling fields, big sky and large hills - I am tired but it is a good tired :)

Oh yes - I entered a 'novelty veg' competition for fun - PHOTO HERE - John writes a blog I follow and find greatly entertaining, he also is involved in his local village show and runs a photo competition for fruit and veg animals, open to the any one, so for fun I have entered. He needs a few more entries, if you fancy joining in - I am sure he would be delighted :)



14/05/2016

What to do on a surprisingly sunny Saturday?

Well,
You could start by celebrating a birthday...

by drinking frothy coffee
 and planning
by baking

by setting a special spot in the garden
 by slathering double cream and raspberry jam on hot fruit scones
by serving super gooey gluten free choc-brownies made by Eldest
by filling plates with delicious and sinful nibbles supplied by fav sis-in-law
by putting on a feathered and furry floor show 
by picking flowers (the first 'crop' of the season)
by inviting family to 
sit in the sun and
drink tea...


HaPpY BirTHdaY MUM!!

Thank you for sharing your day with us :) 

Now, we are watching and counting and cringing or supporting the acts of Eurovision 2016!

...and the 12 points go to.... (significant pause) 
fingers being chewed
waiting waiting waiting
the winner

is

UKRAINE!!




03/01/2016

Looking forward...

Tomorrow we return to everyday life.
Work and school.

A gentle wrap up of the weekend before Monday.

Stranger things have happened,
but to see Pepper washing Pan
and
Pan ACCEPTING 
is 
nothing short of amazing.
My waistcoat grows......

Tomte is still loitering as he needed a little more work on him. 
He needed ears! 
Now, resplendent with little matching flaps,
he and I are happy :)
In my chrimbly hyacinth bowl...
I placed two vintage china 
hen's eggs.
*smile*
Giving a hint to
the coming spring... 
They look perfect there. 
Ah... spring is not that far away :)

*happy*happy*



31/12/2015

Thank you 2015 - time to stand down. Your time is done.

At this time of the year, for me, it is a time to be retrospective, time to reminisce, time to realise what is important, time to practise hygge, time for gratitude... Time to say thank you for...
  1. The air that I breathe
  2. My dearest other half who makes me complete
  3. My boys
  4. My Mum and Dad
  5. My family
  6. Friends
  7. The warmth of the sun
  8. Blue skies
  9. The purring of a cat
  10. Hearing the crackle of the fire on a cold night
  11. Snuggling down into bed, feeling cocooned by the duvet
  12. Holidays
  13. A brilliant vivid orange sunset or an amazingly fuchsia pink sunrise
  14. Jeans that act both as a corset and make me feel good
  15. Earrings
  16. Laughing til I cry
  17. Casting on a new project
  18. Casting off the last stitch
  19. Walking
  20. Breathing in coastal air
  21. Camping in new places
  22. The earthy scent of a damp woodland in autumn
  23. Blogging
  24. Hearing the rain on the roof - when we are all inside safe and warm
  25. A Scandinavian police drama that makes me wanting more
  26. My health - I have niggles but then that is all they are
  27. Betty Ferries' Shetland sweet oatcakes
  28. Pepparkakor
  29. My camera
  30. Tea - Scottish, green, peppermint, ginger chai, Yorkshire, valerian
  31. Hugs 
  32. Beach sand between the toes
  33. A good night's sleep
  34. Dancing to the radio in the kitchen
  35. The coffee brought to me on a weekend to sip in bed
  36. Cranberries
  37. Weekends
  38. A good strong cheddar
  39. Silver rings
  40. Feathers
  41. Mist in the valley
  42. The reflections in water
  43. My new dustbin in the kitchen
  44. Finding cat pawprints around the bath edge
  45. blankets to wrap around me 
  46. Watching my boys eating the food I cook
  47. Having friends around
  48. Incense curling around the house and filling my senses 
  49. The smell of bread baking
  50. The feel of furry cat tummies and their cold feet
  51. My garden
  52. The hens in the garden
  53. The plants in the house
  54. Music
  55. Land art
  56. Waking up and realising I still have several hours of sleep left before I have to get up
  57. Reading
  58. Hot showers
  59. Clean hair
  60. Wearing something I have knitted
  61. Seeing Himself in the Skepp-o-hoy jumper I knitted him
  62. White painted wood
  63. Fairy lights all year round
  64. Wicker baskets
  65. Border collie dogs 
  66. Garlic bread
  67. The countryside I drive through every day
  68. Lambs playing in the fields
  69. The sound of waves pulling back through a pebbly beach
  70. Bird song
  71. How much Himself does for me
  72. A really good salad
  73. Wool shops
  74. Wool festivals
  75. Wool....(wool)
  76. Friends - dear sweet friends of which I have many - they are what keep me strong, keep me sane, keep me safe. (I know I have already mentioned friends - but they are worth repeating)
  77. Hearing rain on the roof and know that by shear luck, the house we bought 15 years ago is on a gentle slope keeping us safe from flooding - especially this year when so much flooding is present
  78. That brilliant blue that only the sea and sky on a late spring day can give - the type that fills you until it hurts
  79. Sitting around a table of food and family and sharing meals and laughter
  80. Watching the hyacinths in moss first peaking out then blooming - filling the room with their sweet sweet scent 
  81. Looking for then spotting the first swallow - a sure sign that summer is on its way
  82. A vacuumed carpet
  83. A freshly mown lawn
  84. Watching the hens scratching in the garden finding bugs and grubs that I can never get to
  85. The smell of wood smoke in autumn
  86. Soup - thick warming soup that sticks to your ribs on a cold weekend after walking
  87. The sight of a cat trying to sit in a box that is two (or probably three) sizes too small
  88. Succulent dates, chewed slowly and preferably with my eyes shut so the flavour fills my head
  89. Big sky 
  90. Far horizons
  91. Watching the sun go down on Summer Solstice
  92. Lighting candles for Yule
  93. The smell of my home - familiar, safe
  94. Books
  95. Holding his hand
  96. Listening to our favourite CDs 
  97. Cooking magazines - they inspire
  98. Cheap 'bic' blue pens
  99. Water colour pencils
  100. Watching my three - a bittersweet mix of Dad and Sons/three men/three friends/three gamboling gangly creatures - my three.

Thank you 2015 - time to stand down - your time is done.

12/12/2015

A dozen eggs (12) - and another festive Ta-Da!

Thank you for your lovely comments- they make my heart go squeeeee:)

Just up the lane from where we live, is this sign. Offering up eggs at £2.00 a dozen. Our village has a lot of back-garden hens and as spring slips into summer, hens get busy and the cockerels get louder and earlier...... sometimes we get woken at 4am by their cheerfully raucous crowing. *nice*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I was let free at work with the window artwork pens a couple of days ago and I decided against the usual designs of cute dogs and cats, with parcels beneath the tree......I chose stags in the snow, owls in huge conifers beneath the moon and the stars.
One of the staff members tentatively requested firstly a squirrel 
then she whispered... could she have a grizzly bear......?
What better time than at chrimbly time to grant wishes!
And of course I had have my favourite magical creature...
Suddenly a hare appeared dreaming mysterious dreams
while an owl watched from the tree.
I still had a little time left before the end of my working day
I still had drawing in my fingers
I drew myself a vixen

catching snowflakes with her tongue.

I went home very happy :)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA



21/04/2013

Blue skies and skylarks

Yesterday we walked with our heads in sunshine. We were surrounded by blue skies and skylarks. Each time we stopped for a break we found ourselves a small babbling stream to sit next to. The boys built 'dams' as we contemplated on the reflections.

There was an awful lot of view appreciation and treasure finding.

 It felt wonderful being outside after all the weeks of less than encouraging weather.
The sun was warm and the boys and I now have a  fresh sprinkling of freckles emerging. 
Our walk took us through farms and over moorland


The fields nearest to the farmsteads were filled with lambs, some tiny little bleating slips 
and others already chunky lambs, happily running and playing in 'schools'. 
 
I took along my knitting, managing to finish and cast off the back and start the front. 
 The sleeves are still proving to be challenging - down to the translation or lack of translation 
so I am going to find another pattern and adapt it to fit.......wish me luck!

 As we neared the car, we were met and accompanied by several Swaledale sheep. They, unusually, seemed fairly unconcerned about us. This breed often comes across as semi-wild, preferring to leave a safe distance between walkers and themselves. This flock's apparent disinterest allowed me to finally get some decent photos instead of the usual fleeing woolly backside as they disappear over the hills!



A good good walk - leaving us all feeling refreshed and ready to tackle Sunday and a day with a borrowed carpet cleaner.......Ah, I know where I'd rather be - back out on those hills with my boys.

And you?
How was your Saturday?
Did you get out in the delicious sunshine?
Do you sprout freckles?


PS: the carpets are a lot nicer to live with now.






21/02/2013

Little things...

little things that make my day............

Our girls have been happily laying.
My second 'Wurm' is just as delicious as the first. 
Made with a lighter yarn so I can wear it as the weather warms up.
The bag inspector gets on with her career choice.
Wicked wicked wicked chocolate cake.
Walking with my boys.
Late winter sunsets
My favourite tree.


What makes you happy?
What little things make you smile?
What delicious things have you nibbled this week?
Have you a favourite tree?
Go on - share your favourite little things 

Almost the weekend - where ever you are - enjoy!

with love hawthorn xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx