Things are starting to really get going in the garden, just as well really, Duncan always promised me we could have turf in this garden but 4 rolls is as far as it got. I have started seeding sections and protecting them with mesh and the lawn is looking less threadbare now, still a long way to go but definite progress.
Plants are starting to fill out and even some flowers!
I love the Rhododendrons because they remind me of Lisa's house
I am going to have at least one Bramley apple this year !
The catnip has survived a whole week
The trick with catnip is to plant it somewhere that cats couldnt possibly reach it and "issue" it to them when they fancy a "hit" . The last couple of years I have grown it in a chimney pot but it never got above a couple of inches because the cats would get in the pot and "session on" until it was all gone, a few weeks later, little shoots and another "session" and it was gone again.
the basket is fixed to the wall at a height that no cat could manage to get to, so safe ... for now
Not to be outdone, the chickens have been busy too
This is the sight that greets me when I open the back door, if I dont get them a snack as soon as I open it, they start to come into the house, during the day I can sometimes hear a chicken sneak in, help herself to the cat food and sneak out again, usually its Minger but no one is shy about coming into the house.!
The new "tiddlies" are getting settled in, they have been allowed out with the others for the last 2 days but they are still huddled together at the moment, they should find their place in the pecking order soon and settle into the flock, one thing is for sure, Conchita may still be the smallest but she is determined she isnt going to be bottom of the heap any more.
Names
I started off with flower names when I had the 6 Brahmas, Rosie, Poppy, Iris, Blossom, Marigold and Lily. After the fox the 4 new hybrids were just given random names- Bluebell, Tikka (blame Alistair) Minger (not a pretty chicken) and Vulture (looked like one)
Then came the Sebright bantams, Duncan said the cockerel kept strutting around like he was Spanish so they became Carlos and Conchita ......
Which leads me to the "tiddlies"
They are Pekin bantams, ridiculous little puffs of feathers that waddle about on their little legs, back to square one with the names......I thought I might start on names from the family tree Gertrude and Matilda, are my GG grandmothers so maybe they would have liked to live on as a chicken... or maybe not!
Chicks
Vulture has gone broody, she threatens anyone who comes near her eggs on her nest with serious harm, they arent actually her eggs but she doesnt know that.
In the interests of harmony, I got her a rabbit hutch of her own to be broody in , Carl sent me some fertile bantam eggs and after much grumbling about the eggs I slipped under her being cold, she settled back down to hatch them , if all goes well in 19-21 days time we will have chicks!
Happy Hatching !
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