Esmerelda's spurs and Mathilda's wings

These are new - if you look really closely at her legs you might notice spurs about an inch long.






And the rest of old Esme...

She seems quite happy and is still laying but there's something not right about a chicken suddenly sprouting spurs.



You might just be able to see where Mathilda's wings have been clipped. She is the only one to have had the wit to get out of "Borkatraz" and now we've raised the mesh, extended it, plugged all the gaps we could find, shears provided the final option.

What's going on

Wotchalookin' at?


The goldfish are awake.


Not sure but these might be tulips.


Yay! I didn't kill off the rhubarb when I moved it!


My house. My perch. Why can't I go inside?


The daffs are flowering already.


Bathing.


Pigeon-proofing

Things To Do That I Should've Done Already...

... plant garlic
... dig up, split and store the overgrown dahlia tubers
... dig over the far end of the lottie
... tidy up the ornamental grasses
... move a plant that is being crowded out by the grasses and the dahlias
... take more photos - notably of the daff that is flowering already in the garden
... have another bonfire and spread the ash over the plot
... make a bed for squash plants ready for the spring

Actually I did plant some garlic but it completely disappeared after the shoots reached about 3 inches high. Some of the other jobs here are traditionally autumn jobs I think but it has been really mild here and not too wet so I think I can just get on with it.

It's been a while...

...and I have been busy - honest!

The chickens are settled in to their new home and I think (fingers crossed) their playground is almost as escapeproof as we can make it. They're still laying - about 15 eggs per week at a guess. Still a bit baldy in places! I'd upload pictures but the blighters won't stay still long enough to get decent closeups.

In the allotment not much is happening. The leeks are brill (having some with dinner tonight). I dug up the parsnips today and was actually quite impressed by them. Not great but I didn't expect anything worth eating since they went in late and the ground wasn't really suitable. They were small and forky but they'll feed us tonight. Also in the pot: jerusalem artichokes.
Cue mash!

The main job this week has been to erect anti-pigeon defences around the raised bed (spring cabbages) and the brassica bed (PSB and kale).