At last, an update

Flippin' heck, I just looked when I last updated this and it's ages ago - sorry.  We've had Laura here for a week which has been nice.  We had a day out at Acton Scott Victorian Farm (the one where they filmed the BBC TV programme) - that's always an interesting day out and this time we watched the wheelwright demonstrating how to make a cartwheel and also learned how to make corn dollies (Bob was really enthralled by that!).  On the way home we pinched some corn stalks from a field and Laura and I had a go at making some.  I hope there weren't any crimes committed in that area that day which the police were asking for information about. Bob and I must've looked really suspicious dodging about the edge of a corn field looking shifty and anyone driving past would have thought we were doing something much more naughty than picking a few stray stalks of corn!

We also had a weekend in Peterborough at Carol and Graham's.  They had to go to a wedding on Saturday night so we had an evening in the garden with Sophie and Ellie, eating pizza and chocolate, listening to music, playing cards and burning pieces of paper with the candles (amazing how a bit of pyromania entertains) and then finally cutting out childish paper decorations to hang on the shed - all lots of silly fun and made so much better by the rare treat of the balmy weather allowing us to sit outside until gone midnight.  On Sunday we had a family get-together which included Mum and Dad and my brother and sister-in-law (who we haven't seen since before we moved, so about four years!) - just a shame that Ben was ill and couldn't come, my nephew was working and my niece was at a festival, so not quite the whole set, but nearly.  It was sooooooo HOT we spent the afternoon all trying to follow the little shady area around the garden!

Yesterday, Laura's last day here, we had the concrete delivered for the workshop foundations.  As promised, Mr P came round to help and Phil wheeled his barrow round too.  So we had them and Bob barrowing and Laura and I spreading it out and checking levels.  Apart from the fact that the concrete mixer was an hour and a half late, it all went smoothly and once we got going it didn't take long.  I took Laura to the station (about 5 miles away) after lunch and while we were waiting for the train it started to rain quite hard.  By the time I was driving home it was hammering down (wipers on full speed and I still couldn't see the car in front) and I had visions of Bob trying to cover the concrete with tarpaulin - not easy on your own in the wind.  So, I dashed straight home to help instead of going to Sainsburys as planned.  Luckily, and bizarrely, it wasn't raining at all when I got home.  We were right on the edge of it with blue sky in one direction and really dark clouds in the other.  We did have a fair bit of rain in the afternoon which wasn't ideal, but the concrete seems to have survived - phew!

Waiting for the concrete to arrive.  Dot made herself VERY
comfortable on Mr P's wellie . . . . and then stayed there
for ages dozing!






And, finally here we go!





A carefully choreographed wheelbarrow ballet!



Laura directing the concrete pouring and ready to level it
off.  It was quite strange to see her in jeans instead of her
red robes!

Me 'poddling' - it's a technical term you know!

Checking final levels with Phil

 

The chickens managed to survive cooped up by themselves while we were away without killing each other.  They still go around in two's, but Dot does nip in and grab food from the original two and they all peck around in fairly close proximity.  Horse is a bit more nervous and definitely has a similar personality to Elvis in her earlier days (flight not fight).  She made the dubious decision to moult not long after we got her, so she now looks more like an ex-battery chicken than she did when we got her!  Ooops.  Do you know, I dreamt about chickens moulting the other night, but in it they moulted their beaks too and had to make do with little pink lips until their new beaks grew - I do sometimes wonder about the turns my dreams take!  Egg production has not been too brilliant considering that we now have four chickens . . . . . and an average of just one egg a day.  That happened last time we introduced new chucks and the count soon increased so we'll see.  The other day someone laid a beautiful dark brown egg, but about a third of the normal size.  When we opened it, the yolk was about the size of a pea! 

 

 

This evening we are joining the rest of our Smallholder Group for a walk in the Ceriog Valley (well, I think it is actually up the side of the Ceriog Valley) followed by a pint and chips which should be good . . . . so long as the builder has finished in time for us to go that is.