Small wins.

I did some embroidery to make a condolences card for the widow of a builder (bricklayer originally)  friend.  

I also sewed something else, buggered if I can remember now, which is really annoying. 

And today, I managed to repair one of my made to measure bras!

These feel like fairly significant achievements, for different reasons.

The embroidery one was great, because everything worked well.  I also did some work prepping another couple of pieces, but I haven't stitched those out.   I attempted to buy a new embroidery machine,  but was too late.  It did help me sort our what I'm going to do (currently, anyway),  and I feel happy with my decision (currently anyway).   

If When I get my replacement machine, it will use a different format to the one I currently use, which is an unimaginable exercise in redownloading (or extracting) all the designs I own, in the new format.   And, everything will need to be recatalogued, again.   I did this once before when I switched from my lovely Janome single needle to the Brother 6 needle, so I am well aware of just how much effort it will be.

I've actually made a start already,  and I'm working through downloading (or extracting) the new format for the designs I own.  This is tedious work, time consuming, but at least will mean I can start cataloguing when I'm ready.   If I don't  get the machine I'm interested in, well, I've just wasted some time. It's not the end of the world.   If When  I do, I will be happy that all the grunt work is done.

Going through the designs, redownloading them,  makes me see all soiorts of designs I haven't thought about for years, and I've really quite enjoyed seeing what I own.

On the sewing front, I started by cutting up some old bras to "harvest" the hardware.  Today, I decided to do the repair on one of my bras, it was "just" a case of replacing the hooks.   I looked carefully at how they were fixed, and I went through my harvested goods to find one of a similar colour and size.  

 I then went to the trouble and care of unpicking the donor one. I was amazed that I'd managed to salvage it in really good shape,

Then I unpicked the existing one, which also went well.  And then came time to sew it on.  I googled  and found a tutorial which explained how to put these on, and it suggested a zigzag stitch (very short, very narrow).  The donor bra had been zigzagged, so that seemed the right thing to do. 

It was much more tricky than I expected, because the hooks got in the way of the presser foot.  I tried several feet, even my straight stitch leg, foot and plate, and it was just a mess.  Either the foot wasin the way, or the feed dogs wouldn't work, or blah blah blah.

I was amazed at my patience.   I think I managed to be patient because the problems were not of my making, and each of my decisions and attempts were done on sound principles. 

In the end I decided I'd just use a straight stitch, with a very short length,  and that worked really well.  The end result is a bit of a mess because of the earlier issues, but it's still wearable.  And I'll know better what to do when it comes to repairing the next one (which I am currently wearing).

I'm not posting a pic, because it'll look frightful in closeup. 

I'm hoping that a surge (serge, ha ha)  of sewing enthusiasm will overtake me soon, as my list of things to make is getting ever longer.

Shedding

For some reason I decided that I needed to sort out Myshed today.

It's still called Myshed (although of course my husband says "Yourshed") even though we only have one actual shed now.    DH's shed (or n"Yourshed" as I called it, and "Myshed" as he  called it)  was removed and disposed of long ago.

Myshed became a bit of a dumping ground when we were redoing the chicken run.   The spare run and catio were dumped in there,  along with goodness knows what else.   I'd been selling off stuff, like the nestboxes, and a load of electric netting.

I wanted to get out a dog vrate, to erect a temporary hen house in the kitchen.  Elizabeth is limping, and I want to be ready to bring her in if it looks liek she's not resting it properly.

It was a PITA trying to reach the dog crates.  When I did get to them, I found we had four of them in different sizes.  I managed to extract the one I wanted,  and then I decided I'd have to sort things out.

Several hours of sweaty labour later,  and Myshed looks much better inside.  I even emptied the metal feed bin and scooped up all the spilled feed for the bin. (I've just remembered I left it in a tub on top, so I must go and get it in a moment, otherwise there will be trouble).

I've put some stuff in the bin.  I've put some items in the pile for the Tip;   I've put the Ikea bags we use for logs in the trailer in the car tent;  I've neatly stacked all the run bits, behind the feed bin.;  I sorted the netting so that each bundle stands in its own bin (netting is a nightmare to handle!  and I may need to try and sew some sort of bag to stand each lot in, to prevent the stakes getting intertwangled).

I've brought a load of things into the house to photograph to offer for free or take to the charity shop.   I've bought in one of the 4 dog crates to try and sell.  I need to get that done before the last vestiges of enthusiasm finally leave me.

I've made a pile of crates that DH needs to go through, as it's stuff that I don't feel able to make a decision about. 

Onward.

Breaks

They say things come along in 3s. 

Hmm.

In the last couple of weeks.....

1. The person who was going to buy coop and run, for whom I had kept said items for 5 weeks, was themselves let down and couldn't collect
2. DH melted the drawer front of the air fryer
3. The air fryer manufacturer had none in stock (but have since had stock come in. After I bought a replacement air fryer)
   
4. The sky box broke, losing our recordings and our settings  
5. Leak under the sink. obviously been going for a while, only found because I was querying water bill
   
6. Orla, my lovely GT Jubilee organ, has gone kaput
7. Roberto, the Roomba, has decided to hand in his notice.
8. I'm having a skin reaction to the full face cpap mask
9. My back pain has resumed, and my back has become locked
10. The blade on my hand blender broke

 First word problems, I know. 

But it is a bit trying. 

I will look at this differently, and I will feel better.  So, here are the pros to those problems.

1. The person who was going to buy coop and run, for whom I had kept said items for 5 weeks, was themselves let down and couldn't collect
   After a concerted effort,  I was able to help the two bits separately.   I helped 2 people instead of just 1.  And I made a donation to a Hen rescue charity with some of the proceeds.  And I met some lovely people.
   
2. DH melted the drawer front of the air fryer
   At least it was only the drawer, and a replacement was available eventually
   
3. The air fryer manufacturer had none in stock (but have since had stock come in. After I bought a replacement air fryer)
   I now have 2 air fryers with multiple capabilities, and the new one has a big drawer which can be divided
   
4. The sky box broke, losing our recordings and our settings 
   New box didn't cost us anything.  I took the opportunity to reorganise the favourites.  Some of the stuff we had on there had been on there for years.
   
5. Leak under the sink. obviously been going for a while, only found because I was querying water bill
   I'm struggling to find a pro for this. At least I found the leak now.
   
6. Orla, my lovely GT Jubilee organ, has gone kaput. The company no loonger exists. Engineers are hard to find (the one I did find said it was likely irreparable, no replacement parts)
   I found the company that was the last to support Orla before they closed.  They sent me the name of my nearest engineer.    He was fantastic.    He helped me resuscitate Orla remotely. 
   Losing her, and getting her back,  reminded me why I love her.     I had realised that I would spend my savings buying a replacement, if I could find the  right model.
   
7. Roberto, the Roomba, has decided to hand in his notice.
   Hopefully he will be under warranty. And, if so, at least it happened while he was under warranty
   
8. I'm having a skin reaction to the full face cpap mask
   I can still wear my nasal one.    It's made me understand what some other people go through.
   
9. My back pain has resumed, and my back has become locked
   I'm struggling to find a pro for this. Maybe - it's reminded me that I really do need that referral when it finally comes through.
   
10. The blade on my hand blender broke
    Spares are easily available.   It was cheaper than buying a replacement (used) one

 

I guess I do feel a bit better.

Jumbled

Not my best week.  Something is not quite right.

I'm struggling to do Sudoku Killer puzzles, and yesterday I struggled a bit to get started with the Codeword puzzle.      My brain is a it foggy, and I' not sure why this would be.

The CPAP is working well.   I'm waking up quite a lot, and I think that's from the back pain rather than apnoea.  

Last night I fell asleep n the sofa at about 10pm, and went to bed just before midnight.  This morning, I woke up feeling like I had been out through a wringer.   I realised I'd forgotton to put on my sleeping bra (a "must" since I started being forced to sleep on my side), AND I hadn't put my Wellue ring on.   At least I had put on my NightShift device, so I hadn't slept on my back,  and I did wear my CPAP.

This morning, I had a headache on top of everything else.  I weighed myself, and I've not put any more since last time,  but I'm at my heaviest ever weight (which I think is something to do with the CPAP).  My back and neck are tired/fatigued.

I didn't feel flu-ey, but "Covid" popped into my head.   I did a test, just in case, but it was negative.

 Maybe I need a precautionary visit to the Physio to try and improve things?  She;s full today. She has spaces tomorrow, but they coincide with the time the buyer is coming to collect the Cube.  The next appointments are Tuesday, so I might book one of those instead.

In other news,  we failed to go for a walk on Monday and Tuesday.  I booked a chimney sweep and a stove service.   Wednesday was Pilates, which was hard work but felt good.    We did a longer walk yesterday,  only a little over 2 miles, but it was good to do it.   Today its raining, so we decided not to walk (wimps!).

CRAFTY
I'm going to buy a pattern for a shirred sundress today.  I found an online free "pattern" for making a quick tubular dress, and I was tempted to try it. I still might  but the skirt on it would be enormous.    One of the online Indies that I've had some success with has a pattern, and I've been waiting for a few weeks to see if it comes up as their Friday Feature.   It hasn't so far, and I'm getting fed up of looking at the fabric on the dining room table, so I'll press the buy button today. Probably. Maybe.

The Macrame kit I bought at our local carnival is still sitting on the table, and everytime I look at it I think "Yes,  I do want to make a plant hanger, but not today".    It's going to go and live in the sewing room,  where it will probably stay until I get a moment of inspiration. Or until hell freezes over, whichever is sooner.

 I saw some fabric that I think my BFF Y would like, and I've ordered a tonne of it to be delivered. It's brushed cotton, and   I was thinking I might make her a dressing gown.    It was being sold at a bargain price, and I had to buy a lot of it because she's very tall and the fabric wasn't particularly wide.   It seemed like a good idea at the time,.

LEAK
We had a leak under the kitchen sink.    I found it because I was trying to read the meter following an unexpectedly large water bill.   I don't think the leak is the cause of the water bill,   it's too slow for  that.

The leak has come from the joint where the hose to the spray is attached.   I suggested to DH that we take the hose out, as I hadnow put a spray thing on our tap.  It's really ugly, ruins the line of our beautiful tap, but it works really really well.    He stopped the leak, and is waiting for a bit to arrive so he can block off the junction. 

The cupboard is drying out.  Luckily, some months ago now I reorganised it and put storage things in there, so whipping out loads of contents was quick and painless (unlike the process for DH of lying in the cupboard trying to fix things)  and it's not too much of a hardship having them on the kitchen floor.    I';; give the contents a once over to check that everything is still needed.

I'm also going to put a sensor light in the cupboard because I need to photograph the meter more often.   We've put a meter on the outside tap, and I want to photograph both fairly frequently, so I can get an idea of how much of our useage is in the garden (and therefore does not go through the waste water system).#

HENS

The new hens are doing quite well, and mostly there's not too much trouble.  A couple of the older girls, particularly Elizabeth and Fay, are being really nasty,  but the rest are not going outof their ways to pick on the newbies.   I've started to leave the top half of the dividing door  open at night.  I'm not ready to leave the whole thing open yet.

I suspect that the palamino Vorwerk, Ophelia,  might be blind in at least one eye.    Her behaviour is very strange sometimes, and she really seems to struggle to get treats.  I need to try and spend some time with her, but she just doesn not want to be handled at all.

Olga (Olly), the older of the two Araucana, is such a sweetie.  She's learned that jumping up on something gets her a treat . I don't even have to say "Up, Up" now, she just does it.     She's doing really well.

Odette (Odie), the other Araucana, does not want to be hand tamed, and refuses to understand "up, up", even when she sees her sister doing it and getting rewarded.  I wish Miss Teen was still the old (bu which I mean younger) Miss Teen,  as she would have leapt at the chance of soending some time hand taming a hen. 

The Oldies are doing OK.  Fleur has slowed down a lot.  I've singled out our most ancient hen, Poppy ,  for extra treats, especially fruit from the tayberry and jostaberry bushes.  I also make sure I  hand feed her some peas, and the sunflower seeds in the evening.  

FOOD

The Mrs Balbir Singh spices have been a revelation.  I've got the Butter Chicken spice mix out today, and it will be interesting to try this and compare it to the Butter Chicken Lady's recipe.    I won't use chicken of course, it'll be pork.   I think it might be the last pack of diced pork I have in the freezer.  I need to check the chest freezer in the summerhouse to see if I have anything else out there.

I haven't made the Byryani, and I'm not sure that I will.    Everything else has been somewhere on the scale of "good" to "sublime".    I've had to start buying jars of garlic paste and ginger paste,  as I use so much of it.  I know it's lazy,  but I really don't care.

 

Well, I think I've probably procrastinated enough.   I need to go and buy that pattern.  Maybe.

Disk error

Our sky box decided to stop working, a disk error.

We followed the steps to see if it would magically recover, but no luck.

All our recordings are lost,  as are our Favourite Channels,   and our recording schedule (including auto links to new seasons of previously recorded programmes).

The solution was to order a new box from Sky.  To their credit, it arrived the next day and the courier collected the old one at the same time.

Fortunately, while googling for the problem,   I saw reminders to remove our viewing card before returning the old box.  I couldn't get it out.  I tried pushing it in to get it to release, it was stuck solid.  DH tried gently moving it out with a pair of pliers. Nope.  He then used the pliers to push it in a bit, and that did the trick.

The loss included some very old programmes (no longer available anywhere),  and also the remainder of  7 seasons of a US show we were working our way through. We had just started season 5,  and this is no longer available to download.  We can buy access to it from Amazon,   or we can sign up to Disney+,  or we can wait until the series comes around again on TV. We'll probably take the last option, as we don't want to throw any more money at watching TV.

Luckily, in the last couple of weeks we had reached the final episodes of the current seasons of 4 of the series that we watch, so we didn't have to find those.

After the new box was connected, I set up and organised the favourites, which wasn't difficult (we could still see them before we disconnected the box, so I took photos).  On the plus side,    I've organised them a bit better this time round (especially the +1 channels).

We then spent a painful hour or so trying to reconstruct other bits of the recording schedule.  We don't watch anything live, we always record and watch later so we can speed through the adverts.   We are so used to relying on the recordings that we didn't know what channel different programmes were on! 

Still, it's only TV.

Let Down

Seven weeks ago, I sold my Walk In Run.   The buyer lives several hundred miles away, but would be  visiting a town near me this weekend and would I hold it for them.  She also bought a coop I was selling.  

I checked up with her in the intervening weeks, she explained why she was visiting the area (a show was on),  and all was well.

I checked with her a week or so ago, and all was well.

She messaged me today to say she had been let down by friends and was unable to come.   She was very out of pocket herself, what with show fees and van hire having been paid.

I felt for her.

Not quite as much as I felt for myself,  truth be told.  No point being upset with her,  these things happen.  I've just got to psyche myself up to go through all the advertising again.

Where's Lewis?

When I find Lewis hidden somewhere, I try and get a photo.  I then send it via WhatsApp to miss Teen, with the caption "Where's Lewis?" .  She edits the photo to point him out.

We've played this game for years. She still plays, although with less gusto these days.

Here are a few of them

He's made a tent out ot the netting

Under the trug

In the black plastic tube

In the egg shaped thing

In the cupnoard, behind the sound bar

At the end of the bed on the left, under the duvet

Burnt out

For once, it wasn't me.

Shady business

We;ve had several days of appallingly hot weather.

I've been giving the Girls frozen peas in a small amount of water, in a washing up bowl (a washing up bowl used only for this purpose).   I have to place it so that many beaks can get round it at any one time.  They love it, and the Littlees try desperately to get in and have some too.

Yesterday I put out a second bowl, at the same time, in another part of the garden.  That worked well, but I'm going through packets of peas really fast.  

The Oldies are hogging the shaded places, and are chasing the Littlees away.   I put out a couple of chairs, and rigged up a kind of bivouac cover, which gave them somewhere slightly shaded to rest.   It looked like a very makeshift refugee camp.

I thought about getting a shade sail for them,  but DH and I looked at where the sun's rays fall during the course of the day and realised it wasn't going to be practical.

I then thought about getting a cantilever parasol for them, which would be less annoying on the ground for us,  and would be a bit more flexible.  I found a couple of them for sale, for a reasonable price, fairly locally on FB Marketplace.   The first one turned out to be sold.  The second one, a bit further away,  turned out to be sold by the time the first one had got back to me.

Because the problem is NOW, we decided to buy an inexpensive one, new, instead.  And, in the meantime, we  used the shade from our table umbrella to provide respite.   I also ordered another one of the run shades that i'd bought the other day,  as I thought I could cover one side of the run if necessary, to cast a cool shadow.

To my amazement and delight, the new one arrived this morning!  I only ordered it yesterday, and it was meant to be on a 2-3 day delivery.  

DH put it together straightaway, and then fiddled and farted around identifying where to put it to provide
the maximum shade for as much of the day as possible, without having to keep adjusting it.

It's great! It's much better quality than I expected, and it's going to be fab all summer.

We took down the refugee camp, so it looks better there (still a load of bits and pieces to be cleared away).  I left the chairs there for now because they provide physical protection for the Littlees from the Oldies.

The shade netting arrived as well, and I may put that up anyway. The weather is just so hot, the poor Littlees don't have big combs so are panting in their attempts to lose heat.

Noates to self

I tried again this afternoon.

Twice.

I started with adding some Date syrup.  I don't have any dates, but I do have a jar of date syrup (which, like a lot of items in my store cupboard,  I bought for something in particular and then couldn't remember what, so it never got used).

Sadly, I forgot to put the grinder attachment on and, as clearly  explained in the warnings in the instruction book,  the stuff leaked everywhere.

Fortunately, I had a whole bottle of date syrup, and I'd bought a 1kg bag of oats,  so I cleared up and tried again.

Attempt two looked promising.  I tried some as I sieved it out.    I realised I'd forgotten to add oil.

I might try again a bit later.

Oatly ridiculous

I've been drinking quite a lot of Oatly oat milk lately.  I even added it to my milkman delivery, reducing the normal milk accordingly.

I don't particularly like it hot, and I don't like it in hot drinks,  but I do like it cold.  On its own,  or frothed in cold, cold-brew coffee.

I saw a gadget for making nut/oat milk in my Facebook feed.  I didn't buy the advertised gadget, I disappeared down a rabbit hole and ended up buying an even better one . I waited until I managed to get one for a reasonable price from FB Marketplace,  as I wasn't convinced I was going to like the results.

The gadget I bought,  a Miomat, is very good at its job.

Unfortunately,  home made oat milk, made with just oats and water,  tastes appalling and has a horrible texture. 

I tried a second time, following the Nut method instead of the Cereal method.  Oats are, my instruction book tells me, one of the few things that can be done either way.

It was marginally better, but still sh*te.

I sat down and read the back of the Oatly carton.    I noticed that they added salt and rapeseed oil.  I tried a 3rd time,  substituting coconut oil for rapeseed oil (Rapeseed oil is not my friend. And coconut oil was one of the oil options given either in the recipe book or in an online recipe, I can't remember now.

The texture was marginally better,  but the taste of coconut was a bit overpowering.  I suppose I wasn't surprised, as oats don't actually have much flavour.

I was puzzled as to why there was so much difference between what I was making and Oatly.    I had stupidly assumed that Oatly was just Oat Milk, so I was also feeling a bit let down.   

It was about to get worse.

I read the back of the carton again.  I noticed that sugars were listed, but I had thought there weren't any added sugars (?)    I did some googling, and I discovered a very helpful video, which explained it all.   Apparently, Oatly add Amylase to their drink (plus vitamins and minerals).  The amylase breaks up the starchy chain,  releasing the sugars, which makes the drink taste much sweeter.    This was confirmed on the US website for Oatly.

I had a look at getting some Amylase.  I don't really want to be added stuff to my drink, I thought I was having a relatively unprocessed thing....  but I wanted to follow this through.    The only Amylase I could find in the UK was stuff for brewing,   stuff for school experiments which was labelled as not food safe,   or pills and potions.  The pills and potions contain all sorts of additional stuff, so they were out.  The brewing stuff didn't look quite the same as the stuff the chap in the video used.

I asked on a friendly gadget group whether people had experience of making oatly-esque dtinks, and various suggestions were made (like adding dates).  I will try that, but that won't give me Oatly.

In the end I ordered some Amylase from the US, the exact same stuff the chap in the video used, which will take a couple of weeks to get here.

I hope I remember what I wanted it for when it arrives.

 

Glen Miller Orchestra

We were lucky to get tickets to go and see the Glen Miller Orchestra.  I love the music.

I really like the film  he Glenn Miller Story,  and so of course images of James Stewart and June Allyson popped into my head at particular points.   when they played Little Brown Jug I remembered how it was (according to the film anyway) recorded as a Christmas surprise for Glenn's wife,  and of course (in the film anyway), his plane was lost at sea.

I could see James Stewarts face when he played "String of Pearls" for June Allyson to hear for the first time;   and all the other well known numbers brought similar images popping up in my head.

Absolutely fabulous show.

https://www.glennmillerorchestra.co.uk/team-3

Run together

Yesterday afternoion my lovely DB came over to help move the Purple Cube from the Fruit cage ("The East Wing") to its final position.     

DH cut a suitable collar from some old cube run pieces, and connected it all up.  He then clipped out some of one of the side panels so that the girls had enough headroom to go up the ladder, and we were ready to move the Oldies in.

There is still a load of stuff (paving slabs, mainly) which needs to come out of  there.   I alsio need to put some brackets up so I can better habng my treat nets and hanging feeders.  And the door to tghe East Wing definitely needs reversing, which is a major operation because of where it is located.

We put the Oldies in last night, and all was well.   It's a fab set up, and I could keep the two flocks permanently apart if necessary.  I'm going to see how they mix during the coming days, and eventuallyI'll try leaving the connecting door open to see what happens. Not yet though.

The green of the run is very unobtrusive, and I realised it was quite difficult to see from the house whether all the doors were closed, and whether all the locks were down.    I think i've fixed this, with the help of some Brother TZe tape.  

I'll take pics later.

There is still lots of carp everywhere, and it will take me a while to sort it out.

I'll post pictures soon.

Cool Running

We are now ready to move the Purple cube back from the fruit cage part of the run, to its permanent position.

DH has redone the area the Cube is going to stand on, putting down welmesh instead of the gravel-holding plastic we had down before.  That was fab,  and worked brilliantly to stop the girls creating huge dustbath holes... but it meant that the rats could build tunnels underneath without us realising.     With the Weldmesh. We should see evidence of rat tunnels before they become a problem.

We'll be moving the Cube shortly.

You may remember that I mentioned that the Newbies section of Run doesn't have enough shade.   I bought some shade netting, from Amazon, to try just on their part of the run (the Oldies section has tree shade and doesn't need any help. ).  It arrived today, and we put it up straight away.    Luckily DH mentioned that, in order to provide shading where I wanted it, I had to put the netting further back (rather than just popping it on top their section).  

It works really well!   Much better than I hoped.  The inside of the run is airy and light,  and the oppressive heat of the rays are blocked.  It's exactly what the hens will love, it'ls like being in the dappled shade of a wood.

I've listed some more ex-allotment bits for sale.

 

Running In

The Run is mostly up and it looks splendid. Or it would do if I cleared the piles of carp that I've got lying around. 

It's currently divided into two discreeet runs, each with their own door. .The section nearest the house is slightly smaller than the section behind it,  and that is where the New Girls are going to be for the next couple of weeks.   

The Oldies will have the back section, and I'll have to decide whether to close off the fruit cage run for them.  I don't have a way to give the new girls access to the fruit cage, I've seriously been considering a tunnel system like they use in Monkey World. I haven't mentioned that to DH yet.

Once the integration is well under way, we will remove some of the separation to make one big run.  A small part of it, at half height, will (probably) be there permanently to make it feel like the run ahas multiple "rooms".   It'll help when they are in Flockdown.

We installed the New Girls (Olga, Odette and Ophelia) into their part of the run a few hours ago, and they've been busy exploring.   I'm hoping they will put themselves to bed.

Poor little Odette did go into the Cube to explore earlier, but she had trouble with the ladder.  Serious trouble, as in, she fell in between two rungs.   I've cable tied the wooden ladder (made in a hurry for baby hens many years ago) over the top and she managed that better when I shooed her up it.

For expediency, we shuffled the Orange cube into the place previously occupied by the Purple one.  The Purple cube, when we are ready to move the Oldies into their part of the new run, will be where the orange one used to be.  

It'll be a few days before we're ready to do that. 

I'm wondering if Miss Teen will notice the position change.  Miss Tween would have noticed within seconds of walking into the kitchen and looking out of the window.

I also need to find a big enough sunshade to put over the New Girls part of the run, as there isn't enough shade.  They can sit under the Cube, which is shaded by a tree,  but it's not enough, The other section has plenty of shade. 

D H will start taking down the temporary run tomorrow, and I've asked him to also pile up any additional bits we need for the Catio. This can then all be cable tied together, and stored somewhere out of the way.

We have a lot of panels remaining,  and I've decided to sell some Extension sets.  I've already made up bags with the ancillary bits in, I just need to see how many panels and roof infil bits I've got available, to see how many complete sets I can make up.

Big clearout coming.

 

 

 

Running Start

So much of the new Run is up now, but there is still a lot of work for DH to do.  

I get to help by holding the tape measure so he can check it's all square,  and by saying helpful things like "are you sure they can get down the ladder if we have that there",  or "yes, I'm happy with a door going there",  or "I was just wondering....."

Soon it will be ready for us to decide how to subdivide it to provide separation between the two flocks.   

We might need to include a "no hens land" so they can't actually get to each other through the mesh.  

 

The Oldies tend to gang up on the Newbies, which I find very unfair. I understand the need to establish the pecking order, and so I try not to interfere when there is a one-on-one spat; I don't like it, but it is what it is.     I really don't like it when a second (or more) hen comes in to kick a hen while she's down.

I'm only letting them free range "together" while I am around to keep an eye and ear out for what's going on.  If I go out, I lock one or both sets away.

The weather has been fabulous, and the hens have been taking advantage of there being  very little netting up in the garden at the moment.   As soon as she realised that there were Strange Hens In The Garden,  Violent gave up being broody.  It's unusual for her, she normally sits tight for many many  weeks .

Run free

DH started putting up the new run today.  

He laid out the first side, and then we discussed exactly how this was going to fit to the run over the fruit cage and where the door should be. It was a calm discussion.

We followed this with a livelier discussion about how big the other dimension should be.   I gave in.

Later still, we had a discussion about the end where the cubes will attach.  This was actually a helpful discussion, and the plan is to remove the 1m cube run from the cube, replacing it with a narrow collar so it can dock with the walk in run.

This meant that the Cubes would be moving 1m inwards, with the Girls therefore losing  two 1x1m bits of run.  I suggested lengthening the side by 1 panel to compensate.   DH considered it, but pointed out that it would be awkward because the corner would make it difficult to pass by the quince tree.

He was right.

I didn't really want to lose the space, so I asked if it might be possible to "castellate" the corners at each end, and that looks like it will work.    We are taking the run of the Cube so we can check it all works.  

This would be fab for me as it means I could access the ladder and the coop door, which I've only been able to do , very awkwardly, from side panels before.   If it works, this alone will make replacing the run worthwhile.

With no large run, we've been letting the two groups of girls have the garden to free range in.  There have been a few confrontations, and I've stepped in because it always ends up with multiple Oldies attacking a single Newbie.

For the last week, Fay has been spending time in both camps.  She's laying her eggs in the Newbie's cube.    It worked out quite well, as looked like it helped the Newbies to see a face they knew when the groups were out free ranging. 

I've put out a washing up bowl (which has never been used for that, of course) with some cool water and some frozen peas in.   It's a good way to get hot hens to have an extra drink.       Everyone had plenty,  but it' too soon to have both groups eating at the same time.

I noticed that Fay has been asserting herself within the Oldie group, and I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing The Oldies are a bit fractious with each other, and there was some worrying purple tinge on Astrid's enormous comb this morning.  It had gone back to red later in the morning, but I need to keep an eye on her.

Violent has been broody all this time, but she's come off the nest a couple of times in the last few days to cause trouble.

I really want to trim the feathers which are obscuring Olga's (the matriarch of the Newbies) eyesight.  I'm a bit concerned that I may make matters worse.

 

Run Down

The garden looks bigger and better,  DH has worked like  a trojan.

I've labelled all the poles and the weldmesh bits.
I've managed to find all the bits for the GoUp run, apart from a wire mesh door for the back.  I've got some spare mesh, so DH can make me one. 

I've sorted out the Omlet mesh needed to make a 1m run for the Green Cube which we are selling.   I can't find the side panels which go under the cube, so we'll have to trim some mesh down to fit. I'll also need to get DH to trom some pieces to make a skirt for those panels.

I think I've got enough.  I need to put it all together (and connect it with fence hog rings) and label it. 

Running low

DH has been busy dismantling the walk in run.   It will take a couple more days before it's all down.

 It's caused havoc for the Oldies.  They can no longer get to the orange cube (it's been moved  back, and the access hole has been closed with new weldmesh). I had to move the broody into the purple cube which is now in the fruit cage, she wasn't happy.

I've decided I'm going to sell the spare Cube,  and I wanted to sort out the run for it. I knnew it was in the garage, in the trailer.     Regrettably, lots of other run bits are also in the trailer,  and there was tons of stuff on  the trailer as well.

I pulled out the stuff that was on top first.   Some went iunto the wheelbarrow of doom (to go to the Tip)_;  I listed some for sale;  and I offered some for free.  Some was binned.

Next, I started hoiking the stuff out of the trailer.  Luckily, I'd had the foresight to label a lot of the run pieces, so I was able to create piles around the garden (to keep everything separate).  I went and fuond the instructions for the Cube and the GoUp so I could tick of the pieces.     I had most bits, I just need to lay out the skirt to see if I've got it all.

I also found some additional bits for the walk in run, and loads and loads of 16 gauge weldmesh, which was from our very first walk in run (more than 15 years ago).

I also created an enormous pile of older style movable netting, the sort that can be electrified.   It's all the netting from when we kept hens on our allotment, and I was momentarily saddened by seeing it.   I still wonder about Sasha, Summer, Blondie and Pong. 

I've got stuff everywhere now.

Competition

Last night I had to persuade four of the seven Oldies into the Orange Cube.   The three that were already in, objected. Two ot them stormed out in protest, adn I had to spend ages rounding them up and getting them in.

One of the benefits of the new run, when it's done, will be a door into the run on 3 of the four sides, so that will make evening shenanigans less taxing.

Tonight will be worse because the Oldies will no longer have access to their usual run, they will be confined to the fruit cage run.  

...

This morning, the noise started.

I lay in bed listening to two Newbies and two Oldies having a competition.  It went on, and on, and on.  I started counting eventually and, when I got to 135 squawks (from where I started counting), I couldn't stand it any more.   Goodness knows what our neighbours would be thinking.   I got up, and went out.

Getting up and going outside takes me quite a long time at the moment. I have to sit up, turn off my CPAP, take off my mask;  then I have to stand up and hobble to get something on my feet, then hobble to get my dressing gown, then limp downstairs one step at a time hobble across the kitchen,  find the keys, unlock the door open the door, and hobble outside.

As soon as I got outside, the noise stopped.  Dead.

I went back inside.  On the plus side, marginally less hobbling as my feet were waking up.

I made a cup of tea, and wrapped a parcel and bought postage while it brewed.    I took tea up to DH, had a shower, did some ironing,  got dressed, put some washing on, emptied the dishwasher, started cleaning the kitchen.

Later, I went and let all the Girls out.    The Oldies were understandably confused that I didn't open the normal outside door for them, and it took a while for them to come out.  The Newbies were out straight away.

....

DH is already outside, continuing the dismantling, supervised by 2 cats.

 

Running On

Yesterday DH removed the covers from the Run, so I could take photos for selling.

Today, DH moved one of the coops into the fruit cage run, so that we could move the Girls out of the big run and start dismantling it.  He had to take the coop apart to move it, and take part of the fruit cage run down to get it in. 

We let the Girls into the fruit cage - they've been locked out of it for months - and they were very excited to start excavating.

I don't know if they've realised that their coop is now in there.  Bedtime is likely to be very noisy tonight.

Once it was out of the way, he was able to start to fill the trenches dug under that coop over the years by the Girls

He removed the Chicken Guard auto-door. Then  he fixed the Weldmesh hole for both that and the access hole from the removed coop.

I went round labelling the metal poles,  and putting colour coded cable ties on the roof mesh to help the successful buyer put it all back together again.

Tomorrow we will start dismantling it properly.

Running away

I had this idea about replacing our large, immovable, metal run. The large, immovable, metal run which we'd had to buy  tons of 16g 1x1 weldmesh, costing more than the run,  to make foxproof.

The idea grew in my mind when I saw a fairly large Omlet run for sale for a reasonable price.

That run wasn't big enough,  and then it was sold anyway,  but the idea stayed with me.

And then a bigger run went up for sale, for a good price, only about an hour and a half from my parents.  2 birds, one stone, and I'd bought it before anyone else could. 

DH was, mostly, OK about it.  Resigned, probably.  Usually if I mention buying more run,  it goes down like a lead balloon and I  (usually) don't buy.

My brother agreed to come (well, actually, he agreed to drive me in his people carrier), and I booked an Air bnb  near my parents for the night.

En route, I was explaining why this would be better than current run, when I realised I had an opportunity to build something a bit more elaborate to facilitate integrating the newbies.

Except I wouldn't have quite enough run. Well, I probably wouldn't have, even if I used the stuff we had set aside for the Catio.

And then the first run came back up for sale,  it was vaguely on the way home,   DB was happy to do the long detour on the way home (he is amazingly kind like that), so I bought that too.

I wasn't sure how to break the news to my DH.    

 

If I waited until I got home with it all.......   not a good idea.

 

If I told him in advance, he's probably have got used to the idea by the time I got home.   I messaged DH to say that we were coming home via detour City and he didn't ask why. 

We collected the first run from a lovely lady, stayed for a cup of tea and a chat, went and visited a nearby lighthouse,  and then went on to see my parents.

The next morning we visited my parents for a couple of hours, and then set off homewards.

DH hadn't asked why we were going to detour City, just wished us safe journey.  I messaged him to say that I was picking up a second run.   

He didn't respond, and I wondered if I should have just surprised him with it after all.

We arrived at the second run, and only just managed to get it in the people carrier.  It really was quite a lot of stuff altogether.

We got home after a long day's travelling, and unloaded everything.  I explained, as best as I could, why I'd felt the need to buy the second run, and we had a bit of a lively discussion about it.

The next day, all was well.  DH did some sorting of the runs and some preparatory work on it.  We then agreed an approximate outline of what the new Chickenopolis would look like, and agreed a plan of action.

He took the miles of clear tarp off the current mega run, so I could photograph it ready to sell. He cut the grass so we could start moving the coops around, so the Oldies would have a safe area to live in, temporarily,  while he took the old run down.   

The actual coop move is tomorrow

We think it'll be a week or so before we've got the old one down, the area cleared and filled,  and the new one up and ready.

I'm hoping the old one will sell quickly.

Settling in

The newbies are settling in to their temporary home, very well.#

One of the Araucanas, provisionally named Olga,  seems to b ethe matriarch.  She calls the others over, like a mother Hen, when she finds a tasty morsel.  She also worked out how top operate the treadle feeder very quickly.     I think she has a bit of trouble seeing, and that may be because she has some feathers over her eyes.

The other Araucana, provisionally named Odette,  is a sweetie.  She's bottom of the trio pecking order, and is likely to be bottom of all 10 when they are combined later.  She has, possibly, learned how to use the treadle feeder.   

Both girls are lovely natured.  They don't want to be picked up,  but they are learning to tolerate it when they are given treats.

The thrid girl, a palomino Vorwerk provisjonally named Ophelia, is even less people friendly than her two sisters.   She hasn't been able to work the treadle,  she's determined to be number 2 in the pecking order and is dominating Idette at every chance she gets.    She's yong though, and I hope that she will settle down.  She's a pretty thing, but handsome is as handsome does.

They have been ere 2 weeks now, and in the last couple of days IO've opened up their outside run so they can have a look around the garden.     They haven't gone far. 

The Oldies are Not Happy about the incomers.   The Newbies have been in a flock all their lives, so they have no comprehension of what joining a flock means. 

Ophelia wandered a bit close to the Oldies netted area, and there was a bit of a battle through the netting between her and Poppy (my ancient, 11 year old, hen).   Poor Ophelia also encountered Fay, who was on one of her usual excursions out of the Oldies area.   I stepped between them after a minute or so, and things cooled down.

I'm not looking forward to putting them all together. 

The cats are very wary of the newbies, and have been trying to put on a show for them.   The Newbies weren't too sure at all about these monsters roaming around, and alarm-called loudly for the first fewe days.  Now the cats elicit just a small alarm call when they appear

 The cats go into the netted area whenever they can (especially if either of us is out in the garden), where they make a big show of not being bothered.  Until we go in. 

Lewis (cat) and Odette

 

Tidy

We took down all the chicken fencing so the grass could be mown.  We also moved the Newbies run a little.    

Both sets of Girls were confined to barracks while this was going on.  Neither set was happy, and everyone had to vocalise their annoyance.

Eventually it was all done.   The garden looks so much better without all the chicken fencing up.

DH is out now putting it all back so we can let the  Girls out.

It's time to start letting the Newbies explore the larger garden, before we think about letting the two groups meet under supervised ranging.

I'm gaving mixed feelings about it.  A few days ago, one of the Newbies got out and a fight broke out (across the netting) between her and my most lovely and aged hen, Poppy.  

I don't want to stress Poppy out, and part of me wishes I'd stuck to my original plan of not bringing in any newbies while Poppy was still with us,

But the Newbies are lovely (at least the two Araucana are, not sure about the Vorwerk).   And they are here now, so there's not much point in dwelling on the rights and wrongs of it.

Old bag

The Newbies announces they were up and about at 5.30.  They do it every morning.  

I lay in bed, cringing.

At 6.30, they started again.   Fearing a fox (and we haven't attached the skirt to their temporary 4mx2m run), I had to get up and check.

No fox.

I opened the window and "ssshd" them, which provided relief for about 10 seconds. There was a pigeon roostibgbon the top of their run.  I shut the window, and decided not to get back into bed.  If I did that, I'd just feel like carp for the rest of the day.

I went downstairs to make tea. 

In the kitchen, I could still hear the girls, and I looked out of the window. 

There was a dead black thing in the free range area. 

I walled round to the kitchen door, and saw the cats were also staring at the corpse.  Lewis, usually the.less bold, was stopped halfway through the catflap.

I went out, and Lewis went ahead of me, body low to the ground in hunting mode (him, not me).

I couldn't understand it.  How had I left a girl out?  Or had a fox managed to get one of them?  Hiw cone tge others were all ok?  The Oldies were lined up against the side of their run, watching.

Lewis reached the carcass first.  I saw a wing get lifted up a little  in the wind, and I wondered if it had been dropped by a kittiwake.

Many pairs of eyes were on me. I braced myself as I got to the fence.

Lewis and I looked atbeach other.

It was a large bit of black bin bag.

 

I retrieved it, and turned to take it into the kitchen for burial.    A round of grateful chickeny applause broke out.

Lewis went on patrol.

Clang!

The Newbies are settling in well into their temporary run.

The palomino Vorwerk has turned out to be a bit of a bully, and she's being really horrible to one of the Araucana.  The little Araucana submits,  but the Vorwerk doesn't stop.  I'm going to have to keep an eye on that.

I suspect that the Vorwerk wants to be number 2 (rather than number 3) in the Trio.  I think the other Araucana is Number 1, but it's too early to be sure.

We've adjusted the treadle feeder so they have to stand n it to get it to open.   They aren't particularly scared about the clanging,  but they haven't worked out that putting their foot on the treadle makes it open fully.  

To help things along (and to encourage them to become hand tame), I bought some mealworms.

Today, I put a second, empty, treadle feeder in their run, and put some mealworms (and peas) in it.  I then used a pole to work the treadle when they were close by.   They've opened it a couple of times, but it's been by accident rather than by design.

They love the mealworms.   The Oldies had plenty too.

I'm going to have to message my neighbour to apologise for the clanging.   I can imagine that it is very irritating.

Brain and Body out of synch

I'm now into my 3rd week of CPAP therapy.

My brain is feeling much more alert,  better than it has done for the last 2 years.

My body is improving a bit, but not at the same rate as my brain.  It causes problems sometimes.

Yesterday, I decided to do an enormous amount of Domestics.  I stripped the beds, soaked (we have white sheets) and then washed the bedding,   cleaned the kitchen,  cleaned and washed the kitchen floor, the bathroom floor, the bedroom floor,  the landing and the small room.   I washed, I scrubbed, I tidied...

I listed stuff for sale.    I made a from-scratch curry (another Mrs Balbir SIngh mix). 

I raked out the newbie chicken area, cleaned and refilled the drinkers in both runs.  I tested a sewing machine that I'm selling.  I reorganised some kitchen storage. I laminated my Mrs Balbir Singh recipe cards.  I made foccaccia.  I spent time with my brother.    I remade the beds.

By the early evening, my brain was still firing on all cylinders.  My body, however,  was screaming for mercy. I ended up taking paracetamol.  I usually only take painkillers when I have headaches, I try not to take them for other body aches.

This morning, I'm bodily very tired, but my brain is awake and raring to go. 

More Mrs Singh

Tonight I used Mrs Balbir Singh (MBS)'s Cocktail Kebabs spice mix, with some minced lamb, to make bite sized kebabs.

I cooked them on am enamel plate which I brushed with ghee,  in the Airfryer.  I did them at 180 for 5 mins, turning half way.   They were very moist and soft. 

 DH loves sheek kebabs, and I asked him if he wanted me to use the grill setting to give them a drier outside. He declined.   I served them with 4   home made dips. [I just mixed greek  yoghurt with different things: mango chutney,  mint jelly,   coriander and chilli something or other, and lime pickle.  They worked well.

Really delicious. Will definitely make again.

I also made Chana Masala.  This was good, and I will probably make it again.   I might also try it with pork meatballs instead of chickpeas.   

Clever girls

They were demanding to be let out at 5.30.  I guess they heard the other Girls get up and move around, despite being quite  a way away).

I got up and looked out of the window, just to reassure myself there wasn't a predator about  

Luckily we have a Hentronix opener on that Cube, so I was able to open their door without going downstairs. 

I went back to bed, and then had trouble getting up.  We had Pilates, which was just as well, otherwise I'd have stayed in bed all morning.

Tonight, they put themselves to bed. Clever girls!   

I've set their coop to open at 5.20.  

New Girls

The new Girls arrived today, from OrionTree. We now have a palomino Vorwerk,  and two Araucana.  

They are currently in a run and Cube, away from our existing girls.  They'll stay there for a week or so, befre we think about letting them meet the Oldies beak to beak

The existing flock were not impressed by the arrival of Outsiders, and there was a squawking match between the two groups at one point.     Hopefully that will settle down in a day or two.

One of the araucana seems a bit squawky.  I guess there has to be one, lol.

Normally we shut newbies in their coop for half an hour before letting them out.  Because these girls had been travelling,  I didn't think that was a good idea so I just popped them in their new run.

They weren't impressed by the cauliflower on offer.  But they did munch pellets.  I'd mixed in some of the ones they are used to with some growers pellets for them, to help them transition.

One of them,  investigated the Cube and laid an egg :-)  I haven't named them yet, so I only know which one by looking at this picture.

 

 The picture shows the Araucana egg on the right, next to a Leghorn white egg on the left

Fay

Fay is our Fayoumi.  She  (along with Fleur, our Cuckoo Marans) is 8 years old at the end of this month.

She's a funny little thing.  She hates being picked up.   She sometimes squats,  but she resents having to do it.  She squawks like mad if it even looks like she might be getting touched.

She's lowish in the pecking order, and tends to keep out of the way of the big birds.  She's able to fly over fencing, even tall fencing, despite having a cllipped wing.    She will not stay in any area that she can get out of.  

Often, she flies over the netting, and then just sits with the rest of the girls, but n the other side of the netting.      She drives DH to distraction,  it annoys him that she won't play by the rules.   It used to irritate me,  but I realised that she doesn't do it maliciously,  it's part of her character, and I'd miss it when she dies.

For the last couple of years, she's decided she's a bit of a cockerel.  She doesn't try to tread the other girls,  but she does like to try and crow.  She likes to get as high as possible,  throw her head back, and let rip with the joy of spring. 

This morning, as soon as I let them out into the garden, she climbed to the highest possible point.

 

I left her to it. 

 

Mrs Balbir Singh

I've been having adverts for "Mrs Balbir Singh" spices coming up in my FB feed for some weeks now. I normally grind my own spices, so I  ignored them.

I succumbed a few days ago.  We had recently tried a new (to us) place for Indian takeaway and I'd had the lamb chops. I really liked them, and fancied making them myself.   I'd seen that there was a "Masala Chops" mix available, so I thought I'd buy a few mixes and have a go.

The parcel arrived, and the tins were beautifully packed (my pic is just me stacking the tins back in the box).   and I was struck by the quality of the metal tins.

The smaller ones have inner seals with 3 openings and a fourth, closed, position.  I can see that they will keep the spices as fresh as possible.  

The recipe cards are really good quality.  I'm going to laminate mine, otherwise I'll inevitably get them caked in carp when I'm cooking.

I decided yesterday that  I'd try the Rogan Josh.  This wasn't actually one of the mixes I would have chosen, it just happened to come in the set I picked.  I had some cubed mutton in the freezer, so I decided to use that.

The recipe card was easy to follow.  I kept it out of the way of my cooking, as I hadn't done anything about the laminating at that stage.     It wasn't a complicated recipe, and I had all the ingredients I needed apart from almonds.  I substituted cashews, as I figured that the ground almonds were partly there as a thickener, and cashews do a great job of that in soups.

The Garam Masala, added in the last five minutes of cooking,  smelled divine;  much better than my homemade one (and better than other ones I'd bought in the past).

The result was really, really, good.  Better than I've made before.   My husband commented on how  good it was, and I don't think he even realised that I was trying a new mix.

I've labelled the two pots that I used because I keep my spices in a drawer, so need the description on the top.     I'm looking forward to making it again.

I'm also keen to try some of the other mixes (including the Masala Chops). 

The kits aren't cheap, but  - for me, at least - they are worth the money.

 

Racket

For the last few days, the Girls have been kicking off at Stupid o'clock.

We are down to 7 girls.  6 of them sleep in 1 cube, whilst the oldest, Poppy, sleeps on her own in the other.  She seems to like it that way and I'm not surprised. 

I try to set the Cubes so they open at the same time.   If Poppy's Cube opens first, the occupants of the other  Cube go berserk.

For the last few days, the 6 girls are going nuts anyway.  Something sets them off (it's not a fox, we've checked the cameras).  It's probably one of them starts whingeing, then they all join in,  and none of them stop bickering.

I've gradually moved the opening time on the Cube earlier and earlier, trying to pre-empt it.  Yesterday morning it was set to 6am,  but all that happened was they tumbled out of the Cube and then started whingeing in the Run (which is then even louder).

This morning it was set to a ridiculous 5.15am, in an attempt to beat them. 

At 5.45am, they all started, and I got up (switching off my CPAp and taking off my mask) to look out of the window to see if I could see anything going on.  It looked like only 1 girl was in the Run,. Thinking the autodoor may have failed to open, I got my dressing gown on, hobbled downstairs, foiund the keys to the door, opened the door and  stepped out into the garden.    They were all out in the  Run, and were strategically placed to make as much noise as possible.

Fay was standing on one of the garden chairs in the run, in full Cockerel mode.  Neck extended, head back.  I hissed at them to be quiet, and they all careered towards the door, hoping to be let out.  I refrained.

It was very tempting, but it was only 5.47am.  Perfect fox time.

I went back in, put my CPAP mask back on, went back to bed, and lay there listening to them complaining (less noisily) for the next couple of hours.

It made me question whether we  are doing the right thing on Tuesday..... but it's a bit late now.

I hesitated, but then went ahead and WhatsApped that photo to Miss Teen.  Miss Tween would have been really excited, would have guessed immediately,  and would be demanding more info.   

Miss Teen hasn't responded at all :rollseyes:  

I'm not surprised.   Miss Tween  noticed every tiny change in our house, and would have noticed the 2 incubator boxes stacked n the dining room table for the last couple of weeks the moment she entered the house.  She would have demanded to know what we're doing with them (and would have been sad to her they were sold).    Miss Teen didn't even register them.

I know it's a normal process of growing up, but the passing of the era saddens me.