On my way home on Friday evening I received a phone call from Jennifer in a state of distress, because she could not find any of our three hens, and there were lots of white feathers scattered in the chicken run, which usually means one thing. Fearing the worst – that the fox had paid another visit, I got back as quickly as I could to see if anything could be salvaged from the situation. Just as I pulled into the drive Jennifer spotted some movement under the heating oil tank, which is raised off the ground leaving a space large enough for domestic fowl to get into should they so wish. Recently the ducks have been laying their eggs under there, shunning their lovely cosy nest boxes in the coop. On peering in she caught sight of the white plumage of our oldest hen Frieda, and on shining a torch into the cavity (for by now it was almost dark) the two brown birds could be spotted hunched up. When the uninvited visitor struck, the girls sensibly took to their heels and sought sanctuary under the tank. Quite how Frieda evaded her attacker is a mystery, usually there is no escape, but on this occasion good fortune was on her side, or was it a result of bravery on her part? We will never know. I removed each frightened bird one by one from their hiding place and put them into the safety of the coop.
There are 2 coops that sit within a gated enclosure which opens out into a large pen that is protected by an electric fence that is switched on overnight. During the daytime the girls free range in the garden, and take themselves back to the run as the light fades. Jennifer took a photograph only 20 minutes before I received the phone call – it showed them lined up at the back door expectantly waiting for treats to be proffered. It was clearly only moments before the attack took place. On thinking about it I suspect a stoat rather than a fox, I just don’t think that the latter would leave empty handed, and during the attack it seems that the two ducks were bobbing around on their pond, apparently safe from the culprit, and typically cool about the mayhem going on around them. The good news is that no harm seems to have come to the hens (though Frieda is short of a good number of feathers), and they have all gone about their business quite normally since the incident. A close shave indeed.
A dry week! Well there was an odd brief shower, particularly yesterday when there was hail as well as rain, but it didn’t amount to much. I think that the ground has finally dried out enough to work, so tomorrow I will start bed preparation in earnest. There has been a very keen wind that has really helped the drying process, resulting in frantic levels of activity on the local farms – cultivating, fertiliser spreading and spring seed drilling is all proceeding while the going is good. It’s a later than usual start to the outdoor growing season for me, but generally the plants catch up, so hopefully it will all come right.
Meanwhile in the greenhouse and polytunnel things are really moving. I have got spring greens in both, and chard in the greenhouse, both of which will be cut for this week’s orders. I have now planted three rows of lettuce in the tunnel, and the mangetout pea plants are getting away now. In the propagating greenhouse there are cabbage and lettuce plants that are at the point where they need hardening off before being planted outside, and I will set out the early cucumbers and tomatoes in the big greenhouse within the next couple of weeks. Basically from now on it’s all systems go, so my Sundays at home are going to be interrupted somewhat from this point, though I need to allow enough time to keep my garden at home from becoming a jungle.
Le wild garlic est arrivé! It’s quite early this year and I will be making pesto with it this week. It will go on for quite a few weeks, so there is no need to panic and bulk buy.
So it’s Easter next weekend, and Good Friday will be a regular delivery day for me. I wonder if there will be any hot cross buns this year? I can normally rely on Pauline to come up trumps, but I expect that there are other bakers out there that could make an old man very happy. Rosemary used to be a banker, but she abandoned me. What I meant to say before I got side tracked was that this will be a normal week in terms of deliveries and farmers’ market. When I was at Langham, on my commute to the walled garden, around Wednesday of Holy Week I used to pass a group of pilgrims carrying a cross to the Shrine of our Lady at Walsingham in Norfolk. I don’t have religion myself, nature does it for me, but I always enjoyed seeing that happy band carrying their heavy load all that way.
You know the other thing that’s happening next weekend? The switch to BST. The clocks spring forward and provide us with lovely long light evenings. I really look forward to it, and it provides an opportunity to do some grass cutting or whatever at home, maybe a nice evening walk for Nellie. So get to bed early on Saturday to avoid jet-lag the next day.
Right that’s it, I’m outta here. Have a good week, and get baking!
Phil