It doesn't feel a year ago that I made the last lot of marmalade - all 90 jars +.  We're down to the last couple of jars, so I'd better plan to do that job in the next couple of weeks.

The 8 chickens that we bought in May 2009 (after the fox had killed 10 of our other chickens) have done really well, laying between 5 and 8 eggs a day (even when the temperatures went well below freezing and snowed). 

The cream legbars have just started laying their lovely blue shelled eggs, after moulting at the end of Autumn last year. 

The wild deer can be seen most days in the field behind our field.  While out walking the other day, we had 3 of them running towards us - quite strange as we thought they would be running away from us, but I think they were running away from something else that scared them more, not necessarily us.

25th October 2009

While our hedges were being cut, the barn owl box fell off the telegraph pole.  I immediately contacted the Hawk and Owl Trust as we needed to get a new box put up (or have the old one mended) in readiness for next Spring for the kestrels to nest in.  We've had baby kestrels here for the last 2 years, this year we had 5 babies fledge, so it was important to get the new box up early enough for them to get interested in it.

The Hawk and Owl Trust suggested it was better to put up a kestrel box, rather than a barn owl box as obviously that was what was using the box.  I must admit I was a bit worried that it might put them off using a new box.  But we needn't have worried, while they were putting the new box up, a kestrel flew over the top and into the next field. 

The following day a kestrel sat in the box most of the day and since then has been hopping in and out of it (obviously due to the high winds and intermittent rain).

So I think we can look forward to another brood of baby kestrels next spring!

30th August 2009

I can't believe another Summer has gone and we're just about to go into Autumn.  It's that busy time of year again, using our home grown fruit to make jam for our busy bed and breakfast; damson jam, blackcurrant and rhubarb jam, blackberry jam, plum jam and tomato, onion and apple chutney. 

The wheat has been cut in the surrounding fields that adjoin us and the deer can be seen walking along the hedgerows.

The green woodpecker is just outside of the stable block rooms in our wildlife field and can be seen most days searching for ants.

21st July 2009 Kestrels have fledged

This year we (and guests) counted 5 kestrel chicks - they have now all finally fledged, although they can be seen in the field at the bottom of the garden flying around. 

Today I saw 3 green woodpeckers in our wildlife field from the stable block bedrooms. 

Kestrel chicks!

Two kestrel chicks have shown themselves yesterday on the barn owl box.  They just sit there sunning themselves.  One of the parents seemed to go in for a flying attack at my chickens, then I realised it was after the crows who were trying to eat the chicken food. 

Last year, the kestrel chicks took their time to leave the nest and kept returning.

The Barn Owl is back!

The last 2 nights I've seen the barn owl fly overhead with a field vole for its young.  This has been about 9.40 pm when I've been shutting the chickens up for the night.  What a fabulous sight - I never get tired of seeing it.  I'm really pleased that it still hunts and rears its young nearby.

The kestrels are spending a lot of their time out hunting, but guests are seeing them - again dropping into the barn owl box with food for the young.

The new chickens have started laying - some are laying double yokers!!  The eggs are still quite small, but they taste just as good. 

Had to put plastic fencing around the raised vegetable plot in the orchard, because the rabbits have been eating everything in sight.  Hopefully I've stopped them getting in.  I can't believe that when we first moved here 13 years ago, I was saying it was a shame we never had rabbits outside in the garden or field.  Well we do now - loads of them.  I've almost considered putting wild rabbit on the menu - well they would be very fresh wouldn't they??  No only joking!! 

9 June 2009

The new chickens have settled in really well and their combs have started to redden so won't be too long before we start having their lovely eggs on our breakfast menu.

The green woodpecker has returned to the field.  The kestrels have settled into the barn owl box and I imagine the female is sitting on the eggs, as the male is bringing in food for her.

We've just started weeding on the bigger vegetable plot, my bad back and weekly visits to the chiropractor has meant that the plot has been left since October when I first injured my back.  So hopefully today we shall have cleared it, ready for some more veg to go in. 

The bottom vegetable plot has runner beans, courgettes, lettuce and pak choi.  The greenhouses have tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and peppers.  They all seem to be doing really well with the tomatoes the size of ping pong balls.  We just need a bit more sunshine to bring them on.

31 May 2009

On a happier note, we bought 8 more chickens - 2 blue belles, 1 white leghorn, 2 light sussex, 1 silver sussex, 1 rhode rock and 1 colombian blacktail.  They've settled in really well and look really beautiful. They're all at "point of lay" so it won't be long before they starting laying delicious eggs.

25 May 2009

Be warned any budding smallholders - don't get complacent about your chickens.  Up until 7pm tonight we had 10 cream legbars (6 months old) 4 cream legbars 10 months old, 4 light sussex and one rescue warren.

At 9.00 pm - we have only 5 cream legbars and 2 light sussex - only half of our chickens.  I'm absolutely devastated, I really loved my chickens and had them since they were 6 weeks old - it's taken a lot of time and effort to give them a good home - got to know them etc etc.

This afternoon I smelt there was a fox about - but still felt they were secure - at 9pm tonight - half of them have gone!!

Just be aware, the fox is always out there - we've kept chickens for 13 years and this is the 2nd major killing we've had. 

When I see the cute little foxes on t.v. I think arhh aren't they lovely - then tonight I see the devastation and loss of my beautiful chickens!!

The pair of kestrels are permanently housed in the barn owl box - the male and female are taking it in turns to sit on the eggs - so hopefully we'll see the baby kestrels shortly.

10 March 2009

Today the wild mallard ducks are back in force - 6 of them have arrived today for feeding outside the back door.  In fact they've turned up 3 times breakfast, lunch and afternoon corn!!

All the chickens are laying really well (despite the weather) - we're getting around 14 eggs a day.  I just hope they can keep that up during the summer months. 

The kestrel has returned over the last few days to sit on the barn owl box in our wildlife field, so we are hoping that they will breed there again this year.  We had 2 baby kestrels born there last year.

The deer can be seen in the next field to ours.  Edgars sheep that are expecting "triplets" are in the next field as they get extra rations to make sure they all produce healthy triplets.  Edgar was telling me that triplets can end up having a high mortality rate, while the sheep that are having twins usually get two good lambs, whereas the sheep that only have one lamb, can end up having problems because the lamb gets too big for her to deliver.

I've just finished making about 76 jars of organic Seville Orange marmalade for guests to enjoy as well as buy. 

10th November 2008

We've just had 2 adult pheasants with 6 young pheasants in the field in the long grass by the pond.  We have also heard and seen the Little Owl at night usually perched on the telegraph post on the edge of our field. 

The goldfinches have returned to feed on the niger seeds outside the breakfast room window.  We have just started the Avon Bird Watch for the 8th year. 

A couple of birds from the youngest flock of Cream Legbars have just started laying their pretty blue shelled eggs, which now means that we have a consistent supply of eggs that will hopefully keep us going through Winter.

14th September 2008

Blue Eggs!!

At last, the Cream Legbar chickens have just started laying "blue" shelled eggs.  We have 4 Point of Lay Cream Legbars and 9 x 15 week old pullets, so once they are get laying, we will have plenty of eggs.  The five two year old Light Sussex are still laying quite well, usually about 4 - 5 eggs a day.  The last of the rescue chickens has made it past her 3rd birthday and the old Light Sussex is about 5 years old - both of them are enjoying their retirement.  The only thing they have to worry about is how many worms or slugs they can catch!

This time of year is always busy, picking fruit and making it into jams and chutneys.  We've had a glut of damsons, cooking apples and tomatoes which have just been made into jams and chutneys.  The plums have been awful this year - I managed to pick just two bowls of plums which have been frozen until I get some more spare time to make plum jam.    The blackberries have been coming on quite slowly, but I've frozen a 1lb at a time, ready to make into jam when I have enough quantity.

I've frozen some damson compote which should take us through quite a few autumn/winter weekends so that our guests can enjoy the taste of damsons layered in the yoghurts and remember the taste of autumn.

Jeff at Siston Nurseries produces some lovely shallots, so over the next couple of days I shall be making pickled shallots in balsamic vinegar.  Lovely!

We have heard the barn owl the last couple of evenings.  Two of the kestrels appeared briefly the other day to re-visit the box in the field.

1st August 2008

The baby kestrels have finally decided to fly the nest - although the other morning one of the baby's seem to have decided that the weather was so bad that he/she returned to safety.  Since then, its been pretty quiet, the ducks have gone having successfully mated and now taken up their winter quarters elsewhere. 

The butterflies have returned - some of them in abundance in the wildlife area, but only on those rare days when we have sunshine.

The cream legbar pullets are gradually getting closer to laying beautiful blue eggs for our guests breakfasts.  We bought 5 of them in at 12 weeks and they are a now 21 + weeks. so each day I'm checking to see if we've got beautiful blue eggs for breakfast.  We also bought 9 cream legbars at 6 weeks old and they are coming along really well, from being so small that you could hold them in the palm of your hand.

The barn owl is flying overhead at dusk - anything between 9.00 - 9.30 pm. 

The bullfinches are regularly feeding from the hulled sunflower seeds on the feeder outside the breakfast room window.  The goldfinches are feeding on the new season teasels. 

16th April 2008

It looks as if the pair of kestrels have taken up residence in our barn owl box.  The male appears to be very territorial of the box when the crows come anywhere near and goes into attack them screeching at them.  The male can be seen in the mornings and evenings.   

We are just about to start work on creating a larger wildflower area in the wildlife field.  The wildlife field has created a wonderful habitat for the field voles that the Barn Owl feeds on, but leaving the grass longer has meant that it has reduced the amount of wildflowers in the field.

On quite a few days recently we have noticed a pair of kestrels on the Barn Owl box in our field, so we are hoping that they might decide to nest here this year.  The Goldfinches are returning daily for the teasel seeds outside of the breakfast room.  We also have a pair of green woodpeckers visiting the field.

The other morning I went to let the chickens out when I noticed the wild ducks had returned to the pond.  As soon as they saw me, they came waddling up to the field gate.  Unfortunately Pete had put down some gravel at the edge of the gate, which meant that as in previous years they had just squished under the gate to get across the drive and into the back garden to be fed, they couldn't get through.  So I wedged the gate open and across the drive they waddled and into the back garden outside of the kitchen window waiting for their bread.  This morning the female mallard was on her own outside the kitchen waiting for bread.  They get so used to us that even when guests walk past them, they don't move!

Outside the breakfast room window you can occasionally see goldfinches on the teasel seeds (although we get quite a flock of them on the teasels by the wildlife pond in the field).  Its good to see that a pair of bullfinches have returned to feed on the bench by the fountain.  Last year we had baby bullfinches being fed on the stone bench. 

The 6 monthly birdwatch survey is nearly over for another year, with the last one being done at the end of March.  Guests will see the following garden birds - blackbird, blue tit, chaffinch, coal tit, collared dove, crow, dunnock, great tit, greenfinch, green woodpecker, greater spotted woodpecker, jackdaw, jay, long-tailed tit, magpie, rook, robin, house sparrow, hedge sparrow, sparrowhawk, wood pigeon, wren and field fares.  All rooms are supplied with binnoculars so that guests can enjoy watching the wildlife from their rooms or garden.

The year before last, we had two female great spotted woodpeckers bringing their babies to be fed in the garden - both woodpeckers had one offspring each, so each had its own bit territory.  I think last year must have been quite a bad year for them because we only had one mother and baby in the garden.

The deer can be seen quite often in the fields at the back of our field.  Our recent guests have enjoyed using the binnoculars in their rooms to see them and the birds in the field. 

I love this time of year - its exciting now that I've finished planning my seed planting times, purchased the seeds and I'm ready to go - I just need some energy and time!!  As before, we're growing first and second early potatoes (to make potato salad for guest's sandwich and cheese platters and also for the potato griddle cakes), tomatoes (some for the salads and some for grilling to go with the breakfast) loads of different types of lettuce for colour and leaf variety, cucumbers, a new type of watercress, radishes, chillies (to go in the omelettes) and lots of vegetables. 

I've just finished the last of the homemade Seville Orange Marmalade - just over 90 jars - that should keep us going until next January 2009 and also have plenty for sale.  Our stock of homemade jams are doing well and hopefully should keep us going until the summer when I make the next batch.  The strawberry jam and summer berry jams have both gone, but we've loads of damson, strawberry/rhubarb, blackberry and apple, plum and raspberry left.

Today is the start of making homemade Seville Orange Marmalade from Organic oranges and lemons that I got from Kidners Organic Fruit in the Bristol Fruit Market.  To see where these Organic Seville Oranges come from go to the lovely website of the orange producers www.huertavemaria.com - scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the word IMÁGENES to see pictures of their organic oranges and how they produce them.  We were down to our very last jar of marmalade last weekend, which I made in January 2007.  Not bad really when I gave quite a few jars away to friends/family and sold some through the B & B.  I think I made about 55 - 60 jars last year and they kept really well.  So a busy week - I've got 20lbs of Organic Seville Oranges to turn into marmalade.  Thank goodness its raining - I don't feel too bad about spending a few days in the kitchen!! 

I just wanted to add my congratulations to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for highlighting the way intensively farmed chickens are kept.  We started rescuing laying chickens (ex battery chickens) 11 years ago after hearing an announcement on the t.v by the R.S.P.C.A to say that 10,000 chickens were looking for free ranging homes.  Any chickens not re-homed would be culled, so off we went on a very hot day to Somerset (about an hour an a half's drive) to collect 16 sad chickens.  I put them in the large chicken house (that could hold up to 40 chickens) with my other 14 chickens.  My idea was just to give a retirement home to some worn out ex battery chickens, but to my amazement within a few days, all 16 started laying (and laid very well) to the extent that I had to keep taking them into work to give the eggs away!  My lucky existing 14 chickens had only known the free-range life as I had had most of them since very young chicks/pullets. 

It took the ex battery chickens about 4 days to come out of the chicken house on very wobbly legs and about 4 - 5 months to re-feather.  Then they took over the orchard, the field, the garden and followed me everywhere as soon as I came out of the house!  (All 28 of them!)  These crazy warrens (the breed of chicken usually used for egg production because they produce the most eggs per year) had such fantastic characters, whereas the chickens I had bought as pure breds had virtually no characters.

Since then we have had rescue chickens from Jane Howorth at the Battery Hens Welfare Trust.  At the moment we have 3 rescue chickens from January 2007 (who were 18 months old when they were taken from their battery house and re-homed).  So they have done really well to survive for another year - with intensive egg laying, they don't usually go on for too much longer.  Three of our Light Sussex are in fact 5 years old and doing very well, but they have only known free range life since we had them as pullets, so life has not been as hard for them.  During the summer of 2007 we added another 6 Light Sussex pullets. 

I have just pledged my commitment to stopping intensively farmed chickens on Hugh's web site: www.chickenout.tv where you can add your name to the campaign against intensively farmed chickens.  You can also visit The Battery Hens Welfare Trust web site:  www.bhwt.org.uk

The argument that free range chicken is more expensive doesn't necessarily have to be the case

- buy free range chickens from your local farmers' market

- buy a smaller free range chicken and have more delicious fresh locally grown vegetables instead - that way it doesn't have to cost more than those awful ones in the supermarkets.

Sorry had to get this one off my chest!

We've got a lovely "local" Christmas meal planned using a free range turkey from one of our suppliers "Cherry Lodge Farm" in Iron Acton, the sausage meat for the stuffing has come from Jamie at PJs Farm, bread from Pucklechurch Bakery for the breadcrumbs, Jamie's gammon from his free range pigs (Manor Kitchen cured the gammon for Jamie) which I shall be roasting with honey, mustard glaze and cloves.  We shall also be using Jamie's sausages and bacon for the sausage and bacon rolls.  I make my own cranberry, orange and port jelly.  The vegetables are all local from Chipping Sodbury Farmer's market and were grown in Devizes, as well as Edgar's potatoes in the next field. All washed down with a selection of local beers from Wickwar Brewery and Bath Ales (both a short drive from Fern Cottage) together with some Somerset Cider in Sandford and rounded off with a small glass of Somerset Apple Brandy.  That's the beauty of using excellent quality fresh local food, all I have to do is cook it and I know it will taste wonderful!

The Christmas tree is pot grown and is suitable for re-planting outside which will be done on or about the 1st January!

To all our guests and those who have yet to come and stay with us - have a great Christmas and we wish you all a very Happy New Year!!  Sue and Pete

Wild deer can be seen in the next field to ours, there appears to be two adults and two very young deer.  The green woodpecker is visiting the field and garden and the greater spotted woodpecker can be seen on the nuts on the damson tree. 

Today I am collecting ivy and foliage from the garden to make wreaths to go on the guest accommodation doors. 

I am starting to plan the purchasing of a polytunnel in the new year to extend our growing season of vegetables that we can use for our B & B, such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs and potatoes, as even the large greenhouse has got too small to cope with our produce!

We've just finished digging the orchard vegetable plot and emptying one of the large wooden compost containers onto the soil. I'm surprised how much has come out of just one compost container, enough to spread on the whole of the vegetable plot.  In the next couple of days we will be spreading it over the top of the soil and leaving the worms the job of taking it down into the soil.

We're still managing to grow our own lettuce in the large cedar wood greenhouse and the chillies are still continuing to ripen.  We've been vacuum packing the chillies and putting them in the freezer.  The vacuum packing extends their life even more than just freezing them.

I can't believe that the Bristol Birdwatch has come around again so quickly, I've been taking part each year for the last 7 years, ever since it started.  I love watching the different birds that come into our garden at this time of year.  So far we've recorded:  blackbird, blue tit, chaffinch, coal tit, collared dove, crow, dunnock, great tit, greenfinch, green woodpecker, greater spotted woodpecker, jackdaw, jay, long-tailed tit, magpie, rook, robin, sparrow, sparrowhawk, wood pigeon, wren.

We have been doing some of the local walks we recommend.  We walked around Overscourt Woods owned by the Forest of Avon, absolutely beautiful, peaceful and fantastic views.  We also did the Community Forestry Walk, owned by the Forest of Avon (just across the road from Fern Cottage). 

Its surprising how many deer are around here, we saw the usual ones in the field at the bottom of the garden, and then on both walks we saw more of them.

Our new Light Sussex pullet chickens are laying really well with about 6 eggs a day, so we're managing at the moment to keep up with our needs for guests' breakfasts.  On the very odd occasion when we run out, I buy our local Cherry Lodge Farm free range eggs.

12th September 2007

This afternoon I’m making more chutney – I’m just using up the last of the plums to make “spiced plum chutney”.  Then the last of the cooking apples are going to be sliced and frozen, once I’ve made some apple chutney.  The sliced apples will be used for our Fern Cottage seasonal special - “Sunny Honey Apples” – caramelised apple slices in honey and cinnamon on top of homemade griddle pancakes and a dollop of Yeo Valley Yoghurt.  Available until we run out!

Its funny, but all this talk about local and homemade food, reminds me that when the children were small I used to take them to the local Pick Your Own Farms to pick carrots, onions, runner beans and fruit.  The children had a great day out and I got to put the freshly picked runner beans and carrots in the freezer for winter.  I’d string up the onions and start pickling vegetables making chutney and pickling onions.  We didn’t have a very big garden at the time, so had to rely on the Pick Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Farms near us, rather than buying “tired” vegetables from the supermarkets.  I still go to St Aldams Fruit Farm some 30 years later to pick raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries etc when we run out.

My jam and chutney larder is now bulging and should take us through until next year, apart from making our own Seville orange marmalade in January.  I’m just going to make some more blackberry jam as we seem to have loads more coming on in the garden and field.  We will be using our own homemade chutney to go with the cheese platters. 

On Monday 10^th September, I was in the breakfast room just clearing up after the guests from the weekend had left and the sparrow hawk flew in through the side garden gate and landed on top of the cherub bird bath statue right outside of the breakfast room window.  Amazing to see it so close, although it used to sit on top of the washing line or in the silver birch tree in the back garden and “hide”.  

This week we have seen field voles running across the field pathways to avoid the grass cutter. The field voles are highly sought after by the barn owl and for this reason we keep the field margins wide with the grass allowed to grow long – you can see where the field vole lives in the long grass as there is a tiny hole woven into the grass. The pathways need to be cut around the field as the field vole feeds on short new grass shoots. Pete or Sue are happy to show you the vole holes.
We have also seen two pea hens in the field this week (the female version of the pheasant).
About 4.30 am the other morning we could hear the screech of the barn owl but haven’t seen it recently. Kestrels and buzzards can also be seen at the moment.
 

10th August 2007

We have seen two roe deer with their babies at the bottom of the field. A pair of kestrels are hovering across Edgar’s cut cornfield, on the look out for something tasty.

We’re surprised at the second batch of baby birds, greenfinches, sparrows and a baby wood pigeon.

We’re hoping to add to our egg supply and we should be collecting some Light Sussex pullets over the next day or so to top up our free range delicious tasting eggs. They’re just at “point of lay” so should be laying in the next couple of weeks or so.

The plums are just starting to ripen, so we should be able to start making plum compote with yoghurt, then when more are ready, I shall be making plum jam. The blackberries are coming on really well and we are doing blackberry compote with Yeo Valley Yoghurt. Delicious!

16 July 2007

The green woodpecker and its baby was at the bottom of the garden searching for worms and ants early on Saturday morning.  Today at 7.30 am two deer were in Edgar’s corn field (I bet he’ll be pleased!) although they ran into a neighbouring field when they heard one of our guests preparing to load his car with suitcases.

Saturday morning the guests in the breakfast room were treated to watching the squirrel sitting outside on the bench munching on the bird food (I expect he’ll want an increase in pay for that display!!) 

The hot tub in the new summerhouse is now running – and wonderful after a long day!  The views while you’re in the hot tub are across the corn fields and Siston Court and hills beyond.  Lovely!

28 June 2007

The wildlife at Fern Cottage has gone mad lately – Pete pointed out there was a deer outside the other morning – I was amazed to see it just wandering past our kitchen window.  The same evening it was in the front garden and over the next couple of days the deer could be seen wandering through from the rear of Fern Cottage to the front garden and then slipping out through the hedge.  There are many deer in the field across the road from us, so I imagine he was taking a short-cut to get back to them. 

Most of the baby birds have now become self-sufficient at feeding themselves and many have already disappeared, although we are still getting a young blackbird and robin.  The Jay has become quite adventurous and now comes up to the nuts outside the kitchen window.  All the other usual garden birds are still visiting frequently.    

The baby greater spotted woodpecker seems to have disappeared for the moment; I did find two spotted feathers in the back garden and a few days later sadly the sparrowhawk came through and managed to get a collared dove, but I’m hoping to spot the baby greater spotted woodpecker with his mother again soon.  Last year we had two great spotted woodpeckers with their baby woodpeckers – so cute, they sound like little squeaky teddies!

The squirrel is quite happily eating off the bench by the fountain and the Barn Owl flew over the front of the house at about 10.20 pm the other evening.  We should start to see her a bit more now as I imagine she has some chicks to feed. 

June 2007

Now I’ve seen everything!  Rabbits hopping around with the chickens.  They’ve had to put up with adult rooks and jackdaws pinching their food to feed their young.  Today an adult rook was feeding its young on the telegraph wire outside of the house. 

The bluetits have been cleaning up the roses of greenfly and feeding to their babies.  What a wonderful sight and how great that we don’t have to use pesticides to kill off the greenfly – we just leave nature to do it for us.

I’ve seen the fox again in the field the other afternoon.  It looked extremely well fed – which is worrying because I hope he doesn’t think he’s going to have his next meal on my chickens! 

The female wild mallard duck is continuing to come up once every 24 hours now for a meal – we are feeding her mixed corn (but don’t tell the chickens) – she ignores the bread and goes straight for the corn.  I think pretty soon we should be seeing her lovely new ducklings heading towards our wildlife pond for their first initiation dip in the pond.  I just hope I get to see it!

May 2007

The latest new 6 ex-battery (or as I like to call them my “recycled chickens”) that we had in January have settled in and feathering up well.  They have taken to free ranging quite quickly considering the 18 months of being kept caged.  We get 3 – 4 eggs a day from the 6 of them.

The garden is full of noisy baby blackbirds and baby robins.  The other female wild mallard duck is coming up each day for feeding and seems to know when I am just about to go out and feed the chickens and promptly arrives outside the kitchen door for her breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea (well the guests of Fern Cottage on arrival get afternoon tea, so I guess she thinks she should) and then perhaps supper if she’s still hungry.  On hot afternoons she sits with her mate under the bench by the fountain, out of the way of the other males in hot pursuit of her. 

In our field and at the bottom of the garden, baby rabbits are jumping in and out of the hedges.  When I went out to the field to let the chickens out and feed them they were standing on tiptoes trying to reach the tops of grass/seedheads - so cute.  They obviously haven’t noticed the lush young vegetables growing in our orchard yet! That’s when they’re not so cute!

The green woodpecker has arrived back in the field and can sometimes be seen on the ash tree at the bottom of the garden.  Recent guests in the Rosemary Room said it made their weekend when they looked out and saw the Great Spotted Woodpecker drinking out of the bird bath just outside their room. The jays and the bullfinches have also returned.  Greenfinches are happily munching on dandelion seed heads in the field.

The other afternoon about teatime I decided to pick some lettuce from the greenhouse for tea and just as I approached the orchard I noticed this ginger dog in the field – only to realise that it was a very large healthy fox.  He looked at me and decided to run into the hedge.  Each time I think I will let the chickens go entirely free range (without electric fencing around them) I remember that when we first kept chickens 10 years ago, we used to let them go everywhere; the garden and the field (as well as Edgar’s corn field at the bottom of our garden).  Then we noticed that fewer were going back into the house at night.  We had 28 chickens at the time (16 rescue and 12 specially bred chickens) so we never counted them in at night.  It just makes you realise that the fox is just waiting to catch me off-guard – so I’m making sure they’re all in just before dusk.

I love May - the garden just comes alive – that’s why I love the quote we use by Charles Macklin – it just sums up what I think about May.  The prunus trees have shed their beautiful flowers everywhere (they were only out for about a week).  The lilac tree is now in bloom with its heady scent and the Gertrude Jekyll rose outside the breakfast room is just starting to open.  It’s a fantastically scented rose as well as having the old country style rose blooms.  The clematis “alba” on the front of the house looks an absolute picture at the moment and usually lasts about a month. 

March 2007

This month we have seen “mad March hares” fighting in the next field and deer. The great spotted woodpecker can be seen most mornings on the peanuts on the damson tree.  The wild ducks have returned again to breed.  Each day we have the ritual of the female being escorted up the back garden to be fed some bread.

Today the female decided that I hadn’t seen her from the kitchen window so was making a really angry quacking noise to get my attention.  I duly went out and fed her – once she has crammed her neck with bread off they go back to where she has laid her eggs.  Last year she laid them under the tree in the garden, but this year she is flying into our garden to be fed, so presumably the eggs have been laid somewhere else.  This morning she was using the “en-suite” pond facilities in our field - I’m glad our guests don’t splash the water around like she was doing!!

The squirrels have also returned jumping precariously between the ash tree and lime tree.  They sit on their own peanut box eating the peanuts and scaring off the magpies and crows that dig up the peanuts that they’ve buried in the back garden grass.

September 2006

It was about 10.40 pm when we saw the Barn Owl the other evening perched on the telegraph post that runs along the edge of our field.  She stayed for about 20 minutes waiting for her prey and then swooped down low over the field.  We lost sight of her in the darkness, but I think she managed to catch something.

The blackberries are coming on very fast – in fact this year has been the best for them in the field and the garden.  With the dry weather (and just over the last couple of days), wet, windy weather, has managed to lose us a lot of cooking apples.  The plums were ripe for one week and then gone, but I managed to pick some and make into plum jam, but also managed to freeze a few to make into jam when I have more time later this week. 

This weekend I am making more blackberry and apple jam – the smell of the blackberries takes you back to your childhood – no chemicals, no preservatives and no artificial preservatives.  All our jams/marmalades are made with fruit, sugar (and very little water).  Nothing else!

August 2006

Today we have seen the Peregrine Falcons flying above Wick Quarry from the back garden.  We have also seen the deer this afternoon in the field next to our field. 

The orchard fruit is ripening very quickly now – blackberry and apple jam is very imminent, as well as damson jam.  We seem to have a good crop of cooking apples compared to last year.  The plums are ripening very slowly and there seems to be quite a lot this year (even after our very hard pruning last Autumn).

Summer seems to be nearing an end and I’ve spent the afternoon getting the vegetable plot ready for winter – with curly kale, purple sprouting broccoli, January king cabbage and leeks.  I wish my vegetables would grow as well as the weeds do here – in fact I wish the rabbits would eat the weeds and not my vegetables!! 

July 2006

Over the last 3 nights we have seen the Barn Owl flying over our field.  Last night she was flying over the rear garden and up through the orchard.  Its still amazing to see her ghostly shape.  Watch out for her at dusk - last night we saw her at 9.50 pm

18th May 2006

The female duck has gone and taken her newly laid ducklings off.  That's all the thanks you get for feeding her every morning at 6.30 and not being able to cut the grass in the garden for the last 4 weeks!!  I've just spent yesterday afternoon cutting the grass and pulling out large dandelions to the point where I wondered at going organic and wishing I could have just zapped the weeds with some spray.  NEVER!

1 May 2006

The female duck laid in total 9 eggs and is now sitting on them for most of the day.  When she briefly leaves her nest, she covers the eggs with some of her feathers to keep the heat in. 

We had a moorhen on the pond today and two male mallard ducks.  The ducks have discovered that if we are working in the field and around the pond that they can use the garden fountain and look very much at home in their new "bath"! 

There's so much to see in Spring, deers in the next field, herons, ducks, birds rushing around collecting twigs for their nests, squirrels and woodpeckers.

22nd April 2006

The female mallard duck has laid her eggs in the back garden and is sitting on them, in between going to the pond for a quick bath! The cedar greenhouse is brimming to bursting with tomato plants, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, chillis, flowers and the smaller greenhouse is now nearly full.

Cinnamon, Caramel, Vanilla, Ginger and Nutmeg (the ex battery chickens) are really loving being outside for anything up to 13 hours a day.  The only problem they also decide if they are not quite ready "to go to bed" - it took me 20 minutes the other evening to round them up - they may be small, but they can out-run anyone.

Yesterday we saw the green woodpecker (after a period of absence) a heron and 4 swallows arrived last night dipping at the pond. Magpies, jays, goldfinches, sparrows, male bullfinch, rooks, crows, jackdaws, greenfinches, chaffinches, greater spotted woodpecker, wrens, robins, wood pigeons (collecting twigs for nesting), collared doves, buzzard, sparrowhawk, blackbirds, song thrush, mistle thrush.  It's a wonder we get any work done here!!

Fruit trees have just started opening blossom, the lilac and the prunus are getting ready to flower and everything just looks lovely and green again.

20th February 2006

We have just finished planting more blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries and rhubarb.  All our fruit is organically grown without pesticides or chemicals, using only chicken manure pellets and our own compost.  We use the fruit to make our own jam and also guests can enjoy our fresh fruit salad, as well as tasting our own apple juice in the summer.  We are also hoping to be able to grow our own blueberries this year.  We are trying to force the rhubarb so that we can hurry our homemade rhubarb and orange marmalade making along, as guests enjoyed it so much that it didn't last very long! 

We are trying to put up our bigger cedar greenhouse so that we have a lot more choice of tomatoes - Big Boy, Costoluto Fiorentino and of course gardeners delight so that we have plenty for breakfast during late spring and summer.

Our rescue chickens, "Caramel, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Ginger and Nutmeg" are all doing really well.  Nutmeg is taking the longest to feather up, but what she lacks in feathers she makes up for having the most character.  As soon as she sees me, she runs up chattering away! 

The buzzard sat in our silver birch tree in the back garden.  The ducks have arrived back and can be seen quite frequently on the pond, but because the plants around the pond have been tidied up during winter, they are not getting any ground cover, so take off quite quickly if we go into the field.

4th February 2006

Nearly 3 weeks later, our rescue chickens are looking a lot healthier and their feathers are growing back.  They are enjoying eating grass, pecking food out of my hand (which they prefer doing rather than eating food out of their feeding bowls).  They have learnt how to dust bathe in their house (by copying our Light Sussex chickens) and also to lay the eggs in the nesting boxes, although we still sometimes have accidents, where they don't get to the nest box in time and just lay it on the grass.  The trouble is they all go past the egg as if to say "it wasn't me!" 

The bullfinches are still coming into the garden, along with the greater spotted woodpecker, the jays and the other morning I saw the green woodpecker in the field pecking at the ground.  With the cold weather and below zero temperatures lately we have been feeding the birds about 3 times a day with wild bird food, fat balls, peanuts, apples and leftover bread/toast because the ground is so frozen.

Just lately we have seen the hares in the field behind our wildlife field.  The deer can be seen (usually on sunny days) walking along the hedgerow.

16th January 2006: Battery Chickens to the Rescue!

Today we set off to meet a lady called Jane Howarth from the Battery Hens Welfare Trust to collect 6 ex-battery chickens and give them a better life free range here on our smallholding.  See Jane's website on www.thehenshouse.co.uk for more information on their rescue work.

5 or 6 years ago I decided to rescue 16 ex-battery hens (having already got 12 chickens) - it was the one of the most amazing parts of my life - from seeing awfully sad featherless chickens who didn't want to venture out of the henhouse and then about 3 - 4 days later enjoying eating everything in the orchard and the wheat field beyond.

The six ex-battery chickens that we have brought home today weigh about a quarter of the weight my present light sussex chickens and have lost about a quarter to half of their feathers and are very thin.  Still, one of them (who is the smallest and looked like she wouldn't even make the first night) hasn't stopped eating for the last 2 days!  In fact I think the weight of food in her crop weighs more than she did.

However, hopefully in about 2 - 3 months we should see a lot of improvement.  They already are enjoying green grass, worms, warm layers mash and mixed corn for afternoon tea.

I hope you will enjoy the flavour of your free range egg breakfast egg when you stay with us!  Our free range chickens have a wonderful life!

November 2005

We are just starting the Avon Bird Watch for about the 5th year running.  Its surprising just how much wildlife is about at the moment.  The sparrowhawk has found a new hiding place (on top of the washing line!!).  We get an enormous amount of sparrows feeding on the fountain seat outside the breakfast room.  The buzzard was sitting on the hedge at the bottom of the garden.  The Greater Spotted Woodpeckers come quite regularly, although not as much as in the summer.  We have badgers visiting the back garden to eat the fallen damsons that I didn't use for jam.  A weasel ran across in front of the field gate the other day.  Today I've seen the deers in the next field - they can always be seen going along the hedge of the prevailing wind or lying down.  We occasionally see squirrels visiting the nuts.  Crows, jackdaws, jays, greenfinch, linnets, chaffinch, sparrows, corn buntings, fieldfares, dunnock, wrens, robins, wood pigeons, magpies, collared doves, kestrels can all be seen regularly although the bullfinches have disappeared for a while.  The green woodpecker has vanished now. 

June 2005

Today members from the Hawk and Owl Trust moved the Barn Owl Box to its new position on the reclaimed telegraph post in the wildlife field.  They have also put a Little Owl Box in the Ash tree at the bottom of the cottage garden.  Baby greater spotted woodpecker visiting the garden daily to be fed nuts by its mother.   Female mallard visiting most mornings outside of the kitchen to be fed bread (about 6.30 am)

May 2005

The female mallard complete with ducklings introduces them to the pond for the first time.  Had two huge flocks of starlings with their fledglings descend on the field after we had cut back the rough grass.  Amazing noise of baby starlings everywhere. 

March 2005

We have been trying to prepare the wildlife field and wildlife pond for spring.  The mallard ducks have been paying a few visits recently to the pond,

February 2005

We have just finished planting English native trees; two rowan trees, an English oak tree, a horse chestnut tree and another silver birch in the wildlife field.

June 2004

The Barn Owl who nests two fields away in a barn, flies overhead quite regularly. 

May 2004

The wildlife pond is nearing completion with water forget-me-nots, kingcup, water mint and iris plants.  The wild ducks have been visiting most mornings for left over toast.

April 2004

During the second week of April, we have started work on the wildlife pond.

January 2004: Plans for a wild flower meadow and wildlife pond

Work has just started on the field to restore it to a wild flower/wildlife meadow with pathways mowed around the field, for guests to enjoy. 

We have just joined the The Hawk and Owl Trust and have had a Barn Owl nesting box put in the ash tree at the bottom of the garden.  We are planning to leave areas of rough grass to encourage field voles and in turn help the bird of prey population.  See their web site www.wildowl.net for further information.