[sellickbhoy]

Fort Knox has been secured - the dog run, that will become the chicken run had the last of the mesh put up this morning and he (Fella) now can't escape, so it's secure from mr fox getting in!

The ripped plastic greenhouse/mini tunnel thing is coming down. it lasted a year, ok for £50 i guess. Once it's down I'll build the base slightly bigger and i'm on the look out for a good sized greenhouse (let me know if you have a spare!!!)

I've got giant planters to assemble - I'd cut some old scaffold boards down to 4' lengths, need to make them into planters to go around the house/driveway and then get them filled with compost and some plants (these will all be for flowers/shrubs rather than food)

that should do me for today

the good news is i got round to my first sowing on tuesday night - planted 80 seed tatties, sowed my carrots, parsnips, peas, beetroot and bulb fennel. I'm gonna sow my french beans, sweetcorn, courgettes and some more onion sets tomorrow. I've got a few rhubarb plants from seed started off, though i realise this is a long term project - so i might start some more off to ensure they all survive the year ahead!!

i've started some onion seeds indoors - had mixed success with them last year, so will try again in a more methodical manner.

all the chillis and peppers are coming along nicely now - though i have no purple numex twighlits germinating yet - so i'm a bit disappointed in that one.

[Fluffywelshsheep]

but is was soooooooooooooooo BIG, that I could not collect it...dam (and stronger words)

don't forget the van Sandy (payment in eggs or likewise is welcome)

linz

[Fluffywelshsheep]

Does anyone know if there is Clacks one

Try 'the Orchid'

in alloa

[garden cottage]

Installed sprinkler system in polytunnel, works a treat instant rain. eartags on new calfs all cattle moved back down the lane to better grazing. went out for 2 long walks with poppy our on load rda horse with both girls, gorgeous day lovely sunshine. took blank firing ram down lane to small orchard which we have free for grazing,phone call 1hr later to say 4 horn jacob ram and our ryeland are trying to kill each other either side of the fence head butting constantly. another trip down lane moved ferdy down to next field with dexters. ahhhh the joys of keeping livestock!!!!!!

[Hardfeather]

It's my birthday today.

My wife and the two boys are on holiday in a cottage in Sutherland.......I'm at home as we have electricians in this week rewiring the house.

I got a new all singing all dancing mobile phone last week, a money-saving exercise, and put it in the washing machine in my jacket pocket yesterday. It's drying slowly..................I hope it works again.

Because of the work in the house I slept in the caravan last night.....my back is killing me this morning and I can walk.

On the bright side, I do have two little gifts, left at home by my sons, to open today.

[jameslindsay]

Happy Birthday, enjoy your day, I doubt your phone will still be working!

[Fluffywelshsheep]

happy birthday.

try taking the phone apart as much as possible and putting it near a source where you can dry it eg near a radiator (but not on top as you could melt it)

it may take up to 48hours to completely dry but worth the wait if it was very expensive!!!!!

hope this helps you out

Linz

[sandy]

Happy Birthday!  I have washed a few  phones due to taking them upstairs in my dressing gown pocket then putting my dressing gown in the wash, I dried on too quickly and it melted, one lost a number, the only way I could connect that number was to take the front off the phone and press the are cell with a pen tip!!!!! so I could only ring people who where in my memory, then!! I dropped one down the toilet, gave that o someone to repair, they got it working again and Finlay washed my partners work phone, it was in his zip pocket, but, we took it apart and left it in the airing cupboard all weekend and it works fine!!!!!! Good luck with drying it out and [move]HAPPY BIRTHDAY[/move]

[carl]

Happy birthday. sorry to hear about your phone.
my oh washed my fleece two months back, without checking the pockets. Mobile phone washed and tumble dried. it was in bits. it did go back together and i had to buy a new battery. It still works and is very shiny. It was just a very basic phone though.
today i am having a quiet day at work.
will do some gardening when I get home.

[HappyHippy]

Happy Birthday Hardfeather ... many happy returns
For your phone I agree with FWS, take it to bits, especially the sim card and let it dry, gently. Give it all a wipe over once dry and put it back together. This was how my ex used to do his after performing his party piece of dropping his mini phone into his pint !

I've really had to slow down on all my plans and the work rate is almost nil ! So other than the occaisional 'play' in the garden I'm not getting any REAL work done.
On the other hand, I've been busy with midwife visits, scans at hospital and getting the house ready for juniors arrival and the home birth. Officially 3 weeks left to go, but given my track record - anything could happen lol ! No one is taking any chances, I've got an army of willing drivers and I'm not allowed out on my own now !!!

[juliag]

Bit sad today, took 4 of our meat chickens off to be 'done' . 2 were cockrels very big and looking uncomfortable now as they free ranged but 2 were pullets who as I took them out of the dog crate in the back of their car literrally cuddled into me and hid. I could only say sorry and give them a kiss. At the moment I feel awful but what i pick up on thursday will not resemble my chickens at all they will look exactly like the chickens you find in the farmers markets oven readied. I felt the same at xmas when we took the geese to be 'done' but still ate one for xmas lunch (it was lovely). once again thinking am i cut out for this? The worst part was going into the barn this morning (they sleep in large strawfilled barn at night and are let out in the morning to free range in the paddocks) and picking which ones were going, please someone reply to this and make me feel a bit better! 

[sellickbhoy]

i've been watering the garden all morning 

[HappyHippy]

Sorry you're feeling sad, I think each and every one of us feels the same way when we take any animal to meet their maker - whether it's a pork chop for the freezer or a much loved pet who's suffering. As humans we CARE, you can't help that, in fact, if you didn't care it would be pointless keeping animals for meat or pleasure. You have to reassure yourself that you gave them a good, happy, healthy life and they didn't suffer.
Hope that helps you feel a bit better Julia   , if not - can I perhaps try my mind powers of distraction ?  
I am 'due' to have my baby on Thursday (yeh, right   like I can control it lol!) and had my check up today with the midwifes who delivered my last baby (home birth AND on Xmas day!) now, they are determined that they want to be the ones who deliver this baby and the only day they are on-call together is tomorrow, so needless to say they poked, prodded, examined and 'swept' with gay abandon to try and 'get me going'   I'm also thinking a spot of trampolening with the kids might work, so if you start to feel down just imagine a v.pregnant, lumpy & bumpy me bouncing away like a lunatic on a trampolene      
I'll keep you all posted on developments  

[carl]

someone has been watering my garden for me? the good lord works in mysterious ways, must have noticed I needed a hand.
I went on a good course at the weekend. how to despatch and process meat birds. It was at a local charity farm, but was run by a lady all the way from hampshire, who brought all the birds up with her and her colleague. we despatched a sasso, using the broom stick method, but was taught a more subtle approach than my nearly rip its head off method.then after plucking, which was no news to me. we were taught how to efficiently gut and bone the chicken, leaving a fully filleted bird. although I have already done plenty of this at home I was glad to have someone help me improve my technique and give me more confidence. the lady was alison wilson from chicken keeper in hook, hampshire. It was a good course and it was nice to meet other chicken keepers who were a bit shy of killing their own beloved chucks. One of the chaps on the course was very interesting and has just written a best selling gardening book. he runs web sites about allotments and poultry. it felt like networking, but about something you actually enjoy.

good luck with your impending joy.

[juliag]

Love the thought of happy hippy jumping up and down on a trampoline 9 months pregnant, certainly made me smile. yes you are right these birds came out of a broiler house at 4 weeks old, the others they were with would have been slaughtered at 6 weeks, they are actually sold to tescos as tescos cheapest chickens so I guess that by us taking them and giving them the life they have had is so much better. they are now 16 weeks and have only gone now because they are so big they physically look uncomfortable and can have some trouble walking etc. I still have 5 of these but they are smaller.