The great outdoors.

Righteo, after a delicious slice of pistachio cake and a pot of tea Luke and I got home in time to rescue the chickens from the heat of the greenhouse. To be fair, most of the morning they have been outside, tweeting away in the herb patch. Mega chicken, Lola, is broody so will not let us near her and grumbles away when anywhere near the other hens. The three growers need to live outdoors now, the weather has got too warm to leave them in the greenhouse so this afternoon Luke has got out his toolkit and unscrewed their house and run as it's too big to get through the greenhouse door frame. Now  he is putting it back together just behind the main hen house but the little ones won't know what to do tonight when it's bedtime.

We will have to quietly catch them in the greenhouse where they will go when it's getting dark as that is all they know. Once collected and popped into their house again they will be fine. Next week we think we will take Lola to her new home in Gloucestershire. A cousin of mine has agreed to have her to add to his small flock of hens. We will stay overnight to ensure that she is okay in the morning. If she settles down then we'll leave her there (with a heavy heart, she's a good egg layer and a fun chicken but she is too large for the bantams and it's not an ideal situation). Once we know she is fine in her new home (I feel sad just thinking about it, right now she is up to forty minutes in the potato row having a very long dust bath) we will put the three growers in with Buck Bucky the next evening. Still, that is a week away and we have to make sure they don't end up cooked in the heat of the greenhouse.
By the way, we walked up to the main road to see the Olympic torch relay coming into Cardiff and it was jam-packed. Cars parked everywhere and thousands of people. We met our neighbours and it was a lovely chatty time. We've been invited to a barbecue at the local councillors' house next weekend but the chicks need to be sorted first.

 Spot the Olympic runner......, 
................................................... yes, you are right. It's not one of these ladies.

You can just make the torch bearer out (he's the one carrying the torch!)

I also spent a few minutes ordering some sale plants on the telephone as the website wasn't working yesterday and sadly, in that time, they have sold out of the allium Globemasters which are one of my absolute favourite plants. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.
What a lovely old day I've had 

Too hot to trot.

It's my day off today, I've mown the lawn, leaving the longer grass and daisies around the hammock to give it a lazier, more relaxed look. I've also lightly forked over the border that has been flattened by the big chicks. The gladioli have struggled to push through that solid ground. There are new bits of bindweed happily growing in the back patch  because it''s prevalent behind the fence and only one piece will start a new plant.
I've come indoors now because it's so hot out there and after Luke and I have met up at the tea house we are coming back to watch some poor soul running through the roads of Cardiff with the Olympic torch. I hope he's got a cool flannel and a long drink at the end of his run. We'll be sauntering home for a nice cup of tea. Terribly British, what ho!

A heart warming tale.

Well, more a heart racing tale. I had the pleasure of chatting to one of the gardeners in Roath conservatory yesterday. There were so many people enjoying the warmer temperatures and whilst it was too early for the rose garden to be flowering it was such a joy to walk through the park with an icecream.
There was a plant sale and though I only had enough money on me for one campanula I admired the Digitalis in a pot. I explained that the expensive digitalis (foxglove) that I had bought for my new bed was stripped by the big chickens when my back was turned. The gardener was surprised that there had been no ill effects to the birds as digitalis is used in heart medicine. It's used to strengthen and regulate the heartbeat.
You can see here how well they did at eating it  and it's accompanying plant within ten minutes. I can tell you that my heart beat could have done with regulating when I saw how destructive they had been.

How my garden grows.

Black aricula followed by a purple clematis and underneath is an orange geum.

Globe Allium and French lavender.

Mahonia leaves and an unfolding tree paeony.

Some go up, some droop down. There is so much variety in plants.

Summer has arrived.

Now I know that this title sounds a little optimistic but we've got Chelsea Flower Show this week and the sun has miraculously stayed all week. This was problematic today as, even with the windows open, it was too warm for the chicks in the greenhouse and they were open beaked and in need of the great outdoors. Until we have secured the house they are in we can't put it outdoors so we will need to sort that out this weekend. We can't have the babies over heating.
I opened up the greenhouse door but they didn't want to come out. Meanwhile the big hens were racing back and forth in their pen hoping to be let out so I opened their door too only to see the three babies hopping onto the step. Hey up, chickens should only be introduced in the evening, when they are most placid; popped onto an empty bit of the perch so they don't encroach on another chicken's space. So, here we are, five pm on the hottest day of the year so far and we have chickens ranging from weighing  less than half a kilogramme to several kilogrammes, about to meet one another. I was right there to keep an eye and scoop one up if need be but there was no need to worry as Buck Bucky and Mega (Lola)  raced past without a backward glance in order to get under the bird feeders for the free lunch.
For several hours they pecked at the grass tips and I stayed outdoors, swinging in the hammock and scanning the skies for birds of prey. Our little ones aren't aware of predators,. Mrs Bun even checked out the cat at close quarters despite being half it's size.
We ended the day with a quick check over of each little chicken, much to the consternation of Poppy who shrieked for all she's worth.
Here's a few photos of the chicks.

Poppy having a sit down.

Poppy and her pantaloon legs! She looks like she has shorts on.

What the Dickens? Poppy escaping over the chair.

 

 The two little ones trying out 'loft living'.

 

 Poppy teaches Mrs Bun the quickest way to touch down.

So now Mrs Bun decides to try it alone.

A meal out.

We haven't been treating ourselves - this was just dinner eaten in the garden after work. Even though it was 8.00pm it was warm enough to sit out in a tee shirt and shorts (Luke, straight from his 9 mile bike ride) and a thin silk dress (me, straight from a ten minute car journey). I'll tell you who else has been outdoors too today. Those little cocooned pullets, Mrs Bun, Poppy and Lunar. I've had the greenhouse door opened quite a bit recently so they can have some good air flow through their home but they have ignored the great outdoors and stayed in the safety of their little world. This evening though, out the three of them came, seduced by the sight of leggy green grass tips. Whilst the big gals were in Jack's garden we watched the three tiny chicks feast on spring greens before a passing wood pigeon spooked them enough for them to dash back in. Both Poppy and Mrs Bun are expert fliers and are often found on the top of the hen house roof or on the staging in the greenhouse but Lunar, despite a fair amount of wing flapping has yet to lift off.
One of my aquantancies told me of the fox attack in her son's new flock of hens. Once that fox finds the fresh meat it will be round each night, checking for compromised chicken wire fences or anywhere to dig down and get in. It's literally lambs to the slaughter till the weakness is found so they are now thinking of electric fencing.

I also sat out on the front, elevated deck yesterday afternoon, my legs being warmed against the wooden deck. I took out a note pad and scribbled a hasty plan of what I'd like to have in the front garden. There's easily seven hundred pounds to be spent on plants to make it how I want it but let's go long term and grow a few myself before buying it all in. I'm hoping patience will pay for itself in the long run.