The weekend

The weather at the weekend was glorious, but with a slight nip in the air and heavy morning dews it is beginning to have an autumnal feel. Today it is raining ....again !

After spending many of the past weekends at the yard working on the growers pens and renovating the pig ark it was good to spend time at home catching up on odds and ends. The railings at the front have finally been painted, the garden generally tidied, yet more beans and beetroot harvested and the second lot of shallots lifted. I have also planted some comfrey, an all round useful plant - the bees love the flowers and the leaves make a valuable liquid feed and act as an accelerator on the compost heap.

We also moved the four 11 week old chicks to the yard to join the others. It went surprising well, not at all as I expected though.The older ones are terrified of the younger ones.
We put the new four into the pen Sunday morning before letting the older ones out. I think the older ones were quite shocked to see 'intruders' in their pen and were slightly nervous on leaving the safety of the house. They did eventually pluck up the courage to venture out but once my back was turned they all disappeared back inside, only reemerging when I returned. This continued on and off during the day. By the evening one of the Sussex had joined the original group and went to roost with them, the other three we had to place into the house. This morning they all seemed more settled.
It is strange at home with just the laying flock and the broody and her chicks, who have now been moved into the larger run.

The two new queen bees, that arrived by post, have each been accepted by their colony. The one in the yard has started to lay but we are not sure about the one in the hen run. For the next two weeks while my son is away I have sole responsibility of keeping them alive.
Oh and his hamster ! Who by the way isn't keen on raw French or runner beans.