IT'S BEEN FAR TOO LONG!

EASTER TREE

We couldn't let Easter pass without showing you our lovely Easter tree!

So just like at Christmas we always have a tree at Easter too, this consists of a few twigs and branches collected from the garden and then a few little Easter type ornaments are added for that finishing touch!

These lovely pastel shaded eggs are by Gisela Graham.

This metal heart ornament is also by Gisela Graham.

Our lovely Easter Tree!

... You don't just need it to be Christmas or Easter to decorate a tree or branches, just add vintage ornaments or old broaches and lace this would make a great idea for a memory tree for anniversaries or a special Birthday, personalise it with little hand written notes or ditties...go on be creative! X

WE LOVE YELLOW!

Spring is well and truly in the air the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming...lets just hope it lasts!

It's Easter in a few days so lets bring the sunshine inside with a simple bouquet of daffodils and tulips...

Take one bunch of flowers...

These beautiful daffodils and tulips were only £3.99 from our local Keelham Farmshop.

You may have noticed we love yellow at the moment! 

This is where the inspiration came from for our lovely yellow wallpaper!

Smile and let the sunshine in! X

CHICK-CHICK-CHICK-CHICK...CHICKEN...EGG COSY!

Not long till Easter now and just about enough time to get making some lovely little Easter treats!
If you like a boiled egg for breakfast then this little chick egg cosy is perfect so get those knitting needles at the ready and off you go...

Materials:

50g yellow tufted yarn*

1 pair size 10 knitting needles (3.25mm)

Orange or red felt for beak

Black wool or embroidery yarn for eyes

*Eyelash yarn or mohair makes a good substitute.  You can use plain DK if you like – the chicks will just be fractionally bigger.

 Cast on 18st.

Knit 2 rows.

3. K1, M1, K to last two stitches, then M1, K1 (20st)

4. Knit

5. K1, M1, K to last two stitches, then M1, K1 (22sts)

6. 7. 8. & 9. Knit

10. K2tog, K to last two stitches, then, K2tog (20 sts)

11. Knit

12. K2tog, K to last two stitches, then, K2tog (18sts)

13. Knit

14. K1, M1, K to last two stitches, then, K2tog (18sts)

15. Knit

16. K1, M1, K to last two stitches, then, K2tog (18sts)

17. Cast off 10 stitches, K5 M1 K1 (9 sts)

18. K to last 2 stitches, M1, K1 (10sts)

19. 20. 21. & 22. Knit

23. K2tog K6, K2tog (10sts)

24. Knit

25. Cast off.

Abbreviations:

M1 – Make one stitch.

K2tog – Knit 2 together

Make 2 and sew together, leaving the “cast on”edge (at the bottom) open.

Cut two small triangles of felt and sew them on to form the beak.  Finally, using wool or embroidery yarn sew the eyes.

*Don't forget ...you can click on the image to enlarge!

Thank you to Henny Harris for providing this lovely little chick...she's not just a pretty face and hen expert she can knit too!!

Enjoy, and happy knitting!! X

WE HAVE BEEN AWAY!

NIGELLA!

Welcome to our latest offering from 'Henny Harris'!


This month our feathery 'pin up' is Nigella a lovely Black Australorp so if you are new to all this 'hen' stuff and just starting off or just fancy adding a new breed to you brood then read on...


And... just like her sister 'Nicole Harris' you can now make friends with 'Nigella Harris' on Facebook too!!!

This breed originates from improvements made in Australia to a British breed of chickens, the Orpington.  Orpingtons were shipped to Australia during the late 1800’s and improved on by farmers there.  Many different breeds of chicken were added to the mix to produce the Utility Black Orpington. By the 1920’s, the Black Australian Orpington, or the Australorp for short, was appearing in Britain.  Although we are looking at the Black Australorp here, it is worth mentioning that there is another colour, called the Blue (grey).  A White Australorp also exists, but they are relatively new and are not universally admitted as a Standard Breed.

The Black Australorp’s most distinctive feature is her soft, glossy, black feathers, with what is called a “beetle green” sheen to them. In the sunlight she is really beautiful. Get a little closer to her and you will notice that although most chickens have an orange eye, whatever their plumage colour, she has black, or deep brown eyes - very glamorous.  She is a “heavy” breed, but not enormous.  Her rear end is rather broad, but is a mass of fluff.  Her comb is single and although it’s a good size, it is neat and never floppy. Her legs are slate grey (described as black) with white claws, and her beak is black too.  Australorps are excellent layers. In fact, a team of six Australorp hens broke the world record in 1922-23 by laying 1857 eggs over 365 consecutive days. That’s an average of 309.5 eggs per hen! The eggs, which are a good size, are described as brown, which always means buff-coloured.

Australorps will go broody easily, so in warm weather make sure that you don’t leave eggs in the nest, as this is a sure way to trigger broodiness in most hens. My Australorp, Nigella, is extremely broody. She will even sit in a completely empty nest, clucking away and screeching at anyone who comes near, and of course, not laying a single egg herself.  Fortunately, she’s a friendly bird, even when in a broody state, so I can hoike her out and make her go and run around with the others. Done often enough through the day, she will get the message.  If you ever get the chance to pick up a broody hen, make a point of feeling the heat radiating from her breast.  It’s in order to supply a good incubating heat to the eggs.  In fact, a time-honoured way of curing broodiness is to dunk the chicken’s bottom half in a bucket of water to bring her temperature down. Not something I’ve ever tried.  If I did, I would make sure I did it on a sunny day when she had plenty of time to dry off her feathers.  I can’t begin to imagine the grumpiness of a broody hen with a huge cold!

The Australorp is friendly and sweet, but not overfriendly.  She will come and have a look at what you are doing with great interest, but won’t be a pest.  She will eat gently from your hand, so is a great chicken for children, but being shy she scoots away when you try to pick her up.

With acknowledgements to:

www.mypetchicken.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australorp

www.australorps.com/4.hmtl

LOOK WHAT THE BUILDERS FOUND!!!

Well... look what the builders found!!!...


Last week we had the builders in, I've got kind of used to the upheaval and mess now and just focus my mind on the final out come!


So, the builders were laying the pipes for gas, electricity and water into the labour of love that 'is' our new extension...there's a long way to go and we will come back to this in some future 'labour of love' posts...I'm just building myself up for this task and deciding where to start!


This isn't a toilet!! No! It is in fact an old drain...an old 'unused' drain so I am told and obviously I couldn't just take it to the tip like 'normal' people so my mind started working overtime and then I turned it into something beautiful!!


Oh, I'm so pleased with my little self!

It's NOT just a drain...

It's a thing of beauty!

- Take a small bag of compost.

- 2 varieties of Thyme

- 2 pots of miniature daffodil bulbs

- A small bag of Alpine grit

And...voilà!! Perfect! X