Far Lands

If you read the Guardian on Saturday, you will know that Alys Fowler removed your guilt for not wanting to venture into the garden this month or in the Winter generally. More harm than good, if you missed it. I disagree! Not just because (in this post-truth world) I DISAGREE! I DISAGREE! I have reasons and arguments which you can consider for yourselves. My reason for this blog is The Big Job . Winter is the prefect time for Big Jobs precisely because all the smaller jobs - weeding, mowing etc - do not have to be done. My current construction grande is turning the veg plot into a raised bed using the railway sleepers. I wondered how to secure them all in a way that would not rot or move. I settled on metal rods (see photo) which I bang through the sleepers until they are flush with the surface of the top sleeper. 13mm holes, 12mm rods. As with many Big Jobs, this Big Job promptly cloned itself as drilling the holes for the rods has become a second Big Job. I have a rech

Sunday Lunchtime I finally persuaded 3 chickens including Ben, the rooster, to walk through the tunnel and into the pen. Reward of corn. Afternoon None of the chickens had changed their position but we managed to persuade (advise/ warn/shout/threaten/swear) the remaining 5 chickens down the tunnel and into the pen. Reward of corn. 4pm and it started getting dark. 8 chickens in the pen. 4.15pm and darker still. 8 in pen. 4.30pm and almost dark. Chickens should be roosting but all still in pen. Shouting and swearing did not work. So I climbed into the pen and started pushing chickens into the tunnel. Ben and 4 more chickens finally got the message and went home to roost. That left me persuading the others along the tunnel with a pusher (a pole with a tunnel-shaped lid on the end). Finally, I got into the tunnel! 4.45pm All 8 chickens in the house. 5pm  we were in our house; reward of Christmas cake. Monday Mid-morning Ben led 3 chickens into the pen. Reward of corn.

You may have heard about the current scare about Avian Influenza (bird flu). As a result current DEFRA regulations mean that all poultry (including chickens and turkeys) have to be housed or kept separate from wild birds. This is to reduce the risk of contact with wild birds who are bringing the disease over from mainland Europe. Last week an outbreak was reported in Yorkshire. We have been keeping our chickens inside their house but with the DEFRA ban recent being extended until late Feb, we decided at the weekend to build an outside pen. After 'a light-bulb moment' I co-opted Sarah to help me borrow a large section of land-drain pipe from our neighbour. The Tunnel! Which allows our chickens to get from their house to the pen. We finished the construction on Sunday morning, and ever since I have felt like a cross between Pavlov and Attenborough as I have watched (and got involved) with the results. Continued in The Tunnel, Part II , blog 308 . . .

The wheelbarrow was the answer; the miracle of the wheel. I got better at it too, the key was to balance the sleeper diagonally and to wheel confidently. Early on, a couple fell off and dragging them down to the veg plot was not only knackering but destroyed the grass.    Slowly, the stack on the drive disappeared and became a stack outside the veg garden. I am currently manoeuvring them into final position.