Hello September

I can’t resist making an apple and blackberry pie at this time of year. It’s still warm outside and the berries glisten in the sunshine. How lucky are we to have brambles in our garden! They go perfectly with fresh apples from James mum’s neighbour’s garden (what a mouthful). A whole glut of cooking apples to use and fresh picked blackberries. You really can't beat the smell of crispy pastry and bubbling blueberries straight from the oven. Why does the wait for it to cool down seem so long?

The blackberries were early this year due to the hot weather and whereas the season would normally be just starting, we are using up the last few. We had a long period of no rain, but the garden is looking less parched now after a week of rain. The leaves are still a gorgeous green and aren’t yet showing the signs of autumn. Still a few roses budding and flowers growing. I can’t resist buying sunflowers from the supermarket though. Their beautiful bright colour and big bold faces cheer me up on the rainiest of days.

We managed to get the retro Cabanon tent set up in the garden last night. It took all of two hours to set up. Modern tents are far easier to erect. Once I got the fairy lights in and put up the cute curtains that came with it, it was very sweet indeed. Luke, Alexander and his friend all slept in there last night after enjoying some roasted marshmallows on the fire. James and I preferred the comfort of our own bed. There is something lovely about sitting around a camp fire. I think I might build a permanent firepit for the garden so that we can sit out there more often.

After a fun evening of laughter, a big yummy breakfast is always in order. I made my favourite Jamie Oliver pancakes in the griddle. You can find the recipe here. Separating and whipping the eggs is an added fuss, but its so worth it. 

After a filling breakie, we’ve had a pretty relaxing Saturday afternoon. The boys are playing quietly upstairs and Luke is hunting bugs in the garden. James has been working hard turning our shippon into a habitable fun zone. Still trying to decide how we can round off this fun Saturday with an equally fun evening activity. What are your favourite family weekend activities? Let me know. Have a good one.

Nesting Box Mix

My lucky hens get the luxury treatment when it comes to... well everything, including laying. I Make a nice mix of herbs for my hens in their nesting boxes. The mix includes:
Lavender-  lavender is calming and relaxing, perfect for the nesting box.
Mint- is a brilliant natural bug repellent I use it throughout the coop.
Rosemary- mainly used as an insect repellent and to make the coop smell lovely it also works as a pain reliever and is great for respiratory health,
Thyme- aids in respiratory health, is antibacterial, an antioxidant,  and is anti-parasitic.
Rose petals- are highly aromatic, they make the coop look and smell wonderful, they are high in Vitamin C, and are an antioxidant. 
There are plenty more beneficial herbs for chickens which you can read more about on the wonderful Fresh Eggs Daily blog, where the lovely Lisa shares how she cares for her hens and ducks naturally. This is my go to blog for all things chooks. I use these herbs in my coop because of the many benefits to the hens health and they all grow in my garden. The plans for next years herb garden are entirely based on the girls! Which I will be sharing soon enough. Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

The Chicken Run

It's taken many months to complete the girls run. They have been in there for about a month now and already I have plans to change it. They love having lots of space to run and scratch around. They are also let into the garden in the evening to free range a bit more.

The area where their run is, was a total weed paradise when we moved in. We laid the new grass on the lawn and left an area clear... it didn't stay clear, it was a mess. I cleared the area and rich did most of the planning and building. We dug down two feet to bury the chicken wire, to prevent predators. I have read that hardware mesh is the safest option but it was too expensive for our budget and will be added when we can. However, touch wood, we haven't had any issues with predators in our area and some of our neighbors have hens as well. Plus, the girls are locked away safe and sound at night.

The run started off as being partially grassed, but it is barren now. Scratch, scratch. We have plans to build a raised area with mesh or wire on so the girls can have free access to grass with out digging up the roots. I also want more plants in and around the run to make it more attractive. I planted lavender around the run. Lavender - "a stress reliever and calming agent, also acts as a natural insect repellent, and improves blood circulation" (Fresh Eggs Daily), is a beautiful and fragrant plant that I and my girls love. I also add lavender to the nesting boxes and coop. I have also read that butterfly bushes are good in and around the run. I have two in my garden and have taken softwood cutting this year already. Currently there are two rose bushes in the the run. They are protected around the base, but this doesn't stop the girl jumping up for them.

The girls are happy. At the moment when the rain comes its a mud bath in there, so we will have to find a solution to that pretty quickly. Can't wait to introduce the little girls. Speaking of little 'girls' we haven't heard any crows yet but I think we may have a couple boys on our hands. We will soon find out.

My boys

I am really enjoying the last few weeks at home with these cuties. I really can't believe that they will both be at school in September. They are such wildly different characters. I love them to bits! 

Have a great Friday.  

My little allotment

Way back in March my wonderful husband agreed to make me some raised beds for my garden for my birthday. It was a fun and exhausting project, but has paid off ten fold. The first task was to figure out how many raised beds we could fit. I came up with the plan and trolled Pinterest for ideas and plans. In the end I decided on two 3 foot by 6 foot, one 2 foot by 6 foot and a larger 3 foot by 9 foot one at the top. I measured up the ground and marked it out the string so we could see what it was like. We kept it like that for a while to get used to it (We are doing the same for the pond we are going to dig out). The next step was to source the timber. We had to find affordable, untreated timber that was going to last. We got lucky! We took a trip to B&Q and found massive lengths of decking on sale. It only issue was getting them home. In the end Rich and I had to cut them all up outside the shop into the pieces we needed for the beds and then get them in and on the car.
Once home the work began, I made two of them and rich the others. We used 2"by 4" as corner posts and dug them into the ground. Rich did the final fitting and leveling off. They were in place and I loved them. Then we had to fill them. This was an expensive venture. We got two tons of top quality soil. The only problem was the company delivered by pallet and and had to deliver it to a level area. So in the end they were able to put it across the road in the lay by where we park. We live on a rather busy road and I had to lug two tons of soil with a wheelbarrow and spade across the road and through the garden. I finished in about 10 hours. It was hard work but it was done. By this point I had already planed the whole garden and every plant that would go in in the first year and it was nearly time for planting, I'll save that for another post. We have had a very successful first year in the garden, with plenty more still to harvest. It's been very exiting and therapeutic few months, but I am constantly learning.

Where did summer go?

It's been a long summer. The weather has been okay, not very warm but not too much rain. We have been having great fun, with days out, and a trip to Weymouth. There are plenty of jobs in the garden to do. In March Richard made me some raised beds and they are doing really well. We've got Peas, Leeks, Parsnips, Courgettes, Lettuce, Cabbage, Carrots, Herbs, Sweet Corn, Kale, Onions, Garlic, Butternut squash, Pumpkins and swede. We also have had a great crop of beans this year. We grew Potatoes in sacks and the green house is full of tomatoes and cucumbers. I have had great success with many different flowers this year. I planted up some hanging baskets that are flowering well. 

On a sad note Ginny my beautiful Rhode Rock, got poorly and passed away. We noticed she had lost weight and separated her from the others. I hand fed her for four days and tried a few different treatments I read online, but unfortunately she passed in her sleep. We wasted no time in filling the void in our hearts with some babies, 7 week old chicks. I will post some pictures of them soon. 

Thumper is going through his yearly molt and looks a bit scruffy. He's been a very happy boy and is doing well. My little boys are getting bigger and bigger. Luke is starting school in September and I will be back at University. Time seems to fly by these days. I've got lots of projects lined up and hope to post some of them on here. You can follow me on Instagram @sarahcouling for updates and fun stuff more often. Finding the time to blog is harder than ever right now, I would promise to make an effort to post more often, but I always do and then fail to follow through. *face-palm* 

Early Spring Garden Chores

My garden is coming along nicely. Lots of work still to be done though. Pruned all my shrubs, mulched some beds. Removed some weeds. There is a big tree in the front garden that I really want to remove. It is too close to the house and has grown out of control. It needs to be done ASAP as birds will start nesting very soon. Will replace it with some lovely fruit trees. My rosemary has grown wonderfully since I planted it last year, and I've been using it loads, cutting bits off here and there. We still need to sort out our front hedge that was removed when the drains were replaced. The list of jobs seems to grow longer the more I do. It is nice to get out in the sunshine when it's around though. :) 

Spring has Sprung.

 Edwina on her roost

 Princess Leia

 Ginny

What a busy weekend we had. I had a lovely mothers day and did everything I wanted to do. My Boys both made me beautiful cards that I will treasure forever. We made little progress with the chickens run this weekend as we've been working on another big project that I will tell you about later. The girls are so happy here and enjoying there new home very much. Monday Ginny laid her first egg. We were all very exited. She was in and out of the nest box all morning so I knew something was up, When she came out a bit later I went to check and sure enough she had done it! Princess Leia and Edwina have a few weeks to go I think as their combs and wattles are still small and pale. Ginny's little egg takes pride of place in the kitchen window, but for how much longer i wonder. :) 

My beautiful Hellebores are out and showing there dark purple faces as the first signs of color in the garden, Gardener world did a whole spot on them on friday, 'the Jewels of the early spring border', and they very much are in our garden.