Lazing on a Suday Afternoon.....

Today was a real treat for the Chickens. We decided it was time to let them roam, we took away the the gate and let them out onto the garden. At first they were a little unsure and it took quite a while for them and mum to take the first steps across our patio and onto the garden. Needless to say once they had found it they seemed to be in seventh heaven, foraging around and exploring new pastures. Mum was ever so careful and protective, not letting them out of her sight. I find it so incredulous that the animal kingdom behave just as we do, nurturing and caring for their young. Here is mum keeping an ever vigil eye on her babies as they explore our flower beds.

Mum where are you...............

Later this afternoon, I walked around to check on them and found them all enjoying a dust bath, The babies joining in on the fun, Jill seems to be enjoying the bonding.

Update on Chickens and Gardening.....

Everything in the garden is flourishing, I had a full day in the garden last Sunday, taking advantage of the lovely weather we had, I cut the lawns, weeded the borders and cleaned out our pond. It all looks so fresh. DH has potted up the hanging baskets, and re-potted the tomato plants, we are growing the same variety as last year, the patio tumbling tom. It is still to early to bring them out of the greenhouse, just a couple more weeks should do it.

The chickens are growing too, almost double their size, they are 2 weeks old today. Can you notice their markings, their wings are now forming and showing. They are learning how to forage for food and are showing signs of becoming more independent.

Goodies from India.....

DH has just got back from India and he brought me these few gifts, 4 silk scarves, a silver necklace, two wooden stamping blocks (not that visible in the picture) and a lovely bowl which is in fact a present from his Indian colleagues. Thank you so much. The big box in the background is Indian Cake - Soan Papdi. A treat for the whole family, we have had it before, it is a rather sweet melting in the mouth experience, very moorish,and I suspect very fattening too. It is made from Ghee,Wheat Flour, Cardamoms, Pastichios, Almonds and Cucumber Seeds.


Crafty and Textile work has taken a bit of a nose dive lately, with practically nil production. Below some knitted/felted corsages which were completed a couple of week ago. They look good on a jacket or attached to a bag and the good news is they are very easy to make.

In the background one of my favorite knitted/felted winter scarves. It is a bit unusual, I think that is why I like it.

Fruits of Labour....

Remember a few weeks ago we sorted out seeds for growing flowers and vegetables this summer, well here they are. I wish I could take some of the credit for this but I am afraid this little lot is all down to DH. They are almost ready to go out into the garden but given our weather here up North it is best to wait until the end of May just in case we do get a night frost.

Mother and Babies......

An update on the new arrivals....

They have had a good weekend, mother is looking after them very well. They now have names - we have e stripy, little stripy, spot, spice and the twins (can't tell them apart at the moment). Stripy is the adventurous one and quite independent, the twins stick together like real twins, quite bizarre. We have fallen in love , lots of visitors have been cooing over them. Jill has also taken to them very well, not venturing far from their side.

Here she is checking on them like mother hen.....

We are proud parents........

It is a happy day, our chickens have arrived. We have six, 3 yellow, 2 black and white and 1 brown and cream. DS3 is over the moon and mum is looking proud of herself too.

There will be more photos over the next couple of days and a progress report .

Catching up......

I have not blogged for such a long time due to being so so busy. I shall endeavor to let you know some of the important things that have happened since I last posted. About 3 weeks ago our little Hen Lucinda, started to get broody, being novices we had no idea that this may happen. We needed to seek advice from the breeder we got her from. He said we could do two things, either shoosh her out of the nest everyday and encourage her to get over it or he could give us some eggs for her to sit on.... Being a kindly person I could not bear to upset her or cause her any grief so we decided to take him up on the latter and put some eggs under her, he gave us eight eggs. He said it would take 21 days. She has been quite content but very territorial. We are feeling sorry for the older one Jill, she has seemed lost without her pal to play with, consequently we have been giving her lots of cuddles and treats. The days have passed and we have had a busy time with Birthdays in the Primrose Household... April 19th was DS2 18th Birthday.

We celebrated all weekend visiting family, and lovely meals in and out. I also made cakes for this cupcake tree, I bought it from Amazon and it will be useful for future birthdays and special occasions.
Champagne to toast the Birthday Boy..... onwards to

A lovely Spanish Tapas Bar on the Quayside in Newcastle...a few beers later I think, here he is with proud dad and younger brother.

Can't believe my boy is 18, I can remember the day he was born as if it were yesterday. He was the best birth out of the three, but the worst baby as he suffered from colic for the first 16 weeks, he has been a joy ever since then, I am so proud of him and all his achievements.

Five days later on the 24th April it was DS3 birthday - he was 13. We had a much quieter affair, he had a friend from school to tea and I cooked one of his favorite meals Bang, Bang Chicken and of course another birthday cake. Oh how my diet has suffered. Oh I almost forgot it was DH Birthday on 2nd of April, the one before the half century. We had a great meal in town at a Thai Restaurant, the food was excellent and DS1 was home from Uni which made it even better.

Finally last weekend DH and I went off to Wales for a few days, we had family to visit and things to do.

It was also a trip down memory lane for my husband as he was brought up in and around the Black Mountains in Mid Wales, we visited the village where he grew up and saw the house he lived in as a child, I visited this house when we first met in 1976. We walked to the top of the common, looking down on the Village of Velindre.


It was quite strange to be back, needless to say it has all changed. There are now new houses in the field opposite the cottage he lived in.


This was his old infant school, you can still see the markings on the wall where they played ball games. It is now a house. How times have changed.