the daydream fund challenge thread

Davesnave

stitching_witch wrote: »

Surely you were just a babe in arms in 1968?

Yes, it's more than possible I made a miscalculation. It could well have been '88, now I think about it!

I was hanging out on the Kings Road and getting up to all kinds of mischief I'd rather not go into here...

rhiwfield

Rummer wrote: »

I really want to have a garden with loads of flowers for the insects and veggies for me! I have been reading the Alys Fowler books, that I know some people are not huge fans of, but the style of gardening really appeals to me. I have a few raised beds that I will use as I have before but in the beds I think I will try and do a different way using a mix of different plants.

Rummer, Bob Flowerdew did a book on companion planting :D:D

FWIW I like flowers mixed in with veg for cutting, beauty and pest control. Sweet peas intertwine with the runner beans, french marigolds mix with the toms and we have asters, dahlias, echinacae etc. We allow the welsh onions to flower which gives a lovely display as well, and we love the apple blossom in spring. Nearly all these are grown in a bed system. I suppose its fair to say the fruit and veg take precedence as aprt of our plan was to become less reliant on supermarket food

I dont know how far you've got with the 5 year plan, I found it helped to get the design down on paper, though it did get amended a few times!

Well, the white stuff has nearly gone but I've never known such coughing, spluttering and wheezing. DW off to docs and I've been up all night.

One of the crimbo pressies was the backyard chicken, incredibly detailed book giving history of chickens thru the ages. I may just quote some bits on here in future, including what the ancients would have thought of our gender confused blue.

Choille, I'd like to see your blog too if thats ok with you.

choille

Rummer - I don't know of a book on companion planting off the cuff but as someone has mentioned Bob Flowerdew does go in for it. I did get a book from the library a ew times but can't remember its name nor author.
Yeh - I'm just being paranoid about the blog - anyone can access it by my profile page - If you visit it's nice to get comments.

Well it's mild today by golly. Supposed to come in bad again next week so I think we'll mosey over to the east for vittals, lick bucket & sugar beet - some mixed grain & some veg for us.

Lotus-eater

rhiwfield wrote: »

One of the crimbo pressies was the backyard chicken, incredibly detailed book giving history of chickens thru the ages. I may just quote some bits on here in future, including what the ancients would have thought of our gender confused blue.

What's the actual title? I just looked for Backyard Chicken and couldn't find anything.

I have just found you can buy Chicken Coop building for Dummies and Keeping Chickens for Dummies. Which may be a good present for a beginner, although they are probably American biased.

Rummer

rhiwfield wrote: »

Rummer, Bob Flowerdew did a book on companion planting :D:D

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I should have known!

The snow has totally cleared here today so I think I will spend some time in the garden just walking about and thinking and inspiration may strike!

Choille I agree with the others your pics are stunning

rhiwfield

Lotus-eater wrote: »

What's the actual title? I just looked for Backyard Chicken and couldn't find anything.

I have just found you can buy Chicken Coop building for Dummies and Keeping Chickens for Dummies. Which may be a good present for a beginner, although they are probably American biased.

Lotus eater, think I must be getting confused

The title is Home to Roost by Bob Sheasley (a backyard farmer chases chickens through the ages). To give you an idea of how idiosyncratic it is, his best friend is Ulisse Aldrovandi a C16th naturalist and chicken specialist (after Aristotle) whose connected by a time warp (the garden gate). Dont let that put you off though, its compulsive reading . From gay and lesbian chickens, avian flu, naked chickens bred to do away with plucking, just about all you would ever want to know and maybe a bit more


Edit: Its not so much a practical guide on chicken keeping, more an Ode to a Chicken

alfie_1

choille.... albeit you are /have been suffering from this /your! extreme weather i can honestly say that your pictures and descriptions of your daily exploits have been far more entertaining than anything "on the box" THIS XMAS !! your pictures are stunning.
that goes for everyone else as well... its been an eye opener to see that others have different things to cope with, advice and tips help me to look at what i thought might be a problem in a different light!
i think at times it seems a constant uphill struggle with little reward and then one "comment" on here by someone can get me giggling for ages..... so thankyou for sharing.

alfie_1

Yesterday was something else. I was outside working in my shirtsleeves, the back door was wide open, Mr Dog's dogs were silent and MiL even cancelled her visit.....:p What's more, with time to think, I decided I could probably mend the old polytunnel and make it work for those few crucial months until the new one can go up.

i rest my case !!:rotfl: sorry! i just got a quick flash image of davesnave skipping round his yard in a hawaiin shirt.....:)

Lotus-eater

rhiwfield wrote: »

Lotus eater, think I must be getting confused

The title is Home to Roost by Bob Sheasley (a backyard farmer chases chickens through the ages). To give you an idea of how idiosyncratic it is, his best friend is Ulisse Aldrovandi a C16th naturalist and chicken specialist (after Aristotle) whose connected by a time warp (the garden gate). Dont let that put you off though, its compulsive reading . From gay and lesbian chickens, avian flu, naked chickens bred to do away with plucking, just about all you would ever want to know and maybe a bit more


Edit: Its not so much a practical guide on chicken keeping, more an Ode to a Chicken

That sounds very interesting reading

Davesnave

alfie_1 wrote: »

Yesterday was something else. I was outside working in my shirtsleeves, the back door was wide open, Mr Dog's dogs were silent and MiL even cancelled her visit.....:p What's more, with time to think, I decided I could probably mend the old polytunnel and make it work for those few crucial months until the new one can go up.

i rest my case !!:rotfl: sorry! i just got a quick flash image of davesnave skipping round his yard in a hawaiin shirt.....:)

Not skipping exactly, and it was quite a woolly shirt, but the contrast with what went before was so marked that even the chickens were partying.

Indeed, when we went down late to lock them up for the night, four were still perched outside on the windbreak as if to say: "We'll just spend the night out here, if you don't mind."

Our friend's hen, traumatised by red mites, is still refusing to roost in her henhouse and spending the night at the top of a leylandii. She came down the other morning covered in frost.