Friends for the hen and U Tube is my friend

 Hello All

Well I'm bumbling on here in the smallholding. Nearly all the veggie planting is done. So far its been a mixed bag of successes and failures. For the first time ever I am having problems with pigeons. They have stripped my peas, so I will have to net them from now on. The slugs are pretty bad this year too and the mice have taken all my sunflowers and beans from the greenhouse. Still time to start again methinks. On the other hand the onions and potatoes are looking good, as are the squashes, cucumbers and tomatoes.

 Quite a lot of things have broken down or given up the ghost too, so in the absence of he who was super good at mending things and keeping them going forever I have found that U Tube is my new best friend! I have mended the dishwasher, re strung the strimmer, unblocked the drains and sort of cobbled the toilet cistern so far. Usually my go-to person, after David to mend things is my eldest daughter's husband P. He is an immensely practical engineer who is useful to have on the team. However, late last year he was involved in an horrific motor cycle accident, that left him in a coma for some time. He also lost his right leg up to and past the hip and his right arm badly compromised. He is now recovering , but has a way to go yet, though goodness knows he is working so hard and already has a new leg he is wearing for longer and longer sessions.

 He and my daughter have bought a new house ( bungalow) as theirs is virtually unaccessable for him and they are moving much closer to me, which I am delighted about. They moved in this week and will be virtually camping for a few weeks while builders make it an even better living space.  Concurrently, my grandson, his partner and their daughter are moving house too. As often happens their buyers want them to vacate last week, while those they are buying from  can't move for  another few weeks. SO.. they are living here for now, with their furniture piled up in the goathouse and our largest lounge. So all change and never a dull moment. (and it's lovely having  an 18th month old cutie around )

 No mow May is going to change into no mow June soon if I don't get the paddock cut, but difficulties with the mower and scarcity of folk it is what it is. Hopefully it will be done next week.

After being wiped out by the fox last month . I was left with one traumatised and lonely black hen. Last week I bought two hems to keep her company. We put them together in their new hut, after dark, hoping they would settle together and they have been fine. I have cordoned off a small section of land next to the orchard that my hens used to live an and with the help of a friend have made it fox-proof ++. I shan't get any more for the time being while I settle into my new role as crazy old single smallholder!

Is anybody else here members of vegetable growing/ allotment etc facebook groups? These groups are so useful for sharing ideas and for new veggie growers to ask for advice. So far so good, but I have to say I am amazed at  how little some folks know about the most basic things that are to do with nature etc. What do they teach in science/ biology nowadays? " Shall I cut the flowers off my apple tree so that it can concentrate on growing the apples?" is the sort of thing I mean. I find myself shouting at the screen. I asked my three and a half year old granddaughter what would happen to the lovely blossom and she said it would turn into apples. 

Anyway this is more mundane than usual. I am having trouble loading photographs atm. I shall ask my youngest daughter this weekend what I am doing wrong. A picture tells so much more doesn't it? She is back from Jersey for a few days. It will be nice to see her.

Back soon, Thanks for reading

Gillx