2 eggs today - Marj and dhylis.

I came home to find both Sylvie and Penny in the nest box - Penny was expected but not Sylvie. I think she wan't to lay an egg, as she just couldn't get comfy - but no usual shout yet, and she's out free ranging so she may have got distracted.

On the way to work there was a stall selling some home grown cuecumbers - so I got 2 - for 35p each. They are huge, as you can see, and look much tastier than Tesco's that are wrapped in plastic. I'd love to grow cuecumbers, but I don't have enough room for a green house.

I've been to work today, then come home and made some raspberry frozen yoghurt - it's delicous. Very easy recipe pinched form the omlet board.

8oz rasberries or strawberries
3oz of caster suger
1 large pot of low fat bio yoghurt.

Blitz the fruit and sugar in a food processor, then add the mixture to an ice cream maker, and add the youghurt - then leave to set.

It's very pink as you can see from the picture.

I've started to make some jam too - another easy one. it's just sitting with the fruit on top of the sugar to encourage the juice to come out. Then I've got to add a little bit of water, and low heat until the sugar has disolved, then boil rapidly for 4 minutes. I can't wait for that either.

The girls are out and about - as you can see it's a bit wet - but they have the choice of sitting in the dry or free ranging - so it is up to them. They do make me laugh. Marjorie is getting more chatty by the day, to the point of being a bit noisy. She hears me walk up the gravel drive and starts squeeking. she does this too the next door neighbour too as she can't distinguish between the gravel. I still can't believe how great chickens are - their eye sight is amazing. I'll stand watching the from a window inside the house, and they come running over to see me.

Second post today, still no more eggs, and I've just made Penny get out of the next box - she doesn't look happy!

So, we've eaten the roast - it was lovely and after watching the Wimbledon Mens final - (Roger deserved to win). I'm now doing some cooking, I've made a sponge cake with 4 bantam eggs. I've never used them for cake making before - so I guessed the amount - where as I'm now thinking I should have been a bit more scientific and weigh them - as it looks like a bullet! I'm sure it'll taste nice - but it's a bit burnt on top too. I haven't made a cake in a long time and I think it shows! Tom did the icing bit, it's got butter cream, strawberry jam and fresh stawberries in it - and tasted really nice even if it was a bit flat and bullet like!


So now I'm making some redcurrant jelly - recipe kindly supplied by Allotment lady. The redcurrants are simmering away nicely as I write this and they smell delicious. I've got the muslin ready (an old reminant of some net curtains I took up), so now I've got to find some jars to put this in.....again maybe I should have checked this first.

So, I'm also going to make some low fat raspberry frozen yoghurt - with the raspberries we picked yesterday. I've only just put the ice cream maker in the freezer - so this may end up being made tomorrow, as I don't think it will freeze in time.

I did a bit on my veggie bed yesterday - I split some of the lettuces up, to give them some more room, and now they look like there dead - so I'm leaving the others alone! As you can see from the photo - the ones to the left are looking decidedly limp.

The girls are now out free ranging again, being blown about the garden by the wind - this photo does make me laugh as Sylvie was blown up the garden...I think it's because of their huge feathers the wind can pick them up. It's a good job we clipped their wings otherwise they may have flown away today with the help from the wind.

I've managed to get a photo of Boris - spying on them from the lounge door. He is naughty - far too interested in what they are doing, and he rushes out in the garden when they are back in their run, just to check and see where they've been.

As you can see the garden is looking quite nice now - with the flowers - it's just a shame about the lawn, although it is looking a lot healthy this weekend, than last when we got back from Thailand. I don't think it was watered at all - so with a nice drink (we don't have a hose pipe ban) - it's perked up a bit.

3 eggs yesterday - yippee

1 egg so far today - Sylvie proudly told me about 10 minutes ago!

We haven't had 3 eggs in one day for at least 2 months! It was very funny - Penny Marj and Dhylis all crammed into the next box at the same time! I know they are only bantams but it was a tight squeeze. Sylvie laid earlier - so at least it wasn't 4 of them in the nest box. They've all been free ranging today - they do make me laugh when they are out. The see me and all come running as they know I've normally got grapes and treats for them. They now know what to do about free ragning too. After we were on hols for 3 weeks, they'd forgotten how to free range and didn't undertstand they could come out of the door! Silly chooks, they have a memory like a goldfish!

We went car shopping yesterday too - a Nissan Murano is looking quite good - but we need to drive it first and they didn't have one - unfortunately - so hopefully next weekend?

I've been into work this morning too. It was the open day - so I've shown people around this morning - then off to Sainsburys our first veggie box is being delivered on friday and we needed veg for the roast dinner today. So dinner us in cooking and starting to smell really nice. I've got chicken and Tom has pork stuffed with apricots and mushrooms, the roasties and veg too.

So here are some photo's of Thailand. We stayed in Krabi at the Tubkaak resort - it was so peaceful. We'd lie by the pool and watch the butterflies flying about. Great Thai food too! We stopped in Bangkok for 1 night on the way home too, which was great fun - shopping at a market with 6000 stalls and bartering over 5p!

The beach at sunset.

The beach during the day

The pool - the best pool we've ever had!

The koi I fed every day in the pond by the restuarant.

I haven't posted in a while as I've been on holiday to Thailand, and to Boston working.

I'll download some pictures soon, but I need to get the camera working first.

The chickens are fine, and are Boris and Bert, but it's so hot!

Hopefully I'll post more tomorrow.