...... Tallulah! One of my new young hens, given to me by a neighbour. I named her Tallulah because with a head-dress like that she could be a show-girl on Broadway! Tallulah is a young Shetland hen, black, with a greeny sheen to her feathers, and a top-knot known as a "tappet". Apparently she will lay greeny/blue eggs. Though she's a little young yet for that. She came from one of the other Orkney islands, Eday. She seems to be settling in fine though is quite shy with me still.
Meanwhile in the garden, Princess Button continues to laze in the sun, or seek out some shade if it gets a wee bit too warm.....
And elsewhere in the garden, the salad leaves are doing well. They are planted in between the slats of an old pallet, and with another pallet with netting across to protect them from pesky hens and (it would seem) greenfly and other stuff. NOT from slugs of course, but nothing will deter those beasties! Nice to wander out to the garden though and pick some fresh "leaves" for dinner.
Meanwhile the swallows have done well this summer. There have been about 20 young swallows and adults flying around. Some doing very low flying over the grass and other performing amazing acrobatics in the sky. They take time out to rest on the hydro (electric) wires.
Or on the roof of the house....
What a clever idea using pallets for salad leaves, I just shouted my husband in to take a look. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt words really well. I also use it as a sort of cold frame in winter too. There are always plenty of pallets on the island as lots of cargo gets delivered on them. Certainly helps keeps the weeds at bay!
DeleteWhat a perfect name for that Hen. Your countryside is so lovely.
ReplyDeleteI think the name suits her :-) And yes I'm so lucky to live in such a beautiful landscape.
DeleteAnd I just checked out your blog. You live in one of my favourite places :-) Visited there many years ago.
DeleteLove the new hen. We don't seem to see Swallows in the numbers here that we should. Glad you've still got them there.
ReplyDeleteThere were lots of them around this summer and most had second broods too. Though sadly when I got back from "south" they had all headed off on their migration :-(
DeleteHello, Tallulah. :) How are the other hens taking to her, Sian? I love your ingenious salad garden idea and those leaves look very tasty.
ReplyDeleteI actually got two new hens, but the other one gets in among the older hens so I haven't been able to take photos of her! She's more "beige" but very fetching. Both hens seem to be settling in OK, though I notice they tend to stick together and are often a little apart from the main flock. However all the hens eat together quite happily so there don't seem to be too many problems. And the two new hens choose to roost in the hen house so they must feel quite comfortable there. I got the pallet idea from some avid recyclers. It works really well and helps keep weeds down and the varieties separate too.
DeleteWhat a unique life you have - thank you for sharing about your charming island.
ReplyDeleteThanks Connie :-) And thanks for taking time to comment too.
DeleteHello there,
ReplyDeleteJust came across your blog via the usual way of seeing what others are reading, enjoy reading about your life on an isle so I hope that you won't mind if I tag along awhile.
Hi John, thanks for tagging along, the more the merrier, and bring the doggie too :-) Thanks for taking time to comment too. Love to hear from people who read my blog :-)
DeleteGood stuff., in touch with what matters.
ReplyDeleteHi STeve, thanks for taking the time to comment. I've just had a wee look at your blog and found so much that resonnates with me. I've added you to my blog roll (and I'm typing this listening to the last night of the proms...).
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