Strawberry Dreams

Okay, this is an attempt to blog via the app on my iPad, let's see if it turns out.  

We've been busy getting an area ready to grow strawberries.  Much digging ensues to rid the area of kikuyu, then barrowing in many loads of cow poo, a bucketful of blood and bone, and a handful of trace elements.  Grab tiller 'The Hun' and churn it all into the ground to mix and make it fluffy.  Steve built a big metal frame to go over the whole bed so we can net it to keep the pesky parrots out, then I planted about sixty strawberry plants.  Oh the joy of things to come! :-)

The nosy girls are in the background, they love it when they see me digging cos they know any grubs I find they get, and boy do they squabble over them!  I let them out into an overgrown area to do some gardening, they love fresh grass and it is quite amazing the impact their sharp little claws have on tough kikuyu. We've had a bit of trouble with some of the hen's eggs lately.  One of them, Anne I think, has laid a few eggs with no shells, and since then her egg shells are incredibly fragile.  Calcium deficiency seems the likely reason although I think they get a good diet and why only her eggs?  I'm pretty sure it's her as she lays different shaped eggs to all the others, hers are long, and I am recognising that shape in the fragile ones, plus she had a damp backside on the days of the shell-less eggs which were a soggy mess in the laying box.  She seems healthy though, it's a mystery.  I shall bump up their calcium by mixing calcium powder into their wet food and see if it helps.

Just have a look at our little lime tree!  It is the image of health and vitality, having grown a trillion new leaves and is now groaning with the weight of many many blossoms.

The weather has been rather chilly, damp days with a biting cold wind blowing right through you.  Times like this we truly love our wood fire.

And what better to do in a warm, cosy room is to watch the tellie and crochet a blankie with wool that's been in the cupboard for years and making me feel guilty that it hasn't been used.  Since my hissy fit last week re the failed knitting attempt, I am now calm and content with my trusty crochet hook.