Of Poultry and People!

My harvest begins!

On Sunday I ate the first vegetables that I have grown, on my own plot, for many a long year and it felt great! The climbing French beans have really taken off and I have had several pickings that I have processed and put in the freezer, but Sunday was the first meal using them fresh. I also had my own Purple-sprouting Broccoli. I knew the provenance of everything else on my plate, thanks to my mate Mick and his 'no-dig' garden across the road, except for the chicken pieces, and they were free range and British, so it was all good stuff. I also have some impressive-looking onions that are almost ready for lifting and my first early potatoes (grown in a large pot) were also surprisingly productive – I planted three seed potatoes of a variety called 'Jazzy' and, although they were on the small side, the pot was crammed and the crop weighed in at nearly three pounds, which I didn't think was bad. I have three other varieties of container-grown spuds and look forward to harvesting them soon. My second planting of perpetual spinach seems to have outgrown whatever pest got it first time round – I don't think it was slugs or snails, perhaps birds?

The Araucanas

Talking of birds, things have moved on a bit in the poultry world here. After I wrote my last blog it became all too apparent that the French and English hens (the Marans and the Sussex) were racially prejudiced against the Araucanas (Peruvian) and were never going to let them integrate into the flock. Admittedly they did look a bit different, being smaller and with a tufted head, but I felt that beating them up whenever they dared to emerge was taking racial discrimination too far. Mary and I discussed the possibility of creating a separate poultry house and run just for the Araucans but, with no second-hand or recyclable materials to hand, it was going to be quite expensive and, in the end, I took the sensible course of action and asked Sally if I could return my little trio and swap them for a couple more of the Sussex hens.

Aubrey

At the same time as Buffy (the Buff Sussex) was taking out her vindictive nature on the poor Peruvians, I began to suspect that the Light Sussex 'hen' was in fact, a cockerel! He confirmed this on the morning that I was returning the Araucanas to Sally by crowing when he was standing right next to me! As I'd already become quite attached to him/her I decided to keep him as part of the new flock. Two days later I returned with another Light Sussex and a Brown Sussex and even from Day 1 it was noticeable that the other hens were far less aggressive towards them. Within a week the little flock was integrated enough for them all to be sleeping in the same house, although the two new birds tend to forage alone when they are all free-ranging.

Even though she is a Brown Sussex, the new hen glows red in the sunshine and has quickly acquired her name, Ruby. The new Light Sussex is called Elsie after my maternal grandmother who lived most of her life in Sussex and, of course, we already had 'Buffy' (Buff Sussex) and Mrs Speckles (Speckled Sussex). Neither of the Marans have yet been given names, but it will happen sooner or later. At a loss for a name for the Light Sussex Cockerel, I googled for 'Famous Men from Sussex'. A lot of the famous men from Sussex had very ordinary names but one stood out – Aubrey Beardsley – so the new cockerel is Aubrey – he can't draw as well as the original but I'm sure he'll turn out to be just as much a rebel, in his own way! As with most animals I find the chickens endlessly fascinating and entertaining and had to laugh when Elsie showed off her latest 'trick' – chasing off the cheeky sparrows that try to steal their corn! So far, she hasn't chased the jackdaws but as she is not much bigger than them at the moment she is probably biding her time and practising on the smaller thieves first!

Many years ago I gave an impromptu talk to my Women's Institute called 'Poultry keeping for the Uninitiated' (I found the scribbled notes only a few days ago). At the beginning of July I was invited to attend their celebration evening commemorating 100 years of the WI, where I met so many ladies that I haven't seen for five years. In the course of the evening's chat it turned out that several members still remembered this talk and also another one I did (usually when the booked speaker failed to turn up – luckily, a fairly rare occurrence!) about my sheep, entitled 'Baarbara, the Lost Sheep'. I was absolutely amazed that they could still remember them and with enjoyment, too, so perhaps I should give the brain cells a bit of a dust off and get on the WI Speaker circuit to talk about my travels around the UK!

Cake!

My baking for the Country Market is not going too well at the moment (I have now been to 5 markets) as I don't seem to sell a great deal but I do seem to keep buying plants, therefore spending the profits I haven't made! So far I have made cookies (can't call them biscuits as they then become liable for VAT, apparently!) scones, chelsea buns and bread rolls. The cookies can be made in advance but the scones and bread products really need to be baked on the day. As I have to be at the market by about 8.00am and it is twelve miles away, I am getting up at 5.30am to do the baking! I always said that I could make scones in my sleep...... and I can! I don't really have any high-value items to sell – the rhubarb and ginger pies that I made two weeks ago didn't sell at all and ended up in the freezer. They will get used by me eventually, but that's not the point of the exercise. I have realised that it is impossible to predict what will sell well at the market each week – usually we sell out of the savoury items quite quickly, but this week there was loads of stuff left but hardly any cakes. It is a good place to 'people watch' as there are some definite characters who come in regularly and overheard conversations are often amusing. Have you noticed how, when standing behind a table selling 'stuff' people stop seeing you, as they concentrate on the items for sale? I realise that I have been guilty of this over the years, so now try and make a point of smiling and saying 'Hello' to stall holders. Overheard this week - “I had some of that shortbread last week – it was too sweet, but I'll have some of that millionaire's shortbread”!! (In case you don't know – millionaire's shortbread is shortbread biscuit covered with caramel and then topped with melted chocolate) How I kept a straight face as I served her, I don't know.

My little 'S' hook

I did venture to the Glastonbury Country Market, which is held on a Tuesday in the Town Hall, as I had been told that they were desperate for bakers, too. The venue is much lighter and more spacious than the one at Somerton and the goods on offer are quite different. For a start there is a lot more in the way of craft items for sale – paintings, hand-felted pictures, wood-turning and a young lad who taught himself the basics of blacksmithing by watching videos on YouTube and has now landed a place at agricultural college to continue perfecting his new-found skill! I was so impressed that I bought a very pretty 'S' hook from him for not much money – give him a couple of years and I won't be able to afford his pieces! There was also a lady who was spinning and selling yarn and knitted products – I could do that at Somerton, perhaps. The food stall was also quite different in the range of products it had – a lot more vegetarian snacks and ready meals and not much in the way of cakes. I don't know whether that is because of the 'alternative' nature of Glastonbury or whether it is because they are very short of bakers – I may need to make further enquiries. It was certainly an interesting morning, made more so by the fact that the ordinary weekly market was taking place outside in the High Street and there were some very interesting people walking about. I do think that perhaps Glastonbury has become a parody of itself in recent years as no-one seems to dress 'normally' there and nearly all of the shops have a mystical theme, be it fairies, dragons, Native American or Pagan. Don't get me wrong, I still love going there but it can be a bit overwhelming.

As you can tell, I have got past my downward blip, for the moment, and am trying to feel more upbeat about my new lifestyle – as Jeni always says “It'll be fine!”.