How to attract birds to your winter garden. Part three: supplement regular feeding with fat balls
We have three feeders hanging in the winter flowering honeysuckle just outside our kitchen window. If we hang fat balls over the hooks at the top of the feeders when we refill them, different species of birds feed simultaneously from the same feeder. If we are lucky we see six species of birds feeding, three at the top and three at the bottom. Usually different species form an orderly queue in the honeysuckle and wait their turn. Why not add a penthouse restaurant and double the covers? The two feeders that contain wild bird seed are emptied...
read moreAnna’s famous onion gravy recipe
I’ve been working at Anna’s house for the past five weeks. The spot is so secluded that I could not find it on my first foray and had to return home. At the second attempt, Jalopy and I were resting at the side of the road, scratching our heads and on the point of giving up when, miraculously, Anna drove past. We followed her lead and learned the route to her house. Down a quiet track, in the middle of fields. I would never have found it by myself and might have missed out on this onion gravy gem. Anna cooks delicious meals for her...
read moreHow much is your garden worth?
I went over to see my mum yesterday. It was Mothers’ Day. We gave her chocs (Box of lavender and geranium truffles and an oversized milk chocolate ladybird with cardboard legs that we attached to the carrier bag) and floral tributes (lilies and stocks). Danny was fast asleep when I left so I had to forge his signature on his card (rather badly I fear). I remembered that he always does a long line of kisses in rather a faint hand and think that I got those spot on. She smiled at them. My mother has been ill so I didn’t stay long. If...
read moreBorough Market. Foodie day out in London
Danny turned over in bed this morning and pronounced, “Borough Market was a revelation.” Then he drifted off to sleep again. Living such a quiet backwater life, London is always a shock. The crowds of people, the range of nationalities, the noise and smell of the place. There’s a buzz and a rush that doesn’t exist out in the sticks. Not having visited London for over a year, Borough Market seemed like another planet. Here was Dutch Gouda cheese that had the crumbliness of cheddar, duck and truffle pate that melted with...
read moreSt Patrick’s day brunch at Borough Market
A few weeks ago a generous client gave me a large tip. Not the ‘Fiona, why don’t you work a bit harder’ variety. Rather, she added a day’s wages to the final cheque and suggested that I could take Danny out for a meal. So when our friends Katherine and Paul suggested a foodie day out in London, we jumped at the chance. This would be the perfect way of investing our windfall. The day started with locating our friends at Liverpool Street station (how did we cope without mobile phones?), grabbing a coffee and jumping on a...
read moreI’ve been tagged
I?ve been tagged by Lobstersquad for a meme in which the victim recounts what?s been going on in their life in leaps of five years (the years ending in 2 and 7). Also what they were eating at the time. Never mysterious in real life, I always hoped that this blog would adjust the balance. This plot has clearly failed. I was born mid September 1953 1957. I was four, living in Cambridge and still avoiding school. My birthday fell after the start of the Autumn term so I was not allowed to attend as I was a few days under four years old. We used to...
read moreEaster Eggs by Hotel Chocolat: Easter Egg filled Egg
Blogging and being greedy (polite people call this an interest in food) has paid dividends this week. An email slid into my inbox. It politely enquired whether I would like to receive and possibly review the Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg filled Egg. As many of my more generous spirited clients and friends gorge at the HC fountain, I had tasted their excellent chocolate so I hit the reply button within seconds. We don’t do bad reviews. If we don’t like something, from a spice to a restaurant, we just don’t mention it on The...
read moreCountry Value seeds from Netto
Last weekend I breezed into Netto, the budget supermarket, to stock up on tinned sardines. Danny and the Min Pins love these and at 25p a tin, they’re a bargain. Quite often Netto sells plants for the garden. Two years ago I bought a gooseberry bush from them for £1.99. I thought I was buying an ordinary green gooseberry bush, as the box was just marked ˜Gooseberry’. I was thrilled when I discovered that it was a rather special red dessert gooseberry bush. Dessert gooseberries make an excellent liqueur. Since then I have kept my...
read moreLondon frogs return each year to breed in our pond
We might not have bees but we have frogs. Loads of them. These are the descendants of the London frogs that my mum raised in an aquarium in the kitchen, 14 years ago. If frogs travel away from your garden they will return in the Spring to breed. This is a humdinger of a party. The frog fest in our pond is 24/7. When we open the back door we can hear the low sonorous croaking. This is a constant bass addition to the bird song. Except the birds sleep. The jolly in our pond will continue for at least two weeks. The croaking stops when I walk down...
read moreOur honey bees are dead
Both of our bee colonies have died. They’d been flying on sunny days since January. I was so pleased that they’d survived the winter. Two weeks ago I noticed that they weren’t flying about, even on the best days. Last weekend I was working in the borders near the hives and noticed there was no activity at all. And none in the mornings when I went down to the chickens. Today was mild and warm so I decided to dust off my bee suit and investigate. I opened up the small white hive first. The bees were motionless, clustered...
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Recent Comments
{ I was thinking the same as Magic Cochin but then like you I don't have my phone attached by an umbilical cord wherever I go.... } – Wed 8 :47 pm
{ Good point but I don't tend to take it about with me everywhere 
} – Wed 7 :25 pm
{ Doesn't your mobile phone have an alarm setting? C x } – Wed 6 :32 pm
{ I would put it towards a bbq, it's just a shame you can't purchase some sunshine from b&q } – Wed 12 :04 am- { Hi Lesley The clucking means that she is brrody also plucking her own feathers is a sign too. } – Tue 11 :58 pm
- { Hi Lesley They have to stay in the broody coop 24/7. Could you put in a garden shed or garage? } – Tue 11 :57 pm
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