Update on Mrs Boss and the ducklings: one glorious month old
The ducklings are thriving. You haven’t heard much about them as there seems to be little to report. But writing this post this evening there seems to be loads. And I havn’t even touched on Carol bursting into the Emerald Castle to steal their greens! The ducklings are tall now, towering over Mrs Boss – the small, squat bantam that is their adoptive mum. Tiny feathers are appearing on their wings and tails and they are still covered with the softest down. One duckling has started to quack. A fuzzy sort of sound, reminiscent...
read moreHow to eat your own new potatoes on Christmas Day
As a woman, I move in a strange world. Filled with ladders, vans, dust, men and the occasional dog that observes me closely as I pass by. There are very few women at the builder’s merchants where I buy my paint. In fact I have never seen one buying anything alone. A woman is always accompanied by a man. So my progression in the builder’s merchants from Oddity to UBOK (Unusual But OK) has been a bit of a rocky one. Finally, after five years, I know and like the guys behind the desk. We chat when I need to have paint mixed. Sometimes...
read moreThe Syringa Summerhouse and flowers from the garden June 2008
My mum pruned her Philadelphus on Sunday and had saved a large bunch of flowering branches for me. The Philadelphus (Mock Orange) has a special meaning for mum. When she was a child she played in a Philadelphus summer house in her parents’ garden. She always calls it the Syringa Summerhouse. In those days Syringa was a name for Philadelphus and didn’t refer to lilac as it does now. “The grown ups weren’t interested in it at all so I thought of it as mine.” I’d always imagined this summerhouse at the end of a...
read moreThe ten minute soup challenge: Quick hot and sour vegetable soup recipe
My night time dreams have been rich and startling recently. I dreamt that my pond was full of tropical fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Bright pink and yellow scallops hung on the sides as I watched small electric blue fish swim between my toes. I woke in the morning exhausted from this adventure and longing for seafood. But we’re back on the soup for weekday lunch regime and I needed to make some while I rustled up breakfast. In the winter I’m happy to cook large batches at the weekend, freeze them and pull out a carton each night....
read moreOur garden’s alive 24/7
The front door opens into the cottage kitchen and from the same room the back door reveals the garden. In summertime it’s always a wrench closing the garden door when it gets too dark to see. I keep it open for as long as possible. I’ve even been known to cook supper wearing a thick fleece. Then I can enjoy the birds and, as the light gradually fades, watch the colours in the garden slowly drift and fall asleep. Some summers have us eating by the pond, wrapped in blankets, serenaded by the owls and the rustles in the undergrowth...
read moreThe naming of things. Asparagus, Ham and Rice Bake Recipe
When I was a wooden toymaker I made a small car, simply shaped, immensely tactile. My sister christened it the Dumpy Car. I knew in an instant that the name would sell the car. I’d listen to people chatting about the toys on the stand. If I heard them mention the Dumpy Car, I knew that they were likely to buy. The words sound comfortable and solid, good in the mouth, with just enough resonance. I sold thousands of them. Danny has a problem with the name “bake”. “Never make us a bake. I’d have to leave. Just...
read moreThe Grand Potting Shed Champagne Reception and Dinner
“We’ve ordered a potting shed!” The Chicken lady passed her laptop across to show me the picture. She explained that the greenhouse had been wrecked by wayward footballs and time. “So we’re getting rid of it and making a small vegetable patch when it stood.” “With Dahlias at the back.” added S. We’ve watched the preparations for weeks. The selection of the perfect spot in the garden. The ground was cleared and the hefty sand and cement base laid. Then it arrived. Carried across the big...
read moreHackers, spam and a glimpse of our garden
We’ve had major problems with the Cottage Smallholder website. Over the past ten days we’ve been 24/7 at the rock face with just enough time to write a post and then rushing back to try and sort out the problems. No time to visit other blogs or even keep up to date with comments on this site. Many apologies. Hackers had managed to gnaw their way in, insertng extra paragraphs packed with links on some of my posts. Luckily this somehow disabled comments on the affected posts. We were bemused and finally discovered the rogue comments...
read moreThe conundrum of thieves in the soft fruit cage
Earlier this year I built a fruit cage for our raspberry canes. I have since discovered that the metal rods from the giant’s staircase are a bit bendy on a windy day. But this has given me a lot of experience with knots and stabilisers. It’s like being on board ship after a storm. Hauling and heaving and trying to predict how to survive the next choppy sea. I have another soft fruit border and used to wonder why we have such a poor harvest. Anne Mary gave us superb red currant tarts with melt in the mouth sweet pastry, made from...
read moreThe slow cooker chef: Light summery vegetable soup recipe
We should be sylphlike by now. We were gradually shedding the pounds with the new half veggie diet and soup each day for lunch. The dangerous thing about losing weight with little effort is that you can start to take it for granted and assume that whatever you eat will have no effect on your size. Unlike multi national corporations, we didn’t want to grow. Gradually we’ve slithered back to sandwiches for lunch. Chocolate bars, biscuits and the occasional ice cream treat on a hot day have tempted us. “Gosh, you’ve put on...
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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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