The Start Wales Festival

Another trip to The National Botanic Gardens of Wales. We started in the rain and finished in the sun. This was to visit The Start Wales Festival which was inspired by The Prince of Wales. (He missed seeing us today as he visited there yesterday!) "An initiative to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like." So lots of exhibitors, producers and workshops all to help us sustain the planet, improve our lives and teach us to make better use of our natural resources. We try to do our bit by keeping chickens, growing potatoes, beans, lettuce, chard, courgettes, tomatoes, radishes, spring onions, apples, rhubarb, peppers, raspberries, blackberries (wild ones), beetroot, spinach, and cabbages, plus a lemon tree and an orange tree!

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The gardens were still looking wonderful with loads of colourful flowers to see and photograph.

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A butterfly on the Verbena Bonariensis.
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These are 'dried' flowers growing. It is really wierd to touch them and find that they feel dry and crispy - very odd!

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Globe artichokes. Never seen them flowering before. They look rather like proteas.

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A beautiful globe artichoke.

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Of course there was lots of locally produced food on the stalls and we couldn't resist some organic yoghurt with marmalade, some with mint and one with lemon. We also bought some lavender biscuits and some chili and horseradish biscuits.

When we returned home there were four more eggs awaiting us again!

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Tuesday 7 September

Tenby was absolutely beautiful when we visited for a short trip this morning.

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Lots of the floral displays still looking good and kept going by the rain we have had recently.

Lots of visitors still about as well and families with small children. No doubt all the older ones have gone back to school now.

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The harbour looked colourful and busy, even though the tide was out. Most of the boats belong to local fishermen. A lot of mackerel and bream get caught from here so I understand.

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This is Much Better!

When we got back from a trip to Tenby the sun was shining, so it was all out for a lovely dig, scrape and peck about ...

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They love being underneath the apple trees and in amongst the runner beans.

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Rosalind looking particularly glamorous after her wash and brush up in the pouring rain and a thorough preening session!
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In amongst the chard.
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Margot needs a 'comb-out'!
They all loved it out in the sun after the darkness of yesterday and gave us four eggs today.
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Drying Out ...

After well over 2½ inches of rain during the past 24 hours, the girls' pen area is like a quagmire.

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I just paddled up to check them out and at least they look dried out and happy and were clucking gently. Their house was dry and warm, so I know they are alright - even if it does look a mess. Sorry girls!

You can come out into the garden and free-range later when it is a bit dryer.

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Wild Food Festival, St Davids ...

We went to the annual Wild Food Festival today. This is held in St David's, and is full of lovely locally produced food and drink. Fresh, locally bred beef, lamb, pork etc. Goat's ice-cream, which I can confirm is delicious and wild boar burgers which we can both confirm were jolly nice with the addition of apple and blackberry chutney!

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There was of course the 'ahhh' factor with these two cute alpacas which we had just missed being shorn. Their wool is used for all the usual knitting items, hats, scarves, bedsocks etc. and is very soft.

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Lots of ideas of how to use foraged food. We have used samphire, but not sea beet. I have tasted lava bread, but not found it to my taste.
Inside the huge produce tent there were cookery demonstrations, cheese tasting, home-made jam, chutney tasting and locally produced honey, home-made soaps and products made from bee propolis. Just anything you could want to find out about wild food and local produce.
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This is a member of the pig-racing team! I don't know what position he ended up in!
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This is a half-breed peregrine - so we were told. I don't know what the other half was! He was just starting to look a little bedraggled as it began to rain.

We always enjoy this festival very much and have come away with loads of leaflets on locally produced food and how to make Rose-hip Marmalade (which I will try and let you know what it tastes like - never tried such a thing before).

Oh yes. I have also bought a garlic bulb from www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk and will try planting it in a pot. Never had success with garlic before so watch this space.

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NEW TEMPLATE !

Good morning everyone. Hope you are not too shocked by the change of template. I was rooting around on the site looking to perhaps have a bit of a change of colours etc and tried out several looks. When I came upon this one, I liked the look of it and one click later here we are!

Have a good weekend.

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Friday's Bits and Bobs!

Sorry, bit of a long post, but I had some catching up to do. x

Oranges and Lemons!

We bought two citrus trees last year but lost them both during the exceptionally cold, snowy, frosty icy weather at the beginning of the year. Luckily they were still under guarantee and so were replaced by these two, which seem to be thriving. But, how do I keep the fruits going? Will they really turn into edible oranges and lemons this year, or will they take until next year?

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They arrived with their own blue fleeces to be put on during the winter and I don't know whether to just cover them up and wrap them (as I did last year, but still lost them), cover and wrap them up and put in the greenhouse (not a heated glass one, but a green plastic one), wrap them up etc and put in a garden shed with only a small window or wrap them up and put them in our conservatory (which can get pretty cold during the winter) or even bring them in to the house with central heating! Time to hit the internet I think.
If anyone has any ideas they would be gratefully received.
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Four lovely eggs today from four lovely 'girls', but which hen gave us which egg that is the question. The white one is Margot's, she is the white leghorn (her second egg was a double yolker!). The small white-speckled egg we presume is from one of the speckledys. The largest darker brown one we believe is from Bluebell (our Bluebelle) and the other brown egg is from Rosalind, our Gold Star first layer. Two others yet to start laying.

Of course they all taste delicious. Thank you once again girls.

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A trip to Milford Haven this morning to the dentist. Exam, clean and filling.
A rather early hazy shot across the Cleddau Estuary to the oil refinery with a huge tanker awaiting its turn.

Same shot, slightly different view.
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I've Obviously Done Something Wrong .....

No, not with these, I am hoping for great things with these - but look further down the page!

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I think the mice have been in here. I have watered them honest!
These started off as plug plants.

Not quite sure what this is. It is a purply colour. Should I talk to it more?

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When will they Ripen!!

Will they be green for ever, or do I spy a slight turning of colour at last!

We have waited so long. I have grown them from seed and nurtured them to within an inch of their life, so they'd better do something soon. We're not huge fans of green tomato chutney!

Speckledy's Turn ...

Easy to tell whose egg it is!

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Well done Speckledy 1. (I'm sure you'll get a name soon.)
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