Welcome to a New Year

So it's the New Year and time for a quick reflection on the past year and although I never make resolutions perhaps this is an opportunity to highlight some changes that could or should be adopted for the good of the planet, my wallet and the unfortunately expanding waistline.

Chickens - completely obvious that these are now classified as pets. We do enjoy the eggs but on a cost basis we would probably be more cost effective buying them from a shop (I mean who ever thought that you would have to factor in a box of mealworms for treats each week and the mealworms cost more than 4 bantam eggs from Waitrose). Still, we shall thoroughly enjoy each egg irrespective of cost knowing that it came from a very happy hen.

On a vaguely negative point we will have wire off some of the borders as the destructive powers of chickens cannot be underestimated however one hopes that the payback will be some positive fertilisation of the soil (that soil that actually remains on the border that is).

And it would be fantastic to get a clutch of fertile eggs for one of the girls to hatch.


Allotment - despite the bloody awful wet weather the allotment was relatively successful. Again we had a lousy crop of tomatoes due to blight bought on by the wet weather, onions just didn't grow, same for garlic and runner beans again failed to produce much. Winners were shallots, potatoes (Swift were brilliant, Kestrel poor), globe and jerusalem artichokes, chillies, peppers and french beans were a complete success. Carrots have always done badly due to the heavy clay and stones however we grew them in pots this year and they were wonderful, a definite for this season.


2009 and instead of buying more seeds I am going to use up all the seeds we have AND we will try to eat everything we grow.


Friends - we are so lucky in having so many good and dear friends and I have to say that we are bloody useless at keeping in touch and visiting. This year, based on being able to find enthusiastic chicken sitters, we really do want to get and see lovely people we haven't seen in an age so Lollie, Jane and Budge and family on the Isle of Wight, you have been warned!

Stork chicks in Dalyan, Turkey

And finally - get married, go to Turkey, go to France, lose 2 stone, do SOME exercise, don't buy anything unless I really need it, remember that thanks to the Government I have probably loaned more to the banks than they have to me, a day without wine is like a day without sunshine, love Cornwall and finally "Welcome to Planet Earth" Louis Jack and Ferdinand Jack, two bundles of joy that arrived in 2008