I saw a discussion with chicken keepers in Norfolk. Apparently in some areas all chickens have to be registered, however few, & spot checks on their housing have been done - sometimes when people werent in. I dont really understand how 2 chickens in a garden pose more of a risk of spreading avian fl...

im interested to hear how you get on. Ive had a small air fryer for a few years. We use it for chips & other small things that need fast, hot baking/crisping. DIL's mother was impressed with it & bought her own (bigger one) recently, which she uses instead of her oven for lots of things. She loves i...

I quite like chunks of squash in with roasted vegetables, also nice in currys

I'm afraid not spreckly. Having a 3 year old & her mum living here makes it quite hard to get things done. However, from September little Alice will be at nursery every afternoon, so maybe I can start working through my "things to do" list!

2022 veg results so far. Well the cucumbers in the greenhouse produced a handfull of mini cucs then got blight. As did the beef tomato plant in there. So far the toms outdoors are ok, I've pulled off the bottom leaves & been careful when watering them. I'm half hopeful. Chillis & sweet peppers in th...

Thanks for the reminder, I'd meant to watch that. Sounds fascinating, I wonder if the film company funded some of it.

Oh dear, I have years like that. Last year something pinched all the apples from my little tree (yes a squirrel I think) My runner beans got diseased & the tomatoes & cucumbers got blight. This year my blackcurrants have all dropped off early & the blight is back. I think the hot weather affected so...

I think its just about keeping the cardboard moist so it breaks down, so worth a try.

I've not used cardboard but I've read its best to put some compost on top of it.

Thanks for the encouragement LL. I still havent got around to making my bread, but I will. I like the idea of making something simple like a small loaf or rolls, maybe if I can get it right I'll be inspired to get the machine out again. I'd like to have a go at flat bread/pittas too eventually.

I guess it was a domestic one that escaped. We used to get black ones in the wild around here, they were wild ones with a mutation - a bit like albino.

Oh my goodness, I just checked our house martin's nest in the front eave of our house, where they've nested every year for decades - no birds in there. Oh that's so sad. There's usually lots of them, (and swallows) flying around here but I've only seen about 4. I know they're now on the red list but...

https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/8a/8a/UpFxgkfZ_t.jpg beautiful Queen Bonny was pts today. She got flystrike on Sunday, it was quite horrible. I held her in salt water to get the maggots off, sprayed her with purple spray & used ivermectin drops to kill any leftover ones. But they'd done alot of damage t...

Thankyou, I think white & brown must be the best way. I tried to make a brown loaf in the breadmaker a couple of years ago, but it came out really dense & brick like! It put me off. I will definately make some, but havent had the time to spare yet.

I hope they found another nest site though. They are sweet, I love the chuckling sounds from the nests - but yes they are messy!