HIlarious Chickens

How easy is it to be entertained by a couple of hen? Very!

Dirt Bath

The sun has been out this week; it's felt more like summer than spring. Puck has been able to have a good ol' run around in the garden, whilst the chickens have rediscovered their bathing spot and have been rolling around in the dirt!

Nasturtium Seeds

This weekend I moved up to Manchester. Lucy and I have a week of getting sorted and exploring the city before the work begins on our Part II course. Today we went for shop and came across the Hulme Community Garden Centre not far at all from where we live. The enthusiastic people there gave us some nasturtium and calendula seeds and a choice of fruit and veg for a small donation. It seems like a great community hub in an area that has been regenerated in recent years but, at first glance, lacks some personality. They do courses and encourage volunteers so with my current enthusiasm with urban agriculture it could be something great to be involved with.

Wowee Weather

Raining, scorching... the British summer has gone mad! The veg are liking it in the garden though and the chickens are as boisterous as ever.

Technology & Gardens

Today Claire and I went for a wander around London south of the river. First we saw my friend Nick's final year exhibition, Made In Brunel. In the Bargehouse warehouse under the Oxo tower there was some fantastic work from all realms industrial design, engineering, futures - there was both simple and ergonomic design as well as innovative industry specialist work. After lunch we wandered through Borough Market, I bought some gooseberry and elderflower jam and spotted some mini gourmet radishes! Lastly we headed to the launch day of the Urban Physic Garden on Union Street, were we sat and sipped at cider in the sun and absorbed to beautiful smells of the medicinal plants all around us.

Funky Chickens

Spring had sprung it seems! Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the sun at Lou's for our first BBQ of the year with the first glasses of Pimms and playing volleyball. Today the chickens had their house move in the garden, now complete with grass-less patch which we have discovered they love to roll in. Cleans their feathers apparently. They look mad when they do it though!

Introducing...

Polly, Henrietta and Mrs Thatcher!

Yesterday evening we were finally graced with the presence of the newest members of our clan - the hens! A very adaptable species are settling in to their new home very well. Polly is the least feathered, she's yet to be 'normal' pre-battery self but she's a little spirit. Henrietta and Mrs T are basically fully feathered and the latter I can imagine will live up to her name, she's a big lady! Henny stands her ground too! So I will be updating on the progress of the girls and wondering when the first egg might be laid...

Come Dine

Following the TV phenomenon that is Come Dine With Me, a bunch of my friends invited me to be part of our very own cooking competition. The other week we decended on Ree's house where he cooked us a Jamie Oliver dish of chicken on a bed of roasted sweet potato with a summer salad (which wasn't the exact title but will do for now!) and a lemon tart for dessert. That was delish! Steph's camera recorded us giving our scores (which everyone shared apart from me so we can't actually work out who's won before the last night!) and there'll be some prize money!

This morning I watched Saturday Kitchen, which I love, and I think I have gained some inspiration for my dish when it comes around to being my turn. Here it is! I've only recently got into fish and I reckon this could be a good way of me getting into cooking it. As for dessert, I'm not sure still but Ma picked about 120 plums from the garden the other day, so maybe something plum-y? Here has lots of ideas.

Also, the hens are arriving today!!!

Image from Jamie Oliver - grilled butterflied monkfish with a sweet runnerbean stew - another possibility?!

Hen House

To add to our seasoned vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden, in a few weeks we'll have a few battery rescue hens. I'm so excited for them to arrive; I've already got some great ideas for names. I've watched The Private Life of Chickens on BBC iPlayer which was so interesting, and really showed the character, adaptability and intelligence of the birds. No doubt I'll be posting our progress when they arrive
Image from The Telegraph Magazine

Greenfingers

Coming home and seeing Mutti in her greenhouse cultivating crops got me wanting to grow me own food. I bought the Growing Stuff book back in Feb and the recycled toilet roll idea is from there. They say to grow cress with the cardboard wrapped in comic paper, but I've gone for chives in newspaper-from-the-garden-supplements jacket. So day 1, we'll see how my first herb turns out and in the mean time I'll get planting more. (Still waiting on my free Dig In seeds!)

Carpenter Girl

I've been exploring my inner carpenter today, finishing the prototype chair for my interdisciplinary project. Sawing, chiseling and drilling is a tiring business, I'm pooped! It has definitely been worth making the mock-up, as there are a number of changes that need to be made in the 'real thing'. Been having a gander at the work by Greg Hatton, as pointed out by fine little day. Inspiration for a future furniture project maybe?

The weather at the moment is beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, not even an Icelandic volcanic ash cloud! Yesterday I went to a lovely pub near by for my primary school friend's 21st. As parentals were invited too it was like being back in the playground all those years ago. In the evening my cousin, my brother and I went for drinks in London and even saw George Michael (we had a vouchers for a posh hotel bar!)

Chicken's roasting in the kettle BBQ for Sunday dinner... smells deliiiicious!

Home Sweet Home

I have such a happy feeling when I'm home. Even though I know I have a lot of work to do, I feel much more relaxed about everything. This evening on iPlayer we watched The Edible Garden, a gardening programme, which has got me wanting to get into growing food. The BBC Dig In website sends out seed starter packs so I'm going to make a grow box from some old floorboards and give it a shot! Let's see how it goes!

Plant Book

There seems to be so many ways of growing plants that are a tad away from the norm - in a chest of drawers, in wellies. These are so funny! I can't remember where I came across these but I had bookmarked this page.

Guerrilla Gardening

I saw this book in the Design Museum shop and it's currently on its way to me from Amazon. I really enjoy cooking, Ma has really got into growing vegetables over the past few years and I seem to include allotments in my architectural design work, so I want to get into growing stuff.
The one (pretty large) problem is that I have molluscophobia, an irrational fear of slugs and snail! I've had it as long as I remember, I have no idea where it has come from but apparently Steve Martin has it too!
Anyway the book gives ideas from growing food in old cans and even welly boots - well away from any slimy critters?! Can't wait to get started!

Grown Your Greens

I'm a big fan of vegetables, all sorts. Some I really love: peas, courgettes (which we live off as students, they are literally coming out of our ears!), corn on the con... some not so much: cauliflower, brussel sprouts. But when I eat them they make me feel good about myself, healthy!

In our project we wanted to incorporate allotments into the design, as urban gardens are really beginning to spring up everywhere! A great example are the urban gardens or organopónicos in Havana, Cuba where vegetable farms are set in any vacant spot in the city, car parking lots, site of demolished buildings. Consequently only 10% of produce is imported into the country, so with much more space available surely we could do the same!

Top is a poster by the Keep Calm Gallery, whose stuff and Alphabet bags are great! They have Keep Calm and Carry on posters too and other nostagic slogans!