Learning To Saw

Tommy Cooper

So I was entrusted to build the next part of the base for the chicken coop. Following my efforts from the previous day to saw a little bit of wood I thought it was going to take forever. Luckily I must have just been getting the hang of it as it didnt take long at all and the wood was cut in just one go each time. A bit of hammering and screwing in later the Blur and I had the second base sitting in front of us.

When John finished work it was straight back to Lotty for more coop work. Unfortunately I had forgotten to take the drill battery home to charge, so I spent the next two hours at home willing it on. Whilst I was away John and the Blur took down the shed door which is to be the opening to the indoor part, made the front and back frames and tidied up the tool box. Seeing it all laid out when I returned was exciting as I could see how it was all going to fit together and could see a clearer picture of it in my head. So with a recharged battery the triangular front and back frames were drilled into place. Not stopping there the door support post and upward opening door were fitted into place. To look at it now, you wouldnt mistake it for anything else. It looks like a chicken coop, and I cant help but smile when I see it.

Flies and Rot

At some point soon, we need to make up a spray mix to get rid of the black flies that have invaded some of our veg. A few of the potatoes and beetroot and alot of the courgettes have started to be plagued by the horrible little things. Having not seen how its affected the beetroot and potatoes as their haul is underground, im hoping that its not too much of a problem, but for the courgettes its a different story. On the worst affected plants the fruit has become soft and brown at the blossom end, making them inedible. Each plant now has at least 3 courgettes each, so im hoping not all of them have been/ will be affected.

Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Finally the outside tomatoes have begun to produce fruit. Ok its only one plant with one tiny tomato, but im certain now its started it'll only get better, and the others wont be far behind. Now to the mushrooms. I had held out hope that I could see a single mushroom just breaking the surface of the soil, only to be dissapointed when I looked yesterday to find it had vanished. Very carefully, so as not to break anything that may have been growing I dug up around the crack where I thought the mushroom had been. Nothing, even with a bit more digging elsewhere in the barrel there was nothing. Well it didnt work and we know that now, all we can do is have another go, do things a bit differently and keep trying until we get it right