Lucky's great escape...

Feathers:

It's been quite a few months since I finished chapter one of my first book, Lucky's Great Escape. Just read the first 2,000 words back and it really made me smile! Going to try and get chapter two done by the end of the year.

Here is a photo of me and Lucky back in the early days when he was such a baby that he used to sleep on my knee in the living room while I watched the TV!

Bon voyage...

Fur:

With us heading to Paris next week for 4 nights our vet recommended trying Ellie on some soothing herbal treatment to try and avoid her getting upset when the suitcases come out of the spare room. I started her on the treatment yesterday morning and by the end of the day she was like a different cat and not in a good way. Poor Ellie was off her food, completely disinterested in us and her sister and was looking very sad and sorry for herself. So after one days worth of treatment it's put me off giving her any more. Plan B in in place instead the suitcases aren't making an appearance until the girls have gone to the cattery.

Working 9 till 5...

Fur:

So working from home is great, on these short days it means I actually get to see the animals rather than them being in bed by the time I get home after a day in the office. There is only one problem, which isn't really a problem as such but Ellie refuses to understand why I am more interested in the laptop than giving her fuss! All afternoon on Wednesday she tried to lay between me and the keyboard which does make typing a little tricky at times. Tried to get a photo but all you could see was black fur!

Autumn's in the air...

Sorry for the delay folks, it's been a mad couple of months with starting my new job and other bits and bobs going on.

Fur:

Isla and Ellie are fine and dandy however Ellie did end up with feline cystitis again a couple of weeks back. We had a discussion with the vet and it seems that every time Mike and I start packing to go away she goes into panic mode and gets so stressed that she ends up with cystitis. Poor little girl. We've now got some soothing medicine to give her a few days before any suitcases come out of the cupboards to try and keep her calm.

They are both continuing to commit at least one murder a day, we do try to rescue as many victims as possible.

Lily is OK and when out and about has started to dig a pretty deep burrow round the back of her run. She is always trying to escape!

Feathers:

All the chickens are molting and not looking their best bless them. They enjoyed the one and only strawberry we've managed to grow this year earlier though. Lucky ran off with it and the girls were chasing him around!

Jemima and Puddles are still enjoying each others company, I'm thinking about getting them a new duck house in the new year.

Foliage:

Well we've enjoyed a huge amount of homegrown potatoes over the last few weeks plus courgettes and tomatoes. We've got carrots, butternut squash, peppers still growing let's hope the frosting mornings don't start quite yet!

I'm a lady don't you know...

Feathers:

I thought Jemima was such a lovely girl until I saw her sucking up slugs this morning and swallowing them whole... urgh! All the rain last night had brought them all out in their pen and she was in heaven. Not a pleasant sight!

That's a feather in your cap...

Feathers:

Lucky is currently prancing around the garden with a duck feather on his head. He seems quite pleased with himself and just striked a great pose for you all.

Pink to make the boys wink...

Fur:

Managed to paint the spare room today ready to be turned into my office and everything was going so smoothly until I was out in the yard cleaning the brushes and Ellie turned up. Before I could do anything to stop her she walked straight into the roller tray and ended up with one hot pink paw! I managed to quickly grab her and wash her paw in the sink but it's still a little stained. It's definitely a fashion statement to say the least. Can you spot the prints in the photo?

When you go down to the woods today...

Foliage:

Well left work and though it was such a stunning evening for a woodland walk so headed to Careby wood. Got so far and came across a slight obstacle! You can find some more of the photos I took on the Visit Woods website.

They grow up so quick...

Fur:

Well Ellie brought home her first boyfriend yesterday, the lovely Henry. I think he was actually more interested in eating her food than spending time with her however she did try her hardest and literally threw herself at him by rolling around on the floor right right in front of him! I've never seen Ellie actually like another cat usually she finds everything terrifying!!

Run rabbt, run rabbit...

Fur:

Well Isla the hunter continued with her adventures yesterday and turned up with the cutest baby rabbit. I accept cats catch birds and mice but rabbits is a different ball game altogether. After chasing Isla around the garden I managed to distract her for a split second and save the bunny.... phew it was close. After leaving it to calm down overnight in the yard we released it this morning in the fields out the back. I like success stories! 

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We're all fenced in...

Well it's been a bit crazy since i last wrote with an attempted break-in and a trip to A&E we've had more than our fair share of drama over the last week.

On a good note we had the fence put up yesterday and it looks superb! Bizarrely it's made the garden look a bit more manageable and an achievable project. Chuffed to pieces.

Fur:

Well the girls are still continuing to reduce the bird and shrew population of Lincolnshire with at least one murder a day.

Foliage:

Had some yummy home grown potatoes for tea. They have such a nice taste. We've also spotted the first butternut squash growing - never grown one of those before so looking forward to eating that.

It's definitely raining...

Fur:

We had torrential rain last night and a stubborn Isla refused to come in. About half an hour later this soaked little thing reappeared!

Food, glorious food...

Fur:

Isla climbed her first tree yesterday, it was a bit touch and go but she made it to the top and back down again all by herself. Here she is at the top!

Feathers:

Lucky and Beatrice looked like they were on a date while Gladys was busy laying an egg. How romantic!

Foliage:

Things are really starting to happen in the vegetable garden now. We've got cucumbers and courgettes growing, bunches of tomatoes, plenty of potatoes to keep us going for a few months plus a few other bits and pieces. It's great when you can start picking and eating vegetables you have grown.

We've also been super busy (well Mike has) digging up 50 leylandi so we are ready for the fence man to come. We found a blackberry bush in the process that we're hoping to save and add into the garden somewhere.

And the hunting begins...

Fur:

Well the murders have well and truely started. Since the weekend Ellie has had two poor little baby birds and a butterfly (I have never seen a cat eat a butterfly before...strange girl) and Isla caught a shrew and then dropped it at my feet she was so proud of herself. The little creatures in the village need to take extra care now these two have had a bit of practice!

Shoe shopping with the girls...

Fur:

The girls seem quite taken with my sandals. They're a little on the big size for them though!

Please take me shopping mum...

Fur:

Think Isla wants me to take her shopping today!

A close shave...

Feathers:

Got home from work yesterday to discover that Jemima had been very busy and built a rather large nest in the duck house and not only that she had laid two eggs which were in the centre and she was sat on top. Puddles was pacing up and down guarding his beloved and the nest. Unfortunately we haven't got the space to let her rear some ducklings at the minute so this morning I braved it into the pen to remove the eggs and was faced with a rather cross Jemima who actually flew at me and certainly made it obvious I wasn't welcome. Eventually armed with a watering can and bucket I managed to get her off the nest and collect the eggs without receiving any injuries but it was a close shave...

Chickens come home to roost...

Fur:

After Mike and I being out all evening last night at the open air theatre in Stamford, Ellie and Isla were very excited when we returned home and there were a few moments in the early hours where they were tapping me and Mike with their paws wanted us to wake up and give them some fuss. Very sweet but also very exhausting!

Feathers:

The homeless hen returned to her home this week so no new addition for Lucky, Beatrice and Gladys. Apparently she did belong to someone in the village a few gardens up but just kept paying our friend a visit during the day.

Jemima has made a nest in their house and I found three eggs hidden underneath the straw this morning. Think it might be a little early in her and Puddles relationship to be parents...don't you?!

Foliage:

Mike is busy watering all the plants while I update you on the goings on at the Carr residents. That's the only problem with having such a big garden and no hose pipe it's a long old job watering everything with a watering can!

Rabbit flystrike...

Fur:

On a serious note, with these type of tempertures flies do really become a problem for rabbits. Mike and I noticed a couple hanging around Lily's run yesterday so we moved the whole thing scrubbed and disinfected the slabs which her run and house sits on top of and gave her a good check over. Flystrike is an awful illness and can be fatal. We also use Johnsons Fly Strike Protector Small Animal to keep her healthy and safe. Be safe, not sorry.

What a scorcher and who would have thought it...

Wow, what a day! It's up to 27 in the garden, Andy Murray won Wimbledon and we've had a squirrel and newt in the yard (not at the same time I should add)! Bit too hot for the animals so have made regular trips up and down the garden filling up water containers and swimming pools at regular intervals all day.

Fur:

Ellie came charging into the yard earlier absolutely drenched. The only dry bit of her was her head so I can only assume she has tried to get some of the neighbours fish and accidentally taken a swim. Poor girl she was feeling very sorry for herself, more a bruised ego than anything I think!

Isla's been hiding in the long grass most of the day and Lily has been in the shade at the back of her run. Think these long haired girls are a little too warm with their fur coats on.

Feathers:

Jemima kicked Puddles out the pool, she really did stand her ground. He had been in the nice fresh water for about half an hour and didn't seem to be looking to get out any time soon so she told him off! Go girl!

The chickens have been hiding in their house most of the day avoiding the heat just popping out every now and again for some water and food.

We may be rescuing another hen this week, someone seems to have dumped one in our friends garden in Greetham so if he can catch her she'll be making an appearance later this week.

Foliage:

The potatoes came into flower today and we dug up our first plant up to get some new potatoes for tea tomorrow night. This really is the exciting bit when you start to eat the food you have produced.

Right better leave it there for today we've got a BBQ to get going!

1,000 visits!

Well today Fur, Feathers and Foliage reached 1,000 page views... who would have thought it! Mike and I will be enjoying a celebratory glass of prosecco in the garden tomorrow evening!

Another weekend in the garden planned considering it's going to be 25 so i'll have lots to report back to you.

Fun and games in the sunshine...

Fur & Feathers:

Some may think our garden is currently an overgrown mess however others see it as a superb adventure playground and great for exploring... oh what fun we've had this weekend!

Foliage:

We went to a salvage fair yesterday and picked up these lovely old wine crates for just £5 each from www.sugdenanddaughters.co.uk which we've filled today with Lavender. We think they look great! Just hope I can keep the plants alive the last Lavender plant didn't do so well in my care.



Today we've also got the tomatoes sorted and into a grow bag and planted up the pepper plants.

Pet store...

Fur:

With so many pet health products and supplies available I thought it would be useful to share some of the products I use with you and tell you why I choice certain ones over others. I have therefore created a new page called 'Pet Store' in which I have initially shared with you the products I use on Ellie, Isla and Lily. Will get onto our feathered friends shortly!

On a different note Ellie and Isla came face-to-face with 'Tiger' tonight, not actually sure what her name is but I wouldn't mess with her so you can imagine how concerned the girls were when she was in the yard and they wanted to come in for their tea!

Lily has a good clean out tonight and is now happily laying in some fresh hay.

Feathers:

No eggs from Jemima today but last time she did that we got two the next day so wonder what will happen tomorrow?! One egg from Beatrice and none of Gladys who seems to be pretending once again that she is broody even though it is pretty obvious that she isn't!

Puddles was a little lively this morning and was hanging by his beak on the bottom of my summer dress while I was trying to top up their food! He still hasn't calmed down even though he now has a girlfriend! He looks so sweet and innocent in this photo I took tonight!

Foliage:

First two strawberries were spotted this morning so the plants must be doing well despite them looking a bit sorry for themselves from the torrential rain over the last few days! Ellie helped me inspect their progress this evening!

The potatoes are going mad along with the carrots and broccoli.

My mum has had to save the day with tomatoes considering our own plants are still only about an inch and a half high. Might be Christmas by the time they have any tomatoes for picking so we've had three donated which are ready to go into a grow bag this weekend.

The cucumber, courgette and butternut squash plants are still doing well however we are a little way off having some fresh veg to pick.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...

Fur:

Today is Ellie and Isla's first birthday! They are one whole year old. To celebrate they had freshly cooked chicken breast and cat milk as a special treat plus some catnip toys. They are both absolutely cream crackered and both sprawled out fast asleep. The excitment has been too much for them! Happy birthday girls!

If you go down to the woods today...

Foliage:

Well last night was my first outing as an official volunteer for The Woodland Trust. Mike and I visited cabbage hill and lawn wood in the Castle Bytham area and took photos and made notes to add to the new Visit Woods website to encourage others to use the woods in our local area. What a superb way to spend a hot summers evening! Got the photos uploaded and selected the facilities available, descriptions to come soon.

Fresh duck and chicken eggs for sale

Feathers:

Our stocks are building up nicely now with Jemima, Gladys and Beatrice laying daily so if you live in our local area of Stamford/Bourne in Lincolnshire we've got some delicious eggs for sale. They are just 20p per egg and all the pennies will go towards their next bag of feed so please do let us know what you would like so either duck or chicken eggs and how many. Yummy!

Signed, sealed, delivered...

Feathers:

We knew it was only a matter of time before Mr Puddles started to receive fan mail and today was the day! Noah, aged 20 months (with a little help from his mum!) made him a lovely card  - the start of a beautiful friendship we think. Puddles was obviously absolutely delighted to have a number one fan! Noah told Puddles that he was his favourite duck and he would really like to meet him one day!

I love the addition of Buzz Lightyear and Woody in the picture... who doesn't love Toy Story!

Morning, campers...

Fur:

Thought I better check the tent is ok for our night away this weekend so put it up in the living room (it's only a tiny 2 man tent!) with the help of two little girls. They had a great time chasing the ends of the tent poles and hiding under the canvas!

Guilty conscious...

Feathers:

Think Jemima must have felt guilty about not laying an egg yesterday as today she has laid two! Bless her!

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man. Bake me a cake just as fast as you can...

Mike was amazed this morning when he got up and I had already baked and decorated a cake! I made a jaffa drizzle loaf using three of Jemima's duck eggs. It's an orange sponge with milk chocolate drizzled over the top. It's absolutely delicious even if I do say so myself...

Fur & Feathers:

Everyone outside had their houses and runs cleaned out today. I managed to find a hay supplier this week so we can now collect hay bales as and when we need them. 

No egg from Jemima today but Gladys is back in business so we got two chicken eggs today. One from Beatrice and one from Gladys.

Foliage:

Planted some marigolds in the vegetable bed this morning, I've heard it's a natural way of keeping the flies and bugs off the vegetable plants as they go too these instead. We'll see if it works.

Our neighbour kindly gave us a couple of cucumber plants to go on the slope as the ones we planted seem to have vanished! Think the birds must have had them or they got washed away in the rain. He also gave us a clump of lettuce to keep us going until we can plant out own in the other bed.

Nipped to Hobbycraft this afternoon in Peterborough and on the way drove through Witham on the Hill where some kind couple had left free pots of strawberry plants in the centre of the village for people to help themselves. I got the last pot which had six plants in it! Nice to see there are some nice people left in the world. The plants are now running along the bottom of the slope. It will be very exciting if we manage to grow our own strawberries!

Scrambled duck egg on toast...

Feathers:

Just had my first ever duck egg laid for me personally by Jemima. It's a slightly different taste to a chicken egg but I like it!

It's been so long...

Sorry everyone, been a little under the weather since last weekend so haven't been able to do any blogging. Think I've turned a little corner today so I'll be back on track with the posts now.

Fur:

Lily is really enjoying having her hutch, run and the whole yard in fact back to herself, she's been charging about, digging holes and generally enjoying life.

Isla and Ellie paid her a little visit this afternoon and we had a stand off situation between Ellie and Lily. Neither of them won as they both backed off and went in opposite directions!

Feathers:

Jemima and Puddles are getting on like a house on fire. I can't quite believe how smoothly it's gone plus we have been witness to some shenanigans in the pool so we may have the option to rear some ducklings in the future!

Jemima is clearly content and has laid us an egg everyday she has been here. I do keep informing the hens about this but doesn't seem to make them competitive unfortunately!

Gladys is still pretending to be broody, it's very much when she feels like it though. If I let the others into the garden or take some particularly tasty morsels into the pen she doesn't seem to have any bother getting out of the nest box! The also clear giveaway is that her comb is still bright red and she looks on top form so I'm not falling for it.

Beatrice and Lucky are fine and dandy and enjoying the sunshine that the weekend has brought.

Foliage:

Carrots and potatoes are now coming up in the vegetable bed. Everything else is continuing to grow and doing well. Been looking at the garlic I planted in March and I think it may be ready to pull up next month. Looking forward to that, this is my first year attempting to grow garlic.

Lay a little egg for me...

Feathers:

Well what a surprise we had this morning, a lovely large, white, duck egg was waiting in the house when I let the new couple out at 7am. Can you spot the odd one out in the photo? The pair of them are getting along wonderfully and even though he is little in comparison Puddles is definitely the boss!

Foliage:

In the glorious sunshine we made some great progress on the vegetable garden today. The broccoli seedlings have now been planted out into the raised bed and a cover placed over them to stop the birds.



We also managed to clear all the nettles and other weeds off the slope and planted the butternut squash, courgettes and cucumber plants amongst the rocks at the top so they can trail down. I wasn't looking forward to this job however it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be when we got going.

When Puddles met Jemima...

Feathers:

Not only has Puddles moved into his new house today but he has also gained a Mrs Puddles! Jemima is lovely... very loud and very noisy as you will see in the videos below. We captured the first meeting on camera so enjoy...

Puddles moves into his new home...

Feathers:

Well Puddles big day has eventually arrived! His brand new pen is superb and even has room for his pool.

Here is the new pen ready and waiting.

And here is his big moving in moment. It's so lovely seeing him in a big suitable pen. We've been waiting for this moment for so long.

Not entirely sure why but you tube have decided you might like to watch this on it's side so get prepared and turn your screen round!!

Puddles new home...

Feathers:

Just a quick update, we managed to clear the area for Puddles pen last night, it was pretty hard going but is now ready for Sunday.

We're making progress...

Foliage:

Potatoes, carrots and asparagus seeds all planted in raised bed number one tonight. Also started clearing the slope for the courgette, butternut squash and cucumber plants. Surely I must have burnt off those extra calories I ate at lunchtime!

Caught sleeping on the job...

Fur:

Some of us did our household jobs today and some of us were caught sleeping on the job!

The girls and Lily enjoyed some sunbathing today in the yard. Lily also enjoyed munching her way slowly through the enormous bag of greens my mum dug up for her this morning.

Feathers:

Puddles had a lovely swim today to cool down in the sun. One week today and he'll be in his very own pen with a pool he can use whenever he fancies!

The chucks enjoyed a good dust bath today however Lucky was a little distracted as he could hear another hen a few gardens up and kept trying to do a runner!

Foliage:

The seeds are coming along nicely and today we eventually managed to carry on with our work at the top of the garden. We bought some topsoil and started preparing one of the beds. It's almost ready to go!

Cute videos of the animals...

Some smiles for a rainy day

Fur & Feathers:

Like a rubber ball I come bouncing back to you...

Fur:

Isla has literally had Mike and I in hysterics tonight. Her favourite spongy bouncy ball got stuck on the end of her claw and she was so confused she kept waving and waving trying to get it to fall off and it just wouldn't. We desperately tried not to laugh but we just couldn't keep it in and both ended up crying! She is such a sweetie. Really wish I could have filmed it to show you.

Mrs Puddles...

Feathers:

We went to meet the soon to be Mrs Puddles last night and she is lovely! We are picking her up on the 26th/27th May.. hope they like each other. Waiting for Duckingham Palace to be built first before we bring her home. She is laying well at the moment so can't wait to try duck eggs at the end of the month!

Home, sweet, home...

Feathers:

One 6ft x 6ft run for Puddles and a friend all ordered and arriving in two weeks!

Friends reunited...

Fur & Feathers:

We're all back together. Lily and Puddles were collected from Mum's yesterday and both seemed pretty pleased to see me!

Think Ellie and Isla got a bit of a shock when they ran into the yard yesterday and were face-to-face with a quacking Puddles. I think they thought he had gone for good. 

EXCITING NEWS... Fur, Feathers and Foliage now has a youtube channel so I can share video's of the animals with you.

You must sow the seeds before you can reap the harvest...

Well isn't this weather a nice bank holiday surprise...

Fur:

Ellie and Isla have been out in the yard watching the baby swallows flying around this afternoon. Must have exhausted them as whilst I am writing this blog post they are both fast asleep!

Feathers:

We've got a broody Gladys, she is not very happy at all and moaning and groaning an awful lot. I forced her out of the house for some food and a drink this morning which went down like a lead balloon with her.

This afternoon I opened the chickens door so they could have a dig about in the garden, one problem, Lucky and Beatrice forgot where the door was! It's only been in the same place for the last 9 months! Gladys didn't mind having the garden to herself one bit though.

When they finally worked it out the girls enjoyed a lovely dust bath in the glorious sunshine while i enjoyed a chilled glass of Pinot!

Foliage:

Hurray! Finally got the seeds sown that can't go straight into the ground. Later in the year than I would have liked but better late than never.

Also you can see in the background the garlic I planted a few months ago in the pot is looking good and on track to be ready to pull up in July.