Blasted foxes. Have just lost 3 more hens.

Blasted foxes.
Have just lost 3 hens to one. RIP Queenie the Blue Orpington, Vanilla the Cream Legbar and Pearl the White Leghorn.
They were killed right by the hen house, at about 3 pm this afternoon, with us around and about the garden! All other hens v.traumatised and 2 looking like they are in deep shock - may lose them overnight I suspect, they do not look at all good. Am so cross, and upset.

 I am very upset. I loved them all, Queenie was a bit useless in the egg laying department but was so pretty.

 Vanilla I got as an egg and Ruby Dorking hatched her out ( and then was killed by a fox - !)

 

 and Pearl was just lovely. 
 

am seriously thinking of giving up keeping hens - if they are going to be killed like this it just feels so sad..

Vanilla's mama Ruby Dorking was hatched out by Sweetiepie the Marans, who didn;t get killed by the foxes, today...despite being 5 and senile( even by hen standards! )

So am watching second generation of my loving care being killed, here...so sad.

I am SO fed up -

 

First ripe tomato of 2011

Harvested (and ate straight away!) the first ripe tomato from the polytunnel on Wednesday evening. Mmm delicious!

It was a Latah - an early variety and now I have picked several more.

I normally eat the first ripe tomato (Gardeners Delight or Yellow Perfection) from the polytunnel about July 12 th...but will be picking ripe ones from those bushes next week, by the looks of it...

From enemies, to best friends.

These are pictures of Tabitha and Cassie. When Cassieopea arrived with us as a rescue kitten back in Sept 2010, Tom and Tabitha ( siblings and our existing cats) hated her. On sight. Tom just hissed, but Tabitha attacked Cassie at every opportunity.

Look at them now! They LURVE each other! They sleep together, wash each other, hunt and play and are just BFF, forever.

Funny the way things work out, isn't it? Lol.

Cold nights

Was worried to see on the Max/Min thermometer  it was only 2.3 C in our garden in the middle of Fri night.

Last night it was 1.9 C !  1.9 C !  At 3 am last night! ...It .was very cold and I was worrying about my plants ( veg and polytunnel) and couldn't sleep.These sorts of temperatures are NOT what you expect in June, here.

I had covered up as much as possible with horticultural fleece, but I don't have enough to cover it all up! Fortunately everything looked ok, this morning 

Today it is raining! Hurrah! we have had so little rain and my garden is looking very parched. the veg patch now looks green and lush. 

I have spent the afternoon potting on various veg plants AND potting up scented pelagonium rooted cuttings. Mmm they smell wonderful! And also more cuttings of the African Violet my late MiL gave me, when Compostman and I got married. It's still going strong, after 26 years... a bit like Compostman and I :-)

I love scented perlagoniums. I have a small collection and always want more. Sadly, the large outdoor ones didn't make it through the harsh winter, despite being wrapped up in the polytunnel :- 

 

 

Monday - my ear hurts.

We had biblical rain, yesterday. It is sunny here now. The veg patch looks much refreshed. Hurrah!

I have an ear infection - it hurts.

A lot.

I am going back to bed. Maybe later on today I may feel more sociable and feel like posting more!

Just hoping it is not the start of another bout of Labarynthitis!