First grass trimming today

Constructing the new chicken shed

Managed to purchase a second hand shed for the chickens, hopefully get erected on Monday

Snow returns

The wind has blown over one of the weatherings.

Digging a ditch to try and help the chicken enclosure from flooding.

The chickens have managed to find a dry area to have a dust bath

The chickens have managed to find a dry area to have a dust bath

Taken at the weekend

Thank Marc for sourcing a urinal for the toilet block, I’m sure it will get plenty of use.

Feeling it today, dug about 20′ this morning, about 15′ to go

After all the rain, snow and floods, it’s about time we found another area for the chicken run, will have a look tomorrow.

Trying to combat the floods by digging a ditch between my field and next doors.

Before

After.
Managed to get a quarter way down the field, more tomorrow if the weather holds.

Spotted five field voles in about one minute as I walked the edge of the field. That should keep the wild Kestrels and Barn Owls happy. Sorry no photo, not quick enough.

The warmer temperature and the overnight rain put paid to the snow, just the floods to contend with now!

Snow last night, starting to thaw

Feeding the chickens a treat of Kellogg’s All Bran Clusters, about all it’s good for really

And some stills from Extreme Sledging

First snow of 2013

Happy New Year to all my readers

Seasons Greetings to all my readers

Sheep back on the land to trim the grass

Just finished (yesterday) an extension on the chicken run

Collected these, this morning. The egg on the right is a normal sized chicken egg, the one on the left is a monster chicken egg!

Spent most of today rakeing the stone that washed onto the field into heaps so I could barrow it back to where it should be, on the drive. There seems to be a shortage of the stone? Where has it gone? I’ve raked it all up but there just doesn’t seem as much as there should be and it certanly doesn’t fill the holes.

Started raining again tonight, the news is saying another two to three inches of rain overnight. Falconers Rest is waterlogged, even walking on it is difficult.
The chickens are on pallets to keep them out of the mud. Egg production is very low now, down to around four eggs a day.
The rain has washed the drive onto th field, see photo.

Well, my chickens are in an inch of mud, with no sign of the rain giving in I’ve had to put pallets in the run so they can get out of the mud.

The law of physics says that this egg could not have come from one of my little chickens?

10 eggs by 2o’clock today

Todays photo from Falconers Rest

Got a total of seven eggs out of the 21 hens we have, yesterday, not bad I thought. We will see how many we get today.
Busy day over at the Owl Experience today with a Bird of Prey experience and then a Hawk Walk.

Well, the chickens seem to be settling in ok, none have escaped or died and the fox hasn’t been around. Had a few eggs but they slow down this time of year i’ve been told.

Yesterday we had the hedge trimmed along the road side of the field, looking a lot smarter now.

Just bought 20 hens in to replenish my chicken stock

Just fitted two removable security lights in the toilets, battery operated, fairly bright, should come in handy when camping down here.

It’s getting colder, having to break the ice on the water for the chickens

Taken with the new iPad Mini camera

Chrissie has re-homed a tree, cherry blossom, we think, down the field, dug up from the garden at home.

Looks like a nice crisp frost on the ground this morning, time for some extra layers me thinks. Busy day today over at the centre, a family in flying the birds then its off up to Sherwood Forest to do the same all over again.
Note to self. Must make sure the water for the chickens hasn’t frozen over.

Just bought myself the new iPad Mini, seems ok, a lot smaller and lighter and thinner than my iPad one. Took some setting up, still having problems setting up the email accounts. Bought from KRCS in the Westfield Centre, Derby.

Chrissie has decided, after 25 years, to get back in the saddle and start horse riding again. Alanna’s having lessons already so I can see a horse on the field before too long.

Finished laying he 30ish tons of road planings this afternoon, looking good.

We can now use both gates, should we need to.
Thanks to Paul for giving me and Chrissie a hand on Thursday.

Got a phone call from a friend yesterday informing me that there was 30 tons of road planings on its way to Falconers Rest .
Thanks Andrew, at least now we have a descent drive

Well, all the kids have arrived and got their tents pitched, it’s bloody freezing, I think they’ll suffer tonight. As for me, I’m off to the pub

Camping down on the field tonight so the kids can do some school project work down here, they’re making some kind of video, they’ll be cold tonight. I’ll be alright, i’m in the motorhome with central heating, hot water etc.

Wire meshing around the outside of the chicken run

I suppose it’s my own fault, my last post stated that the chicken enclosure was fox proof, how wrong was I? The fox got in and killed three of the chickens.

Appologies people, not written for a while, nothing to report, really. We’ve had a couple of party’s on the one acre part of the field which have gone down really well, people staying over in their tents and caravans. The chickens are doing ok, they have their own enclosure which seems fairly fox proof and they are producing eggs which is a good thing.
The three acre site has just had the sheep put back on to graze it down, I have mown a path all the way around the outside edge of the field so we can walk on it witout getting wet through off the grass.
Am going to apply for planning permission to move the gate into the top corner which will give us a better line of sight when leaving the field. It’s gonna cost £170 to apply, I have just printed off the application form, 12 pages long, it seems a bit excessive just to move a gate 30 yards u the road, but rules are rules.
The compost toilet system works very well, I was a little unsure to be honest but they work fantastic.

It turns out that I will need planning permission to move the gate. How much, I don’t know.

I am currently emailing the local council about planning permission for turning the field into a campsite. The first hurdle to overcome is the access from the road to the field. It turns out that there is no safe vehicular access from the lane, there has to be a 103 metre clear line of site in both directions, sadly this is not possible at the moment where the gate situated. It seems there is two options, 1. Rip out the hedge all the way along the road or, 2. Move the gate to the boundary.
I have emailed the council to see if I need planning permission to move the gate.
I am awaiting their response.

Hopefully the weather will be kind today for the BBQ at Falconers Rest this evening. There’s one or two attending and some even staying over in their tents and caravans, I will supply photo’s as the evening progresses, if I remember.
Ok, thats the motorhome set up down on the field, next step, get the gazebo up, gonna need help with that.

Kotlich fire roaring,

Getting ready for the BBQ tomorrow night

The access to the field has been widened to approx 32′ and I have built a pull on

Yesterdays rain saw the field flooded, the stream at the road side had burst its banks and connected up with the stream on the other side of the field.
Photo by Chrissie’s Blackberry

That’s the water all connected, next step, sewarage.

Just had a message from Severn Trent Water that they will be connecting the water supply on Wednesday next week.

Ok, the water tench and pipe work is all in and Severn Trent Water have inspected the work and passed it.
We should be connected in three weeks.

A lot cooler today than it has been, also a little rain, which is good as I’ve been mowing the grass a little too much me thinks and it’s looking a little off colour.
I have separated the four acre field into a three acre and a one acre, the reason being is that I am so busy with work I cannot find the time to manage all four acres, so a one acre plot is far easier and is quite large enough to fly on.

Managed to get the fruit tree’s fenced off and started fencing off the sheep field ready for the lawn mowers.

Shot this video for work down at Falconers Rest using nothing but my iPhone 4

Well, i’ve not been able to do much down the field because of the rain and work committments.
Hopefully I’ll get the chicken coup sorted in the compound, fence off the fruit tree’s, and fence off three acres for sheep grazing.

Not been able to post cos’ I’m too busy at work, not managed to do anything on the field cos’ of the rain, the grass will be unmanageable if it continues.

Half way mowing the field an I get a puncture

The compound is complete ( for now) I finished putting up the last two fence panels this morning. Just need to get the chickens sorted out now!

Rain stops play:0(

Here’s the beginnings of the chicken compound/run whatever you’d like to call it. Just had 10 Harris fence panels dropped off for £70

Had a visit again today from a Red Kite, been seen above the centre about five times now but always on its own. It circled around over the flying field while Shane was flying the European Eagle Owl on an experience.

Just collected another incubator and equipment that has been out on hire, along with four more chicks, these have been put in with the others collected last week, we now have eight in total.
Once grown on, they will be brought down the field.

Just mowed all four acres of grass and I HAVEN’T broke the tractor, there has been much rejoicing, took me around six hours in total.

The mower is fixed (again), it seems that everytime I use it, I break it.
I’m going to mow an acre at a time so as not to over work the little tractor.
Thanks to Andrew for getting me the spare part swapped and to Andy for fixing it for me.
I’ll let you know how I get on with it.

OK, done an acre at slow speed and all is well, so I decided to speed things up a little and do another acre or there abouts, and all still seems fine, I will leave it for today and finish off the mowing tomorrow, that’s if all the petrol stations havn’t run dry because of the panic buying!

Just collected 4 chicks from a school in Notts that hired the incubators from The Owl Experience.
Once grown on they will be kept at Falconers Rest for their eggs.

The weather is beautiful today down here
Clocks went forward an hour this morning.

Watching the wild Sparrow hawk circling over the field, absolutely stunning.

Picked up 200 meters of barbed wire from Clewes in Morley, £36. Thanks Marc for helping me today, finishing off the plumbing and helping with the fencing.

Barbed wiring the existing fence to help keep out the undesirables.

Well that’s me run out of wire, I’ll have to nip to Clewes in Morley and pick up a roll tomorrow.

Does anyone have any Harris fence panels, the kind they use on building sites?
Please get in touch if you can help

Managed to spend most ofthe day on the field today.
The mower is fixed and has performed well today, finishing off the mowing (approx 21/2 acres).
The kids have made a rope swing, I can see that ending in tears?

Great news today, my tractor has been fixed, thanks Andrew.
Should be able to get the grass down now before it starts growing again with a vengence.

Thanks to Paul for giving me a hand all day fencing the field.

Chrissie and the girls planted the first of the fruit trees yesterday, so far we have one apple (cooking) , one plum and one cherry. We plan to have three of each, eventually.

Apple tree.

Well it’s Spring at last, hopefully we’ve seen the last of the cold weather.

Having the field rolled with an extremely heavy roller, hopefully this should sort out some of the tougher grass divots.

Thanks to Paul for coming down and cooking us all a full English breakfast this morning.

Chrissie is down on the field today doing a bit of general tidying, still loads of small branches and twigs that need putting on the burning pile, the dog’s loving the freedom of running around on the field, me? I’m at work just accross the road with clients in all day.

Shane flying the Harris’ on the field

In school this morning in Selston, Notts, for a flying demonstration and talk with the children.
Had a great time at the school, all the kids enjoyed it.

All together a brighter day today, apart from the wild Tawny I had to take to the vet to be put to sleep.

The flying session was nearly cancelled today because of high wind and rain, we decided to go ahead and everyone had a great time.
All three Harris Hawks have had their beaks coped
Just another day at work