Whitgift ferry, Molly and RIP Norman

This has been a busy week. My book about Goole is now in proof and should be, when I have made the corrections,  printed by the end of October.  I hope I have noticed all the mistakes but there are always some that slip through the net.

On Wednesday night the fox got the chickens. I was a bit late going out to drop the hatch on their hut and when I looked inside the hut was strangely empty. Then by the light of the torch I saw what was left of poor Norman the cockerel lying nearby. The hens I have never seen again. But on Thursday I met a friend in the supermarket and her daughter had a cockerel and two light Sussex hens which she kindly gave me. I am looking after them very carefully.

Today has been sunny and we have been out with the camera taking pictures for a presentation I am giving at the Beverley Treasure house on Thursday 20th October at 6pm. It is about the changing face of Howdenshire and so I needed some pictures of the area as it is today to compare with my old pictures.

This is the Ouse riverbank at Metham where the Whitgift Ferry landed such passengers as John Wesley and Charles I. Molly is being taught to walk on a lead

Molly is queen of the castle

From my garden

This weekend has been very hot and sticky and then last night the weather broke with the crashing and banging of a thunderstorm during the night. It always seems more impressive and a little more frightening when it is dark.

We have been picking raspberries and blackcurrants, I freeze them on baking trays and then transfer them into plastic containers. I think the rasps are my favourite although we enjoyed a blackcurrant crumble for tea.

Norman the cockerel now has a small harem of two hens and seems to be strutting more happily round the garden with them. In fact he found some low-hanging rasps and was quite reluctant to be parted from them.

The nearby grass land has all been cut and put into large green bags - just beating the rain. I thought it was silage but have been informed it is more probably haylage. I am not sure I know the difference.

It is however a far cry from when we had ponies as a child and my father cut grass on the roadside verge with an Allen scythe. We raked it and turned it by hand and then pitch forked it into hay cocks. It was very scratchy and itchy to deal with but I can still remember the  lovely smell.

From my garden

I have been cutting the grass today but although we had quite a lot of rain on Sunday afternoon it is still very dry and the grasscutter stirred up clouds of dust. I am writing this after 9pm and it is still light enough to watch a thrush tugging a worm out of the lawn.

I have been looking at the fruit trees and think we may well have a good apple crop. The Laxton Superb tree which has sometimes been barren has plenty of fruit - it is a lovely crisp eating apple. The pears and damsons look good too but the Victoria plum has lost many of its leaves and is not happy. It used to be a reliable heavy cropper but has recently died back.

But my greatest surprise is the peach tree. It is quite young - maybe 6 or 7 years old - and for the last couple of years has suffered from peach leaf curl - I think that's what it's called. This year the same thing happened but now it seems to have grown through it and looks quite healthy. And best of all it has a crop of peaches. I hope they will grow big enough to be edible!

The fig tree continues to produce a few more leaves but is still looking bare, as is part of the privet hedge. We are eating our radishes and have eaten some of the pak choi. It is a new crop for me but has a good flavour and seems to grow well in these dry conditions.

Two nights ago my daughter saw a barn owl, gliding like a ghost along the road outside the house. I had heard that barn owls had suffered heavy losses in the bad winter so it was good to know they are still around here.

And finally a few words about Norman. He is still a lonely bird, unable to keep his wives with him and spending the afternoons wandering about on his own. I have taken to feeding him bits of bread near the house - probably a mistake but I feel sorry for him.

Norman the cockerel

From my garden

I have spent the day outside having a bonfire of small branches and twigs which were cut down a few weeks ago. They had become overgrown with grass and nettles and meant I could not get my very old grass cutter round the woodland part of the garden.

Norman the cockerel has settled in well but spends a lot of time on his own. His hens rush off to next door's cockerel as soon as I let them out and Norman walks round disconsolately wondering where they are. He has, however, a very powerful voice and the two birds spend a lot of time crowing at each other.

I wish it would rain properly. The vegetable plot is very dry and the potatoes are beginning to droop. I heard on the radio that the pea crop will be bad this year and we can expect to pay more for our frozen peas in the future.

I went to a talk last week given by the warden at Blacktoft Sands RSPB bird reserve. It was amazing just how many different varieties both nest and visit there. I hope to visit soon but in the meantime I will try to identify the birds I see here daily. I am not very good but can recognise the crows who hover about and who stole three eggs I left out one day.

Norman the cockerel

Today we were given a new cockerel to keep our four hens in order. Norman is very large with impressive spurs and is mostly Cuckoo Maran so is a speckled grey. He is fastened into the pen at the moment getting to know his new wives but will soon be strutting his stuff around the garden.

At last the fig tree is showing signs of life with just an odd leaf appearing on the top branches. There will be no figs this year but at least the tree may survive.

I have been watching the house martins swooping around the yard catching insects. Most years we have swallows too but I have only seen the odd one so far. And, as they say, one swallow does not make a summer!

Tomorrow it is forecast to rain. It will not make for a good Bank Holiday but local farmers - and gardeners - need the ground to get a good soaking as it has been incredibly dry here  for the last month.