April 2024

One swallow does not a summer make

But on the very last day of the month, I did spot my first Swallow, or House Martin to be more precise. They make nests in our outbuildings, particularly the workshop (one day it will be a workshop, at the moment it’s more of an open barn). It’s fun to see them flitting over the fields scooping up insects. They haven’t started swooping into the building yet, they probably need some time to adjust to their new surroundings before settling down and making nests. The Jackdaws very much have made nests, in our house. They might as well use it if we can’t, they seem to be in a chimney stack and the chicks will have fledged the nest before we start work on the house. We are in the middle of the mortgage process at the moment, which is arduous but moving along. Once we get through that we might finally be able to put digger to ground.

Lots of yellows showed up this month; Daffodils, Dandelions, Marsh Marigolds and Gorse.

Chicken Beef

The chickens have been causing a worry this month. We had 2 remaining Cockerels from the batch of chicks and mother hen we were given by our neighbour Chris. We had mixed feedback about how they would get on living together as they grew. There was a thought that they would get on well as they had been raised together, but also a suggestion that they would fight. We had hoped getting down to 2 would be fine, although with only 6 hens the ratio certainly wasn’t ideal. Other than some seemingly minor squabbling, all had been going well. Until one day the boys got into an almighty bust-up meaning we had to split them up before one of them, likely Maverick, was finished off. The fight left them both a little bloodied and Maverick had lost a toenail but after a couple of days isolated in the garden, he clearly hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. He was very sad at being left on his own and made his feelings known through his loud crowing. The only solution seemed to be to split the hens and put Maverick in with 2 for company, leaving Donald with the remainder. They seem to have settled in well to their new arrangements and Maverick is certainly much happier with his hens to protect. Once we have a better living arrangement for the second flock, we might add a few rescue hens and at that point, some ducks wouldn’t be much overhead…

Big Mav being retrieved from isolation, caught by Pete the chicken whisperer.

First mow and new addition

It was also time to do the first mow of the year. We have been keeping the grass in the caravan field short because it’s the space we live in. It was also full of reeds and docks since we arrived and mowing has helped the quality of the grass. The mower-in-chief finally got the dream upgrade with a ride-on number. Time will tell if it’s the Marketplace bargain it seemed, so far there’s been talk of flat batteries, loose belts and lost springs. The University of YouTube is providing helpful lessons so hopefully fully effective mowing will be this summer's treat.

The new mower and the sharp first mow.

Now the football season is done, it’s time to shift focus to the growing season. In the eternal battle of man vs slug, we’ll see who comes out on top.

Thanks for reading, love from Hillside Farm x

PS Avvy would like you to know she’s now a grown-up 3-year-old dog and she got a honking duck for her birthday, which she unwrapped by herself.