drip irrigation

Getting the old drip lines out of the container: (Bruno supervising)

Three years ago when we moved, we picked up yards and yards of drip lines from the old strawberry beds, which were coiled round and packed into the container - now they are all working once again, connected up round the field and delivering water drip by drip to the newly planted trees. You just never know when something might come in useful! -again.
CT

civ civ civ civ !!

Four chicks!  Pinky has successfully produced four beautiful civ civs in four colours: white, off-white, pink & grey-ish black.  Today they are 6 days old and have been out of the flower pot for a walk.

And another hen (maybe) is sitting on some more eggs: Darky decided she wanted to sit on eggs last week and she is adamant - attacking & pecking anyone who dares to steal her clutch... So each day we duly removed the eggs she had claimed, and each day she obstinately refused to come out of the loft and just sat there in the heat, brooding.  So on Saturday we decided to allow her four eggs - but to keep her separate I made a nest for her and her eggs in a large flower pot.  She ate all the food, drank the water, then took a flying leap, jumped out and called for Cocky to come and rescue her - which he did; she ran off after the other hens and I took the eggs & put them in the fridge. (scrambled eggs for lunch that day).
Sunday we had the same procedure, and I ended up chasing a delinquent hen, so today she's securely shut up inside the flower pot with fresh hay, feed, water, and some eggs and a roof she can't escape through.
All this means that there's not an egg to be had in the house - this morning's muffins had to be made with yoghurt to stick them together, no eggs left!
Cost per egg (CPE) also remains high, no longer reducing by the day, and our eggs are (thus far) at least 3 times more expensive than buying eggs from the shop. But so-oo delicious.
CT

Planting a forest

We've been planting trees for the past month or so... planting into unresponsive solid ground is heavy, slow work, and dragging water to them every couple of days is also slow, heavy work.  But it's so exciting!! We're planting a mixed forest garden, creating a varied mix of species around the perimeter of the property: lots of prickly things to discourage browsing by grazing (Pyracantha, Hippophae, Berberis), nitrogen-fixing plants to nourish the soil, (Eleagnus, Acacia), fruit trees (Almond, Pomegranate, Plum), firewood trees, forest trees, and loads of natives (Native to Turkey).
As well as the trees, we're also planting bushes to fill in the spaces in between, and together we're expecting them to give the field a rich hedge-row enclosure: to encourage bees, birds and other wildlife, without compromising the spaciousness of the property: The area being planted is 450 metres long, and about 3 metres wide.  150 trees & 450 shrubs.
They're going to need watering for the rest of this year (next rains are 4 months away), but after that will be on their own.  The planting mix is designed so that taller growing trees provide shade to smaller plants, which in turn shelter the base of the taller trees and keep the ground cool.  Mulching our young forest trees will be next winter's task.
CT