I suspected our move to the Real Living Wage and cutting hours with no loss of income for employees hadn’t had a negative effect on productivity. Two weeks ago I met with my account and received the proof that I was correct. In fact, productivity has increased to the point that staff wages are a…
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I’m sorry I don’t have a better photo of this lovely lady. There are only so many hours in the day and my energy is finite – and she will not stay still, not even for a moment. She’s a hybrid hen and super friendly. She lays a really pretty light brown egg. She’s quite…
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I’ve been thinking a lot about the poisoned dialogue directly after and since the EU referendum. ‘You lost. Get over it.’ springs to mind and does nothing to reach out to the 48% who voted against this silly catastrophe. In fact, it pushes us further into the margins of resentment and rage. Not the best…
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I’m off sugar at the moment. I say ‘at the moment’ because I’ve done this several times over the years but I’ve never managed to make it stick. I’m an addict. And as someone who successfully quit smoking cold turkey after two tries, that’s saying something. Sugar is impossible. I can’t stay away. Part of…
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This beautiful lady is a Dutch Barnevelder. She’s a big, sturdy bird who lays beautiful dark brown eggs. She isn’t our friendliest bird, but she’s super entertaining. She occasionally upsets herself with hiccups! If you’ve never heard a chicken hiccupping, I’d dare say you haven’t lived.
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Leghorns originated from Italy and have traditionally been used as laying hens. They’re supposed to give you at least 280 eggs a year, but ours has spent so much time being broody, she’s barely laid at all this year. She’s also very flighty and doesn’t like humans at all. I’m not sure if our leghorn…
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I’ve decided to semi-retire. I’m not needed at the office the way I was and I can afford to work less, so why not? While my staff works a twenty-three hour week, I now work a twelve. So far I’m enjoying my free time, and I feel a lot less stressed about things. With all…
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When a person reaches their mid-to-late 40s, a strange process begins. Dinner time gets earlier, greenhouses get purchased, pinafores become attractive, and then later, the switch completely flips and one is wearing sensible shoes while coveting everything in the Lakeland catalog. My parents did some boring-ass stuff in their 50s, and I can remember thinking…
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We have two of these beautiful birds, both cuckoo. They’re both big, friendly birds with bags of personality. The one in the photo is a recent addition to our flock. Someone in a nearby village was moving to a house without a garden and needed a home for three hens. Of course, we didn’t hesitate.…
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Vorwerk hens can be quite hard to come by, so I jumped at the chance of owning one when the breeder let me know he had a spare. This breed originated in Germany and is known for being fairly laid back and economical with food. Our vorwerk is a bit of a loner and lays…
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We gutted the linen closet today. Four bags of textiles and two bags of rubbish that neither of us can explain. I’m sure holding on to double-sized bed linen despite the fact we have a king-sized duvet made sense at some point, but we couldn’t take the untidiness any longer. Mr Fig and Pen is…
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It’s done! With no building or woodworking knowledge, I’ve put together a really cute little egg stand from which to sell eggs in front of my house. For the base, I used this ODDVAR stool from IKEA, but instead of fastening the base to the seat of the stool, I attached it to this hen…
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This beautiful plant came bursting out of our garden wall a couple of years ago. It’s quintupled in size since I first noticed it, and it’s looking quite pretty this year. It’s fragile, though, and I’ve been unable to get at the roots to transplant it. Each attempt has led to my tearing it out…
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I’m four days into a break from work. My stress levels have been quite high and I’m looking forward to unwinding a bit by being productive. I’ve an egg stand to build, a garden to help sort, and a kitchen that needs a deep clean and reorganisation. Staying busy is key as I can’t tolerate…
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My hens are in overdrive and producing more eggs than we can eat. It’s too hot to bake, so I’ve decided the best way forward is to construct an honesty box for the eggs and place it in front of the house. The fact I’m even considering this is a bit of a miracle. I’m…
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