We went to the top of the South Island. It rained. Well it would have done so at home, so still worth going.
Had a great time with my grandparents. Brought some lemons home from their trees. Visited my aunt and uncle and finally, after 2.5 years of looking, stumbled accidentally on a source of chestnuts. They have six mature trees, planted by early European settlers on their land. So I have a box of chestnuts to learn how to shell (I bought cans in the UK) and then I can make Nigella's chestnut and lentil soup once more. Brought home pumpkins and a leek as well and some more ideas in my head from my aunt about good food for the chooks. I am keen to learn more about how to provide food for the chooks without using the commercial layer pellets. I do wonder about the proportion of soya beans in the pellets and whether they are genetically modified. We are eating those pellets in a processed form when we eat their delicious eggs.
We drove through Nelson on the way home and stopped in Wakefield at Faulkner's Park to eat pizza and play on the coolest flying fox in our world. Brighid (20 months) got her first go. Marvellous.
Things which we left at home: homeopathic teething powder. the camera. muslins. We missed the teething powder badly on both nights. We did notice the absence of the muslins when Brighid threw up bright green sick again and again and again on the way north. The bright green bottle of souped up raro masquerading as a fruit drink which the children drank at the lunch place won't be repurchased. The camera - well we'll just have to visit again soon and do it all again.
Where happiness is lurking
1 day ago
3 comments:
We do end up supplementing our chooks food with layer pellets and wheat but use these ideas instead when able: Grow extra corn, either the regular ones or the colourful maize ones you get through kings seed, grow heaps of giant sunflowers and thow a whole dried head of seeds over to them. I use to grow some grains too but have since filled up the section with food crops for the family. Of course they get table scraps as well, things like potato and pumpkin skins are better if you cook them first. I've recently tried sprouting the sunflower and pumpkin seeds for them after reading about the sprouting technique in Kay Baxters Koanga garden guide. This year I've made two seperate runs for them while one is being used by the chooks,the other is having sunflowers, silverbeet and other chook food grown in it. We also have a plum tree growing in their main run so they get all the windfall fruit. Sorry to make such a long winded comment!
Do not apologise Gill!!! I really appreciate your comments. I think I have some sunflower seeds in the shed so I'll sow them tomorrow.
I gave the chooks some silverbeet today adn they turned their beaks up at it... what's going on there?
They must like something else you're giving them more! Mine turn their noses up at garlic when I chop it up to worm them(once every few months) so I trick them now and thow it in before their wheat. Hope the egg shells work for you I spent today planting spring onions in with the second lot of carrots. The first lot were devoured by the slimey army. Kids and I fed about a cup full of snails to the chooks today.
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