Quail eggs

Our Quail have started laying again

just in time for Easter.

Weekly Roundup

It's been a wet, wet week here at Renaissance HQ causing endless frustration with pruning and animals.

As for animals our little menagerie has increased by two Silkie bantams who are now settling in nicely with our tiny Seebright and Nankin bantams.

Of course the weather has given us plently of time to enjoy vintage film : The Innocents , look at books : The Flower Shop and wonder what to do with all those books we've read but know we'll never read again , maybe the answer is Green Metropolis. But I rather suspect they'll go to the charity shop as usual.

We've watched The Delicious Miss Dahl on TV and spent quite some time looking at the kitchen Sophie Dahl used. We even found a seller of vintage items whose wares would fit wonderfully into the kitchen: Jolie Trouvaille.

Talking of vintage we continue to add new items to the shop and there is now a rather nice selection of vintage prints there.

We've also continued to post over at Renaissance Childrens Notebook.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

More on the Silkies, Nankin & Seebright

They all drank from the same water bowl this morning.

I think they might now be friends.

The Silkies need names.

The Nankin & the Seebright already have names:

Nutmeg & Mace

So sweet

On Silkies, Nankin & Seebright

The Silkies are ignoring the Nankin and the Seebright, the Seebright is ignoring the Silkies and the Nankin is looking on wondering what on earth is happening.

How different these samller breeds are, if I'd introduced new chickens to our established flock there would have been much chasing, pecking and general nastiness.

Silkies

The Silkies turned up today in a pet carrier. Very fluffy, very sweet they each have a twisted toe so are of no use to their breeder. They have gone in with the Nankin and the Seebright who seemed somewhat bemused at these two fluffy giants with topknots!

Silkie Bantams

I've been offered 2 silkie bantams, haven't seen them yet but I think I might have them. I've also been offered a Peking bantam cockerel....

He I have seen and I really hope someone else will take him on, he is so handsome.

Weekly Roundup

So this week we have had the sad demise of Hetty the ex battery hen, seen above in happier times risking life and limb with the cat. (Actually he wouldn't dare hurt the chickens, one twitch of his whisker and they would chase him off). Now of course we are contemplating additions to our little flock.

Inevitably after joining Lovefilm we've been watching films Kinky Boots and Mr Blanding Builds His Dream House.

Outside by the sea we've been walking on Cromer Pier and the joys of country living continue with pruning in the orchard. After a hard days work outside it's nice to come into a supper of something warm and filling like Pork & Bramley Apple Bake especially when you've grown the apples yourself.

This week in the books to read and keep section of Renaissance Newsletter we've looked at a book you're all bound to love, Home by Anita Kaushal in fact we bet some of you already have it on your book shelf.

We must have spent a long time browsing the internet this week because we've found several blogs new to us, all well worth a visit:

Elspeth Thompson's Gardening Against the Odds

The Flower Shop Stories written by Sally Page

and

Charlie and Caroline's Blog written by the owners of Pedlars

Browsing blogs has given us a date for the diary with Donna Flower's Open House Sale definetly one for lovers of all things vintage.

We've also been inspired by Alicia Paulson and Cherry Menlove to start posting over at Renaissance Children's Notebook for the first time since January.

It hasn't just been browsing on the internet we've also manage to load some new items to the Renaissance shop .

By the way we'd still love to hear your opnion on the Shovel Birdhouse

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

More Chickens

Having lost Hetty and last years hatchlings we've decided to get a couple of young hens to join our little flock. We went looking this morning and we think we've settled on a very beautiful Black Rock and a rather pretty little mixed breed. Decisions, decisions....

Sad

In 2006 we took on 4 ex battery hens, they were rehomed by

The Battery Hen Welfare Trust

who did an excellent job in coordinating the rescue, rehoming etc.

The 4 hens were in a sorry state when they arrived but quicky adapted to their new lives.

Sadly some didn't enjoy their new found freedom for very long, we lost the first after only 6 months, the second after a year and the 3rd after 18 months. But Hetty who was always in charge went on to thrive for a good few years.

Sadly we found her dead in the hen house this morning, she hadn't shown any outward signs of failing so it was a bit of a shock.

We'll miss her.

Weekly Roundup and Giveaway Result

The winner of our Georgette Heyer giveaway is Jeanne of Tales of a Cottage Garden we'll pop the book in the post to you Jeanne next week when we have your postal details.
Gladys and Annie sorry to disapoint but we do have other Georgette Heyer books to read so look out for another giveaway soon.
So what have we been doing, well apart from the usual horsey and orchardy things we've had to give the ferrets a bath which was fun if messy.
We've found some brilliant greetings cards with little gardens and we've joined Lovefilm we've even managed to add a couple of new items to the shop.
Oh and the chickens are laying....
Whatever you are doing this weekend - enjoy!

Weekly Roundup and Giveaway announcement

So this week we have successfully rehomed (fingers crossed) our juvenile cockerel and been rather amused by a report from the Sun about chickens killing a fox , you should read it for yourselves the puns are really groan worthy.

Since the beginning of March it has felt really Spring like and we've turned our thoughts to window boxes, and displaying Spring bulbs indoors in vintage china pieces. We've also been looking at a tutorial for making floral necklaces.

Whilst in our dreams we've visited Pedlar's castle in reality we've spent some delightful time watching the boats on the North Norfolk coast.

Far more mundane but never the less worth a mention, we renewed our car tax online, it was very simple to do and personally I would highly recommend it.

There has even been time for some reading, I've been dipping into Gisele Scanlon's The Goddess Experience and I've finished the first of my Georgette Heyer dectective / murder mystery books. Which leads me nicely to the announcement of Renaissance's first giveaway.

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

I've finished reading it and would like to pass it on to someone else, so if you'd like to read it yourself please leave a comment over here at Renaissance Newsletter.

If there is more than one person interested in the book we'll do a little draw and announce the winner next Friday in our weekly roundup.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend and good luck in the giveaway.

Revenge of the Killer Chickens

Apparently 4 "plucky" chickens "hatched" a plan to take revenge on a fox who had been killing off their flock.

"It seems they kicked over the table and knocked the fox out, then pecked it to death." Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2874450/Fox-comes-last-in-pecking-order.html#ixzz0h8sqSjHh

Amazing!

Ruling the roost

So as regular readers will know all these little chicks made it to maturity but only one survived the severe winter and what did it turn out to be?

You've guessed it a cockerel!

And one that really likes the sound of his own voice.

Yesterday we moved him to the orchard, to a large chicken house with run and lots of hens.

Unfortunately the large chicken house and run is also temporary home to a trio of fancy fowl, I forget what type, and what was the first thing our youngster did?

Why he went and picked a fight with the other cockerel...

Fortunately no harm was done this time.