What To Do First

Big plans this weekend and the snow has stopped them all!
Still It means I can draw up some plans in the warm. I've decided that the first smallholding job I should do is to build a chicken pen and coop. I left my old coop at the old house as it was built for the pen that its in. I'm thinking of having around 8-10 laying birds to start with, hybrids probably, as we had 9 before and it seemed a manageable number to deal with. Also with this amount we can sell the surplus eggs to the neighbours and passers by to help pay for food and bedding.
Any one got any ideas on the perfect coop. I'm going to raise it off the ground by 18" to stop rats and give the birds something to shelter under and have some nest boxes on the side.
I've also got to think about the work to be done on some of the trees. Many of the large oaks need their crown raising as there are some heavy lower branches on them and it would benefit the trees if they were removed (also benefit the firewood pile!). Good job I've got a kind hearted brother to help me with this!

Great week

This week has been great. I had a good couple of days plasterboarding with my brother, trying to get the little utility room ready to be skimmed. Then I worked for Dave on Wednesday in a little woodland in the middle of Ludlow. I grew up in Ludlow and I never knew that there was such a large wood and about 7 fields right near the middle, it was amazing! It was a hard days work but in the end we felled about 8 trees (having to use ropes to get them to fall the right way) and stacked the logs and the brash.

Thursday and Friday were spent (with my brother again) training and taking our trailer test. This is so we can tow a trailer on the road (if you took your driving test after 1997, a bit unfair that grandfather rights never seem to affect me!). We both passed but it was pretty nerve racking as its the same examination as if you did your HGV licence, lots of reversing around cones and trying not to drive with one hand around Gloucester.

My brother is starting a new job tomorrow, so that's going to feel pretty weird as I've been working with him so much over the past couple of months and he's going to be lodging away during the week. It sounds like a good experience for him as it combines tree work and building.

The weekend was lovely and warm so I did a little gardening, planting some broad beans (more than normal as I'll have more space when I get my allotment, the dibber in the picture I made myself at wood turning classes but I'll talk about that on another post) and pruning my apple trees and fruit bushes. I was quite pleased as I seem to have two new gooseberry bushes that rooted themselves from branches of my main bush, so they'll be moving to the new allotment soon!

I also finished the shed, as well as making and hanging the door to make it nice and secure. I'm determined to keep it clean and well organised, so I made a tool rack for my main gardening tools today, every tool now had a space and I'll make sure they go back there! I also plan to make some shelves and a cupboard to store all my nets, cleaners, chicken medicines, glue bands, string, saws, knives, fertilisers, etc.

Anyone else got any storage ideas?