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Little Tweeters! / About the house
Lockdown three!
Once upon a time on a small farm near Billingshurst…
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isappointed at not to be able to go to the caravan for her’s and grandad’s weekend breaks, Nanny faced grey cold days like everyone else. The other two lockdowns had been productive in terms of jobs done but with this one she was facing difficulties – she didn’t want to do anything at all except stay inside, stay warm and do nothing. Funnily enough the chickens helped! She had had to clear out the greenhouse for the winter, so she did. Meanwhile Anne, who was working from home, let the chickens out of the pen because their run was so miserable with no grass and lots of mud. So, while Nan Helping not hindering! was down there she noticed what the chickens were up to – and the mess they were making. There were three large compost bins near the chicken house. They held grass clippings from the last three years. And the chickens had found them. Chickens scratch the ground with their sharp clawed feet to find worms and other insects. Unfortunately, the scratching flings the loose material in the air any which way. The loose materials being compost, leaves or twigs, the chickens do not clean up after themselves but leave them lying where they land. The whole area was covered in loose dirt and old leaves. Nanny raked it up and put it back. The next day was just as bad so she cleaned up again. The third day she’d had enough, and some old
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fencing wire was utilised to block them off, so the chickens had no access to the bins except for the 2018 one. Now this compost bin had a problem. James and Co had put a lot of shrub and tree branches in it. “They need twigs and stuff,” James had told Nanny. But there was too much twigs, branches and (almost) logs in it. Nevertheless, the chickens enjoyed scratching through it. And then it dawned on Nanny they were actually helping rather than hindering. They scratched the twigs free and Nanny was then able to easily separate the branches from the dirt. The big bits she New project– watch this space! put to the side and was able to excavate the middle fairly easily, shovel the mixture of lovely friable compost dirt and bits of twigs into the wheelbarrow and put it into the tyres in the park/orchard, some of which had fruit trees, but others were waiting for trees to be planted. Later Nanny would replace the bigger bits of branches to the bottom of the 2018 bin and rename it 2021 bin and close it off from the chickens. But the chickens would not be missing out. They had limited access to the 2019 bin to keep turning it over ready for digging up in 2022. So now, thanks to the chickens and the arrival of the materials, the project for Lockdown three can begin. Despite what happens in the world, life continues on that small farm near Billingshurst. Yvonne Fleece
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