Beneficial neighbours

Councils live to regulate, or so it seems. But we've got something much better going with our neighbours. When we needed to rebuild our chook run, our neighbours offered that we could build it against our shared fence. This has resulted in a much tidier poultry palace and saved us money in terms of the far wall of the construction. Today our neighbours shared with us their laughter at one getting out and sitting atop the fence when we were on holiday (I seem to have identified and fixed that gap since) and also said that since the chooks have been against the fence, they no longer have any problems with slugs eating their delphiniums. They have been feeding the chooks sometimes through the fence and love the company of the clucking chooks when they are working in their (very beautiful) garden.

Communication and sharing between neighbours - much better than endless council regulations.

In other garden news, I've pulled the last of the seeding silverbeet out and gifted it to the chooks. I'm leaving the celery to go to seed but the borage can stay in its messy spot until the celery has flowers for the bees.

Earlier in the week I bought punnets of beetroot, lacinato kale and coriander. They are now in the ground and filling the gaps where I didn't sow seeds in sufficient time. We are eating salad greens from the garden almost every night now.

I've started to plant out my pumpkins and zucchinis - slowly, just one a day and tonight's one I put a cloche over the top of it. Mostly to protect it from the blackbirds but also any inclement weather. I found some Maori potatoes from last year and cooked and ate a few, then mounded up the remainder.

Hurray for tinned baked beans. Perfect for a Friday night when funds for fish and chips are too low. The eleventh commandment in my house is that Sandra shalt not cook on Friday night.