Spring bits and pieces

Winter turned quickly into a warm spring, the warm weather didn't last long, so we had to make the most of it while it was here.

Hubby was away for a week, as a return treat the children asked for a fish meal. They all went outside to gut the fish on his return :) hehe that's a great welcome home gift "missed you, here's 6 fish for you to gut" :D

K helped me to fix up and beautify the older chicken coop
and while we did that, B took apart an old hand mixer
and Kiki and Googs played on the swings
The finished coop :) It has a new floor, new roosts, new door, and new nest box roof. I had to climb inside through the nest box to nail down the floor :P I'm glad no one thought to take a photo :)
We took a walk to the farm to meet some of their new additions.



And we spent a fortune on seeds!



We love spring :)

Electric fence

Now that we are hatching more chicks, and after losing so many chickens to the fox last year, we decided to get an electric fence.
When we went up to the coops I found K in one of the chatting to the chicks :)B loves to sit and watch them too, but doesn't feel the urge to climb in with them :)
Our first job was to remove the old fencing

Kiki helped turn over the soil to help the grass grow back in the spots where the coops had been
Googs got stuck in too

We worked for hours, and you know, I forgot to take pictures of the electric fence looking so neat and lovely :) It should definitely keep the fox away!

After a hard days work, we had a braai (barbecue)
and had cuddles with the puppy

The kids then ran races while they waited for supper

Milo the Sproodle :)

We have a dog!!
Milo is a Sproodle; a springer spaniel and poodle cross :)
He is very soft like his poodle father
When we first got him, he slept a LOT!

Milo is enjoying playing with the children and meeting ALL the animals including the ducks and chickens :)

Luckily we had glorious weather the first week so Milo was outside all the time and we didn't have many accidents inside.



Trying to get him used to the feel of the collar and lead.

Bagel making

I love bagels! Particularly cinnamon and raisin bagels. So we decided to try and make some.
The boys helped to shape them, first into little balls...and then into dough rings

Call me naive, but I never knew that bagels were boiled before baking. This was the most exciting step :)
The boys removing the bagels

Then brushing on the beaten egg
We did a quick fraction lesson outside while we waited for the bagels to bake.

Oh they smelt so delicious whilst baking!
The children sat on the steps in the sunshine enjoying their very fresh bagels :) The tried half plain and half toasted and liked both equally :)
Chalk drawing
So free and happy outside
Some of the other bread that we've made recently.

Caramelised onion bread
Sweet potato bread
Olive bread