6.12.39

Cold last night but no frost. Today fine & cold.

5 eggs. Sold 1 score @ 4/2.

5.12.39

Windy, overcast & decidedly cold. Some sloes still on the bushes. Plovers sitting on the ground & crying.

10 eggs.

4.12.39

Heavy rain in the early part of last night, then frost. A little rain this morning. Windy & cold.

10 eggs, Sold 1 score @ 4/4.

3.12.39

Frost last night. Today fine, windy, coldish. The common lane waterlogged almost knee-deep in parts. Planted another briar root. Note that on post hammered in on 18.10.39 fungi are growing (the horizontal hard kind that look like ears) about 1” broad, so evidently these things grow fairly rapidly.

7 eggs.

2.12.39

Fine, still, not very warm.

9 eggs. Sold 20 @ 4/4. Total this week: 56.

1.12.39

A little windier & colder than yesterday. Did some more weeding, turned the compost heap, planted another root of briar, this time a much older one.

9 eggs.

30.11.39

Very mild & still. A very few light spots of rain. Bats were out (noticed midges flying about the other day, in spite of the recent frosts). Dug a little more of the weedy patch. Made up the front part of the path. Pruned the white rambler, I hope correctly. Have not seen or heard the owls for some time past.

8 eggs.

 

 

 

[1] 8 is written over 7. Peter Davison

29.11.39

Rained again in the night, fine today & reasonably warm. Started digging the patch where the bushes were. This is in a terrible state & will take a long time to do, also is poor chalky soil & needs a lot of enriching. Began making path for henhouses, as the mud is very bad.

6 eggs. Sold 1 score @ 4/4.

28.11.39

Still, not too warm, Some frost in the night. Finished the new latch. This will take 5 or 6 rows of potatoes. Showed the briar stocks to T[itley]., who explained that one must cut the side shoots off & bud those onto those which appear in spring.

7 eggs.

27.11.39

Heavy rain in the night & all this morning. Finer & windless this afternoon. Everything very sodden. Dug another trench. Have now almost finished the amount I intend doing of the new bit. Stuck in 2 more briar roots. Shall plant about 6 of different heights & see how they do. Collected another sack of leaves. This amount (about 10 sacks) fills the frame. Covered over with fine soil & shall not disturb till next year.

7 eggs.

 

 

 

[1] Orwell noted collecting 8¹/₂ sackfuls. Peter Davison