Monday, Monday!!!!

Angostura, the last bird standing

The clouds of starlings are back and so, indeed am I!
It sounds strange but after a weekend of nursing within the insulated and aseptic bubble of Intensive care, it was lovely to be back out on the field this morning,
As usual I did my customary roll call, and was relieved to see that all the animals were present and correct. I did have a slight wobble as Angostura (the donated guinea hen) was not in her usual hen house at opening up time but I did find the bad tempered bird sat comfortably in one of the nesting boxes, sat in unseasonal stillness upon a single egg!
Fair dos to Chris, who has looked after everyone very well for the past 48 hours......it is not an easy job, slopping out the water feeders in freezing weather when your heart really isn't in it...especially when you are being stalked by a somewhat psychotic stag turkey.

The intense hatred Boris has for Chris is long standing and somewhat baffling! Every time Chris is around , Boris' black little eyes seem to darken just that little bit more and quietly and with purpose he will glide into a position where an ambush attack is possible like a galleon in full sail.
Usually Chris can now preempt these challenges with a bit of fancy footwork , but over three years this dislike of everyone that is NOT ME, has continued and flourished.
Islwyn (the guy that taught me to dry stone wall) is another local that Boris has a "thing" for, and even I get the occasional peck when the old turkey is an a particularly bad mood or indeed when he mistakes me for Chris.

This morning, despite the wet grass, I sat cross legged in the turkey enclosure and shared my bagel with him, as he stood rattling his feather to impress me......it was  something I have not done for an age......
In the "quietness" of the village field.....it was lovely to force the intensive care monitor alarms of the last two days,right out of my head.......