Blizzard

I took the dogs to a cold but bright beach at 10.30am. After picking up the ducks' veg from town we were followed up the valley from the coast by a wall of clouds and sleet and by the time we reached the village the blizzard was in full force. Literally in seconds everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow

Most of the hens scattered themselves into the hen houses, so I only had to carry the somewhat confused turkeys into their shed then went hunting for Belle and Nonnie in the graveyard. I found the pair sat in the doorway of the Church and both followed me back to their hen house ( only after I waved a few pieces of cheap white bread at them). It is a long time since I have seen the weather change so quickly.Strangely enough the cold has prompted the hens to increase their laying! 30 eggs this afternoon (3 eggs from the buffs!!! their first!!!!)

Albert looks a little better today. His leg is, however still hot to the touch.

One of the black hookers braving the cold

Why I like Sundays

I think I have blogged about this before, but I do like my Sundays!
As a child I hated the sabbath! My parents never actually did anything, so the day always became a long,hated wasted period of time which heralded the first day of school.
Now we have made our own routine.
Chris gets up early and walks the dogs, then he and the four animals clamber back to bed for a lie in (joined by Albert when well). Chris usually reads or watches his ipod films (this morning it was Morse!) as we snore and fart the early morning away!
I then get up and sort the field birds out then come back in and make Chris a cooked breakfast (fried bread,bacon and an egg!!) which he scoffs in bed!
I then sort out a few pottering jobs accompanied with proper coffee and great Radio! ( Steve Allen on LBC) and of course Just a Minute ,The Archers and Desert Island Discs on Radio 4), We walk the dogs (and will sometimes have coffee out in Llandudno or Colwyn Bay); Chris goes to Church, I feed the birds.........Chris will cook dinner, we may watch a good film and will definitely watch Antiques Roadshow.
I know it's not very interesting, but it quietly comfortable.

Tonight I am working, which is a bit of a bummer, so Chris will be on animal duties. Albert still remains incredibly quiet, and I suspect he still has a temperature. I have put the dogs on the patio for an hour as I let him have a stretch and walk around. His leg looks incredibly stiff and he is occasionally dragging it which is a little worrying. Mind you he had enough energy to get upstairs and sleep under the bed. I bought him some chicken today which he has wolfed down, but looking at the photo I took of him a few minutes ago, he does look like he has lost quite a bit of weight.

Intolerance

As 70 mile an hour winds batter the cottage (and as I was soaking in a welcomed bubble bath!) I got to thinking about something Chris called me this morning. I was telling him how I asked a very loud lady to keep her voice down in the vets waiting room this morning (Albert was jumping in his basket every time she guffawed!) and he told me that he thought that I was becoming dreadfully intolerant with people, especially as I gallop into middle age!

On reflection I think he may be correct but only partly so. The older I get ,the more impatient I become with others that I feel slighted by- but on reflection there is always a valid reason for my reactions.

If it is not the loud laugher at the vets, I have recently vented my slightly barbed (but always assertive) spleen at the vet's assistant, a senior nurse that I thought was a bullying a junior colleague and village local who interfered with my field!

You know what? I don't care if I am becoming less tolerant! I am still lovely with patients at work, I am a loving friend and partner (Chris may argue this point), so what if I stand up for my rights (and more importantly of those of my nearest and dearest)

I think it goes with the territory of being 47......

Gob shite Gray is not backing down or indeed ,shutting up!!!....so there!!!!

ps. Albert has a temperature today! so is back on antibiotics and stronger painkillers!

Jobs and Blogs

The day has been cold and blustery, so much so, I had to hide inside the duck house to eat my lunch. True to form Boris ambled over to share what I had, but strangely enough so did the reticent Gloria, who actually took part of a bagel out of my hand.I repaired at least 50 breaks in the electric fencing (Rabbit activity coupled with natural wear and tear),set up the nursery run for the new chicks (below).and finished edging the vegetable plots.

Chris has taken Janet to ballroom dancing classes this evening. So I am curled up in front of the fire with the latest Patricia Cornwell novel-Scarpetta.

In some ways I enjoy reading Cornwell's novels in the same way, I enjoy reading some people's blogs...and that is their attention to detail".

Blogs, if they are done well, give the reader a unique glimpse into the bloggers' life,thoughts and feelings, ok It may be a touch narcissistic and certainly is voyeuristic in nature but that is a what its all about. Cornwell tells you in minute detail, what her heroine Kay Scarpetta thinks, feels and acts........but also (and more importantly) tells the reader what she cooks,what her house looks like and what her work routine entails. I love this comprehensive view of someone that is far more interesting than myself. What she buys at the grocery store, what she does before bed,are, to me as fascinating as how she catches the serial killer..

At last!!!!!!!!!!

A bloody happy ending on the news...............that makes a welcome change

San Francisco

Sometimes it is nice thinking of something rather than hens,broken cats legs and and the importance of compost. This evening I have enjoyed a few hours surfing the net and have booked a nice looking hotel for when we go to San Francisco. I can't remember much about the city from a former visit over a decade ago, so exploring will feel all new and shiny! tee hee

Update

Albert has left his cage for a brief hobble around the living room. His leg looks incredibly swollen and I tried to assess its neurological status but apart from feeling it was warm I couldn't get that near to it. He seems listless and uncomfortable so I may take him back to the vets for a check over tomorrow but he has eaten his chicken today and amid a huge show of excitement (how sad am I?) had had a large bowel motion!.......(you wouldn't believe that I actually used to run a busy spinal injury ward...would you?)

Maddie and George have spent the day in the allotment with me. Mind you they have become terrible thieves and the above pic is them scoffing two duck eggs they found somewhere in the grass. Miss Kinsale (one of the new hybrids is watching them both closely hopeful for a titbit or two)
I cleared another of the vegetable beds this afternoon....

Questions

It is very flattering to have this rubbish read and even more flattering when people across the pond find our little lives here somewhat interesting. In reply to the e mail I received today, here is an overview of the "field" population so far!
I have three hen enclosures, one large and two smaller ones
The large run has 25 hens overseen by the white cockerel Stanley (he is a bit of a big girl's blouse!). These hens are my "original" girls and now are reaching late middle age in hen years! (3-6 in our years) All these hens have names!
The two smaller runs are populated by my own hens bred last year, each run is overseen by its own cockerel.
Clover is the lead buff cockerel (with the quieter Beta male second in command Poppy) his hens are Elizabeth, Shelley, Lily, Sorrel and Violet. The flock has just been augmented with 4 sub adult buffs raised recently in the shed, I have not sexed these hens yet so they are not named
The final hen enclosure birds are what I call the dog attack survivors all these hens (with the exception of Bunny the runt) are named after the characters in The Poseidon Adventure! Their cockerel is called Rogo and the hens are Belle & Nonnie (the two girls who spend their day in the graveyard) Jane, Miss Kinsale and Susan The is also another white cockerel in this pen but he is leaving for pastures new very soon so has not been named. All of the dog attack survivors were hatched at the cottage last year.
Boris and Gloria, the turkeys live separately with the 18 runner ducks. The 10 bantams in the shed will be joining the field numbers in a week or two.
(pic) William sleeping