The ducklings get "outed" and Boys with toys

The Hysterical ducklings had their first day out today, and went out in a cage onto the field. Wellington (second from left) still looks a little moth eaten, but all seem to have enjoyed a long break out in the sun. 5 of the hens have gone broody

My friend Geoff called around with his monster new bike this afternoon and Chris had the chance to ride pillion which obviously excited him greatly......I am not a lover of bikes, having seen what damage can be done to riders during my 17 years working in Spinal Injuries, but I kept quiet when Chris voiced interest in buying himself something similar!

(although the statement "over my dead body" comes to mind)

Friday no news and Flower Show Shenanigans

Chris has had a hard day's work. It is now 8pm and as usual he and William are asleep on one couch. I am sat on the other with Meg,Maddie, George and now Albert. At least I am feeling a little better, I have felt dire for most of the day.
No real news to report, in between typing this, I have been surfing the net to organise a trip to Alcatraz for when we are in San Francisco, I have visited the prison years ago....as I recall it was a fascinating place.

Time for another Lemsip me thinks

Oh yes, there was a little news today! I am now Chairman of the Flower Show! albeit by default as our Chair person has resigned after a slightly "complicated" time.Whether I continue as Chair remains to be seen,.....oh the power!!!

Pace

This evening Sam and his father called round. (Sam was the eleven year old that came to learn how to care for chickens last week) They very kindly brought me two bottles of wine as a thank you and were filled with exciting stories of their newly bought hens!
After they had gone, I had the chance to watch the field population settle in for the night. The pace of dusk is gentle and plodding, especially when it is compared to the complex excitement of dawn.
Boris and Gloria, already comfortable in their hut can be heard chattering gently to themselves, at the same time, the runner ducks slowly gel into a tight flock by the fence border, waiting almost patiently to be directed into their duck house.
The senior hens have already found their way to the choice perches inside the 7 hen houses, and the lower ranking girls and cockerels potter quietly around the coops, scratching for the missed pieces of corn, As the light fades ever so slightly, they too in groups of two and threes disappear slowly into the small doorways. Pirrie and Roger, the tiny and vital bantams, dart around and spar with each other like schoolboys, and remain in constant motion until the light all but dies.
In the farthest run the Buff cockerels Poppy and Clover stay out the longest, they march up and down , eager eyes focused on the field borders looking out for threats and rabbits, their golden colours still clearly visible in the fading light, they only retire when strongly "encouraged" to do so.
Occasionally the pigs can be heard snorting and bickering as they make their straw beds and it is funny that they both sleep with their heads propped up inside the old nesting boxes on the side of their hut.
From the cottage bedroon window I can just make out the ghostly face of Meg and the shadow that is Albert, both watching what I am doing with interest and I smile to myself
Funny what you notice when you have the time

Taken by surprise

I have not felt at all well today, nothing too drastic- a very sore throat and cough, just enough to make me feel as though I wanted to walk aimlessly around the living room with a dirty house coat on! Fat chance......
Chris woke me up at 6am as he excitedly got himself ready for his Birthday treat ( a trip to London to see La Cage Aux Folles) a gift from Jo his colleague at work.
We went through the usual stressed panic in getting him to the railway station on time before I could go home for a lemsip , proper coffee and a long bout of dog walking.
I didn't feel like veg planting in the fine misty drizzle this afternoon, so after the field jobs I got stuck in to weeding the back garden, which was a job that desperately needed doing. The herbaceous planting has started to develop, but the true "cottage garden" feel won't be truly established until May, when the garden is at its true best.I wish I had the skill my sisters have regarding planting all year round colour.
I was just finishing when a large group of pensioner walkers ambled past (all wearing the obligatory woolly hats, waterproofs and all swinging trendy ski sticks)
Now walkers often stop for a brief chat, they like to talk about the poultry (especially Boris who is often photographed ) and many will stop to buy eggs if I have any available, so I wasn't surprised when one matron leaned over the wall and addressed me.
"You must have loved Finlay very much" she said pleasantly, and the comment took me so completely by surprise that I suddenly felt very emotional, tearful and could hardly reply to her.
Obviously she had noticed Finlay's gravestone , tucked in the flower bed in the front garden and felt compelled to comment about it.
We finally chatted about Finlay and the other dogs who had lined up at the gate to watch what was going on for a time, and after the walkers had gone, I got to thinking about how a loss can still affect you in the strangest of moments..especially when your guard is down.

Mind you, my reaction may just be a symptom of a combination of a cold virus and not much sleep!

Gem

Sometimes you come across a little gem of a photo on the internet. I found this moving image of Firemen saving a statue of the Madonna at Paganica Church, L'aquila after the recent earthquake....It's a wonderful study

Interrupted Work

This morning we had several extended thunderstorms which drove me back into the house and the animals back into their shelters. It has been humid and at times windy, so I was soon back out onto the field planting the spring vegetables.
All my remaining potatoes, sprouts, chard, and broad beans are now safely in place behind rabbit proof fencing and tomorrow I will pot up some sweetcorn and plant more peas and beans! Long lines of green shoots have burst forth in the recent sunshine and even the tulips I transplanted from the cottage garden have flowered in the old metal bucket I salvaged recently from the garden (above)

I saw my sister Ann today who suggested that Wellie the lucky duckling be re christened a more fitting Wellington. He still looks ever so slightly scruffy after the "boot incident" but I think that this is more the nature of ducklings which are the dirtiest animals I have ever looked after(especially as they have a gross tendency of pooing on their feet and flinging it around with hysterical abandon)= the inside of the shed had been pebble dashed with a coating of unmentionable materials!! They truly are mucky little buggers!

Am off for a bath now....I think I am coming down with a sore throat and cough.......

Pora umierac

Pora umierac (Time to die),showing at Theatre Clwyd tonight,is a slightly too long,beautifully photographed tale of an elderly woman (the 92 year old Danuta Szaflarska) who is living her last days in her beloved ramshackle wooden house on the outskirts of Warsaw)

Not a great deal happens, the feisty old gal is preoccupied with memories, her neighbours, and her dog Phila (an absolutely amazing "performance" by a border collie called Pawsdown by the way) and I was amused to see that the predominantly Polish audience seemed to love this tale of whimsy and home

The Art of Manipulation

Now readers of this blog will accept that I love an emotional romp and....it has been a while since I have had a cracking good one. Thanks to the producers of BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT, I, as millions of others seem to have done, nosedived blissfully into a true Hollywood moment on Saturday night.Every single person involved in this snippet enjoyed being wrung out to dry by an artful tv manipulation moment As we all watched the Ann Widdicombe-esque underdog -Susan Boyle belt out the specifically picked emotional highlight from Les Miserables (the shop worn middle aged heroine Fantine's swan song), the producers kept the emotionally charged musical score going to punctuate wonderfully Susan's surprise at being supported and the audience's shame fuelled hysterical reactions at her success.On reflection, it wasn't the obvious skill this unlikely contestant showed to a patronising audience that moved so much, I think it was the genuine, typically British and slightly dotty quality that Susan possessed that made people warm to her.A cracking piece of manipulative television

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY