Water fowl

Soggy Fidget!  Like most of UK we had a couple of days of wild weather this week and we got a good soaking, although not as bad as some parts of the country.  Our field shelters are all open so the boys suit themselves as to when they will be inside, or out and about.  During the heaviest of the rain the boys were in but boredom set in and they went out to graze with the result that they too got a drenching.

The heavy rain is reflected in the spots on the photo as the boys get into the  big, dry steading and get stuck into their hay.

A couple of days ago, about 7.30am Robbie let the hens out of their hen-house and saw that all the boys - except Faro - were lying next to each other in a line in the big steading, all chewing the cud and totally relaxed.  Faro was lying nearby in front of the field shelter.  A good photo opportunity so Robbie came back to the house and collected the camera.  The boys were still in the same positions but just as a photo was being lined up, Hunkey Dunkey the cockerel in the nearby hen compound decided to grab one of his hens for his morning 'constitutional!'  Delilah the hen was having none of his early morning amorous advances and started shrieking loudly.  Faro the guard jumped to his feet on hearing the commotion followed immediately by the rest of the boys who ran out of the steading to see what was going on.  A good photo - op missed but here is the resulting one with Faro on the extreme right, tail up and ready for action!

Yesterday we got three new chickens to add to Dunkey's harem.  These young birds came from a breeder in Skye who comes to the mainland several times a year and it's always interesting to see a line of people with their boxes queueing for their new chickens with the children especially excited.  From the left they are a Black Rock, a Light Sussex and a Bluebell who will now spend a couple of days in their new home getting used to their surroundings before going outside into a secure cage before venturing into the compounds.  Dunkey is patrolling in the next compound and he can hear the occasional 'Cluck' from the new birds so is eager to introduce himself!  The two older hens are unlikely to be pleased to see younger birds though so there will be a bit of 'hen-pecking' going on before status quo is restored.

On one of the few nice mornings this week, the view from the veg garden was great!

And finally.............Clematis 'Tangutica' on the fence still giving a great display of yellow flowers before turning into those fluffy, silvery coloured balls.