Number two

So last year wasn't the wettest since records began. It was the second wettest! It's a Slalem slope out tot he back of the garden, slipping and sliding away on the wet mud and all too close to the greenhouse glass to make it fun.
This morning I decided to let the babies have a proper long session with the garden and greenhouse all to themselves before the 'ladies' were let loose. As you know, chickens do have a very regimented pecking order and the babies, seeing as they came along last, are at the bottom of it. Shame really as it's not a level playing field but then life isn't fair anyway, is it?
The only way to ensure they could have a lazy dust bath and the choicest sunflower pieces was to keep the others locked in their run.
Every so often I would check out of the window and see two little monochrome feathery heads peeking up from their bath of contentment int he greenhouse dust. It's the only way they can have a proper clean up as there is no dry ground anywhere else in the garden.
By 12.30 I had decided that it was time to let the others loose but only because they had alerted me to the graceful and speedy sparrowhawk that was perched on the fence and flew off rapidly when it saw me. The chickens in the run were squawking in it's presence whilst the two little ones were too busy originally to notice it and only popped their heads up to see what all the fuss was. Talk about rubber necks!
Well, now they are all out I can trust them to have a fine old time of it all before putting themselves to bed by four when it starts getting dark. Which gives me more time for DIY, thank you very much (I don't think).

2013

Here we are again, another year another wish for a good summer. I h
am hopeful for a better year this year. I felt I'd been lazy with the blog till I thought about it and realised that there just wasn't anything I could do in the garden with the amount of rain we had. Is it officially the wettest year on record? If not I'm glad I wasn't around for the year that holds that record as 2012 was almost impossible growing-wise.
New Year's day was the brightest we've had for weeks although the ground is so waterlogged that there has been surface water in the garden for weeks. The birds have appreciated the feeders that Luke has strung up and has to fill every other day. The woodpecker, nicknamed 'Colonel Falafel' (no idea why) has been a regular morning visitor, scaring off the smaller birds and filling up on sunflower hearts. Any that fall to the ground are scooped up by our hungry hens. I have to let the two youngest out first in order to let them have a fighting chance of some variety. Once the big girls are released they make short work of chasing off the littlest two .
I'm thrilled that I got a lot of tulips planted last year because there is a desperation that comes with a long, cold winter and we still have four months before the blousy flowers open up. I'm not a lover of daffodils which are very often pushing themselves out of the ground way ahead of the other Spring flowers but I have some Iris and snowdrops deep underground so I shall keep an eye out for their shoots.
For now though, I am tucked up indoors, going through the wood and coal like no-one's business. I've also got company in the shape of Jack's cat. She is snuggled on my far too large lap (thanks to an indulgent Christmas and no outdoorsy activities) and making it extremely difficult to type this so I shall wish you all a very healthy, happy and peaceful 2013.