oh my giddy aunt

Once I had turned one seesaw back to its upright position, managed to man(woman?)handle the A frame from its 'belly-up' state to the right way up and change the angle it faced into the wind to try to prevent it rolling off again, moved everything that had been under the A frame before the wind took it back to where it needed to be under the frame in its new place,.... and retrieved the flat tunnel from the barbed wire fence that surrounds my equipment area, Nellie and I could do a few bits and pieces.

The Old English word that 'giddy' comes from is 'gydig'. And that word meant 'frenzied' apparently. That's a pretty good description of the weather overnight and well into this morning around here! Judging by the sounds from outside as I write it looks like we may be in for much the same tonight.

'Wet' doesn't really cover the condition of the ground at the moment. 'Drenched' might be better. Or 'Boggy'? My field is suffering quite badly for the first time with so much rain over so many weeks.

Nellie has never been this muddy from being there as she was today!

And, ahem, neither have I! Yuk! This was all pristine beforehand. And it wasn't actually raining when we were there, just standing water over and under the grass.

Mind you this is not as wet as I was on New Year's Eve, when I tried to cross a large peaty boggy puddle part of the path Nellie and I were on across the heath whilst trying to text someone at the same time....That'll teach me to step onto a branch without first checking it is stable as it meant I landed in said boggy peat puddle on my back with cold water coming into my clothes from all directions. It was the phone or me and I made a split second decision in favour of the phone. Nellie did come back to peer at me as I shrieked and swore. Bathing in cold sea water on a warm day in April or October is one thing but in a deep puddle in December is quite another so I think the bad language was excusable. Not especially impressed, Nellie gave me a look that seemed to say 'Oh it is you!' and went off to investigate something far more interesting. I still had a squelchy hour walk back to the van. Joy.

I was especially pleased to see the chickens when we got home today. As I went off to work this morning I did wonder if they would still be in the garden when I returned. Huddled behind the hedge to escape the worst of the wind they looked a pretty forlorn bunch.

It's poor Fanny-Ann-chook I feel most sorry for. She won the 'who will lose the most feathers in the shortest time span' trophy claws down. Tilly-chook bowed out of the competition gracefully to do her moulting with less fanfare and flourish, leaving Fan looking like 'Bride of Frankenstein' - virtually bald. A couple of weeks in she is more 'Miss Havisham' like now with new strong feathers coming through, some of which have begin to fluff out ( Her white colouring helps to create this particular impression I feel :-)) She is still half the size she should be though. Compared to the newly feathered up Maggie-chook who you can see nearby in the other picture and who is relishing her new grown fluffy bits, Fanny-Ann is looking quite moth-eaten and pathetic, poor girl.

It is natural for them to moult when the amount of daylight reduces in the autumn, but this always seems the wrong time of year to be flinging off one's clothes in broad daylight to me. So much more sensible to do it in Summer, or even Spring.....

If you haven't yet read it, can I draw your attention to the ChickenStreet blog on my blogs to read list? As of now our Welfare laws have made a first step to improving the lives of caged chickens that produce most of the eggs sold in this country. Our egg producers have complied with the new regulations which will make a difference to the quality of life that such chickens experience in this country. The costs of these changes will have an impact on prices you pay BUT please do not be tempted to buy cheaper imports. As you will read, several countries have not implemented these changes and will continue to use caging that does not comply with EU regs, simply because they haven't bothered yet........By supporting British producers you are making it possible for even more far reaching changes to be made - eventually. And making it possible for them to stay in business despite the investment. Some of the eggs they produce will end up as ingredients in other food stuff - in powder, batters, sauces.....You can support British farmers and higher welfare by choosing products like these that use British eggs. Ideally of course, all chickens would be 'free-range' so if you can, support the farmers who sell Free range, or even Organic. Although 'eggs laid by chickens that have access to the outdoors' are another option, just be aware they are probably NOT free-ranging at all - especially if the 'access' is through small pop holes in the side of a barn. Chances are most of those chickens will never see daylight. Chickens have a limited field of vision and will be very timid about going somewhere they cannot see into or on towards. Unless they accidently push their heads through the covering of a pop hole they won't go out. And even then they may not. Such chicken behaviour is well documented. I saw it for myself after I kept my chickens in the old big pen(for Belle's claw and for that feeder) for ten days. Despite the fact they had spent either almost three years (Black Rocks) or one year (newbies) here free-ranging prior to those ten days, I had to encourage them out with sprinkled corn. Once they twigged, they were off, commando-raid style in all directions into the garden, corn forgotten.