Nice to sea you...

I know, terrible title but it's late and I'm afraid it's the best I can do.

Slightly longer blogging hiatus than I'd  planned there (because I didn't really plan one at all) and
I could make all sorts of excuses of course but the plain fact of the matter is I've had a bad case of 'can't-be-arsedness'. Or to put it a little more delicately, a complete lack of inspiration and motivation.
It doesn't help matters when every time you try and start a blog post Blogger decides to b***er it up. I really am cheesed off with it and have neither the patience nor the inclination to spend hours and hours trying to get around the problem. Is it just me I wonder? Probably.

We've also been experiencing that strange phenomenon in Britain; a real Summer! I don't know about you but when the sun is shining, it's warm outside and I've been able to go without a pully for more than a couple of days, the last thing I want to do is sit and look at a screen of any kind but get out there and enjoy it.

We also lost our last little house dwelling furry in August. It really knocked us for six and everything else just seemed so pointless, at least for a time. I think we worked out this is the tenth pet we've lost and when the oldest living and laying hen (Betty was NINE this month) goes to the big eglu in the sky we ain't having any more. All too painful.
Even though Flo was seventeen she was only poorly for a week and then she was gone. This is the first time in twenty years we've had an empty house and that takes some getting used to I can tell you.

That was quite a list after all wasn't it? Back with proper posts soon (ish) and even some new stock on the website ~ remember that?

In the meantime, here's some pictures from our weekend when I suspect we were enjoying the last lovely days of summer. We took Moz for a tootle to Chapel St Leonards (or as I call it, Chapel Saint Lenn-aards just because I'm odd like that) where we enjoyed a curly-wurly ice-cream and a paddle in the sea. Simple pleasures.

 

 

 

 

 

Our little one-eyed wonder a couple of weeks before she left us

 

"Happy birthday to me..."

To celebrate the momentus occasion of her seventh birthday, Betty would like to share a few snaps from her, frankly huge, photo album.

Over to you, Betty...



Here is me indulging in one of my favourite pastimes...eating.



Although I love to pinch tomatoes from the greenhouse, sweetcorn remains my favourite treat.
When I look in through the french windows and see it being taken from the fridge I get carried away and jump up at the glass leaving dirty feet marks all over it. Oops....

I like to get to know the other creatures that have come and gone while I've lived here. As you can see, I got on particularly well with Jack (rest his little soul) until I tried to pinch his dinner. Then he grabbed me. Ouch!

Flo gives me a lot of dirty looks. I suspect she thinks I'm some freakishly big sparrow and she's just trying to work out how to tackle me.

I like to jump on things...

Sometimes, things I'm not supposed to jump on...

I also get told off (a bit) for bathing where I shouldn't.

And I also like to leave little deposits around the garden. I can't think why Mum wasn't pleased with this one....

I like to be useful , whether it's helping with the gardening....

...for which I'm rewarded with slightly grubby feet...

or enhancing Mums photographs with my presence.

I also like to lend a hand cleaning out my eglu. Sort of. Actually, I'm just waiting for Dad to move it so I can get at all the bugs underneath.

Looking this good is a full time occupation so I spend a lot of time on my appearance.

And I'm nothing if not stoical. Look at the weather conditions I have to put up with! I do knock at the door to try and get into the kitchen, but I don't think Mum and Dad can always hear me...

My least favourite time of the year is when I have to go through the palaver of moulting. This makes me very sad and a bit grumpy but I do get let in to the kitchen for sweetcorn so it could be worse.

I have heard some giggling over my appearance at this time which I must say is uncalled for.

I do spend a little more time napping in the daytime than I used to. Well, I'm no spring chicken y'know.

Even though I'm now seven I still manage to lay four or five eggs a week, sometimes more!

Mum and Dad seem to like them. They like the bright orange yolks and the fact that I've never laid a single egg with any thing in it that shouldn't be there (such as a spot of blood for instance)

All in all they should think themselves lucky that I've chosen to grace them with my presence for the last six and a half years. They seem to think I'm the lucky one for having this lovely big garden to explore and never having to spend a minute cooped up, like some other chickens. A lot of them don't reach my age apparently...poor things.

And of course, I am very beautiful!

By the way, have you noticed that after last years moult I decided to change my 'parting'? It now goes to the left and although at first I wasn't sure if it suited me I must say I was rather pleased to be able to see out of my right eye for the first time in six years.

Winter wonderland

I know it causes chaos but it's still beautiful!








There doesn't seem to be any surface that hasn't got a dusting...

Part of our little pet cemetery :-{

Look at the colour of that sky! Can you see our little robin friend right in the middle? One of two we have visiting. Don't forget to keep feeding our feathered friends, will you?

I've finally succumbed to the trend for 'fashion wellies' after only ever wearing green gardening ones. According to my (old rocker) husband these are my Motorhead wellies. They have 'spades' on them. Ace of Spades.

Even Bettys home has a mini snowdrift...

...hence why we have had a chicken living in our kitchen nearly all week. She's comes out of the eglu in the morning and straight to the back door and doesn't leave, under protest I might add, until it's time for bed! To be fair, there isn't much for a chicken to do when all the lawn and borders are covered with snow. And she is still in moult. Well, only just. She's at the 'flapjack' stage meaning she's dropping piles of skin everywhere.

I've added new items to the website this week. My sincere apologies if you're waiting for your order to arrive and it hasn't. Interesting that I managed to get to the Post Office {about a thirteen mile round trip down country lanes} to send them out this week but the Royal Mail weren't collecting or delivering at our depot as of Wednesday. I also haven't had any post delivered all week so I'm afraid you may be waiting some time yet. The story is similar with the courier company that I use.

We have tickets to see Madness in Leicester tonight but whether we get there is another matter!

I shall be very disappointed if we can't as I was a HUGE fan thirty {gulp!} years ago and have never seen them.

Lets all hope the thaw is on it's way!