Sunshine on a frosty day

Norfolk Lasses Eggs Total to Date: 353 Day:154

KoKKo 118 Personal best egg weight 86grms 29.11.2005
Adelaide 118 Personal best egg weight 80grms 26.02.2006
Ginger 117 Personal best egg weight 80grms 27.03.2006

London Ladies Bantam Eggs Total to date: 32 Day:22

Dilly 11 Personal best egg weight 36grm 27.03.2006
Freckles 12 Personal best egg weight 37grms 28.03.2006
Pumpkin 9 Personal best egg weight 35 grms 01.04.06

It was like looking out on a winter wonderland scene again early this morning - thick, hard, cold frost.

The water in the bird feeders was frozen solid, so too in the chicken water peanuts. They didn't seem to mind though and were out and about and bright and chirpy. Particularly Freckles who has been shrieking all day. For absolutely no reason. I kept going out there to see what was up and nothing - she was just doing it for the sake of it. I never knew that such a loud noise could come of out such a small body and she didn't let up!

I picked her up and gave her a cuddle and she quietened down, then as soon as I put her down she started again. Then Pumpkin joined in. It was a really dreadful.

I thought maybe that she wanted to rejoin the big chickens so took the fencing down, but that made no difference she just ran off shrieking when no one was near her. I checked her over and there was no apparent reason for it.

She did dive in the other Eglu and plonk herself down in the nest much to their annoyance, then Pumpkin ran in after her, and seemed to be making a pip pipping noise and paced up and down worriedly - so I took Pumpkin out and put her back in her own Eglu nest.

By this time Ginger had run inside the London Ladies long run and plonked herself down in their dust bath which is in a red square washing up bowl. She sat there dusting herself and flicking all the dirt out over the run, and was there for over half and hour - looking blissfully happy.

When she eventually came out she chased Dilly, the only one not inside, so I put the fencing back up. I checked on Freckles and she had finally laid an egg and settled down, enjoying a cuddle and being made a fuss of, then I put her back with the others. This was just after lunch. Pumpkin too laid an egg and Dilly had laid one first thing.

Adelaide, Ginger and KoKKo did too, so another bumper day for eggs. A neighbour from over the road came to ask for some, so he had half a dozen of the big ones and I gave him some of the parsnips I dug up. He went off to his wife a happy man.


Adelaide and Ginger eating grass - or insects in it


Ginger off to check out the dust bath - having already bathed in the banties dust bath bowl!


Adelaide decided to have a bath and then just relax in the shade - Ginger with the curly tail feathers decided one bath was enough after all.


Pat decided to give the lawn a mow - it was gloriously sunny this afternoon. The smell of the lawn's first cut of the year on a sunny Spring afternoon is wonderful. Another favourite smell of mine is rain on dry ground. You just can't beat nature's own perfumes.

I decided to give the girls a treat and gave them some of the fresh grass cuttings to play - and sat and watched them for ages.

Pumpkin was on egg laying duties when this was taken - Freckles had finally laid her 32grm egg and stopped shrieking!


I then spent time wandering around my back garden and front gardens looking for foliage for my flower arranging workshop on Friday afternoon.

We went into Attleborough this morning for me to get some flowers - we are doing a Spring flower arrangement in a basket. I needed narcissi, iris, tulips etc. I looked in the supermarket and apart from two bunches of daffodils - the last two - all the floweres were summer ones. Roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations, that sort of thing - they must be grown in glass houses!

I then went to the only florist in town and a small bunch of ordinary tulips were £6.99 can you believe! Outrageous. So all I have got are the daffodils. My narcissi in the garden and up the allotment will be too far advanced by Friday, so I will have to do an arrangement with mainly foliage I think. Never mind. I might take a few of my helibores, but I really don't like to cut my garden flowers if I can help it, that is why I am growing them up the allotment.

Pat had a spurt of energy and cleaned out the gutters on the front of our bungalow so plenty more for composting up the allotment. I might take a trip up there tomorrow as there are the grass cuttings and I also cleaned out the chickens again.

I took some photos of the back garden, as well as the chickens.

On a hot sunny afternoon in the summer, I like to get a chair and sit in my gazebo hidden away in the corner in the shade. Well it is hidden in the summer with all the plants grown up around it.

Last year in the bird box on the silver birch tree we had two lots of blue tits nesting and rearing two families

New mown lawn - the garden looking bare in the spring - but packed in the summer!

Just one view of the back garden. So you can see the garden through all seasons.