My Devon Life: Leaning on the Gate....

April at Windfall Farm

April was a bit stormy
yet more black clouds rolling in

Spring in the orchard

Rural Devon in Images & Sound

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Trouble in the (Hen) House

April 2014

The hens love scratching around in the garden - we've had several eggs that are too big to go in an egg box and which produce double yolks. All the yolks are a bright, deep yellow - very yummy!

Hens are intelligent creatures - and they can be a bit scary the way they fix you with those little beady eyes and peck at anything that shines (including glasses, sparkly diamond rings and silver necklaces!)

They are direct descendants of the dinosaur raptors (think Jurassic Park!). Frankly a hen-sized raptor is just about manageable... one several feet tall - forget it!

One of The Girls is a bit brighter than the others. (Think 'Ginger' in Chicken Run!)

She has found her way round from the back orchard to the front of the house.

Where I don't want the hens because I don't want my garden scratched up.

However.... she also discovered that the front door was open...

and then discovered that Baz favours that particular rug when he is crunching up his Bonio biscuits

- Hen's delight! Crumbs to gobble!

Yes well, maybe but NOT inside my living room thank you very much!

so....

Indignant Eviction....

'Out you go...'

'You have the entire orchard my girl....!'

The next day there was a bit of a disagreement;

a lot of clucking and tutting and fluffed up feathers ...

This, we discovered, was the reason....

the hen pheasants had discovered the chicken's run

an act of treachery which the hens highly disapproved of

and was somewhat akin to Russia invading the Crimea!

Urgent messages were cackled to the United Nations

The Police were summoned

Tanks and weapons were about to be amassed...

"Out! Out! Get out! Shoo!"

so another eviction had to be undertaken....

Ron: 'Hmm, quite a bit of fat on these'
Kathy: 'Easter dinner perhaps?'

Seen off by Border Patrol (perhaps for the pheasants' own good)
by Baz and the hens!

A sunny afternoon in the Orchard

25th March 2014
Lovely day here in Devon, although the wind is a bit chilly.

Baz & I went out into the orchard to take a photo of the Thingies (above) (Hostas???) and the Daffodils.

And we got waylaid by the hens!

(well it was a lovely day! By the time I came in, had a cuppa & piece of homemade Kathy-Cake and answered a few e-mails - the sky had clouded over & it is now chucking it down outside. :-(

An Adventure with a sheep...

...and March in the Woods (14th March 2014)

Ewe lookin' at me?

There was a heavily pregnant (with twins) ewe in our lane. She shouldn't have been in the lane, she should have been in her field.

Bit of a job getting her back - Adam, Kathy, me and the farmer, because said ewe preferred to be in the lane.

We convinced her eventually that she really would be better off with her companions!

Hey ho - life is full of fun here in Devon!" (Ha! Didn't get this sort of thing in London!)

***
and here are a couple of photos from my walk in the woods on Thursday (13th March)