April Brings Easter Chicks

The sun has shone continuously this month and I've really made the most of it. I love my life.

Firstly, the eggs in the incubator hatched, with me pacing the floor and Jeannie waiting for  telephone updates throughout the night. Actually I couldn't get hold of her to watch the last chick hatch, so I dashed to the farm in my PJ's and she dashed back in hers just in time to watch it hatch. .What a pair of silly old biddies we are. I had no idea what an exhausting process it is if you are the chick, the poor little souls were so tired, my heart went out to them.

They recover pretty quick though and grow at an amazing rate, had to go for the carpentry again to make a brooder. I used some unused skirting board I found in the barn and it looks abit smarter than the run. They are about 5 days old when the photo below was taken, 

  
and this is 9 days later, and as you can see Blondie is a giant!

and this one can fly straight out so I've had to build a vertical extension for them. They go outside in the sunshine in the daytime and come in under a lamp at night.

  

Meanwhile Gretel hatched 3 chicks, one lavender and 2 partridge. They are about a quarter the size of the others and at first were no trouble at all. Then after a week Gretel took against the lavender one and did this so its now living in the house and becoming a house chicken. Hopefully it can go in with the next lot of big chicks as it will be about the same size at first.

A glut of eggs meant lemon curd, and that meant danish pastries, they didn't last long. Yum Yum. 

My lovely wheelhorse, 40 years old and going strong, has really come into its own this month. It did need a new spark plug, but £2.38 for maintenance at that age is not bad. I eventually worked out how to lower the undercarriage to mow but its  its also pulled  a harrow,  its little trailer and  dragged tangled wire off the diminishing bonfire pile to the skip. It even mowed the path into the woods which was getting very overgrown. Trying to get the garden ready for the wedding has been hard but I suppose it has made me get on with it. I will have at least 2 caravans, 2 camper vans, 4 tents and goodness knows how many assorted bodies on the floor or in the barn. 

My path to the woods.




These reprobates have been incarcerated as they have been destructive to the point beyond patience. I know you can't blame a goat for being a goat but they could win Mastermind with their ingenuity to get at my plants. Hopefully the fence I've been waiting for for 2 months will be put up this week so they can have their own paddock. I will miss them being about the house, but not in it!!

Holly had had a hard day in the garden.

A walk in the woods.

We took the ponies to Cricklands for our first competition as a pair. I had a mini lesson with James then off we went. The boys were great, very calm and well behaved but really focussed when they needed to be. We were second to go and the first one tipped over causing a bit of anxiety as the backstepper was injured. Everyone kept saying "are you OK to go?" but It didnt phase me and I can't attribute any of my errors to that. We came second and were so thrilled with the boys I became quite emotional.

Next time it will be the wedding !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!