Last day of summer?

I wanted to make the most of the weather today and be outside, and I'm pleased I did as it's now drizzling. The ducks were up and Jean and Joanna set each other off with their loud quacking...oops, sorry neighbours! The hadn't had their wings clipped so Amber helped me as they are rather wriggly:

That's Llywelyn; you can just see his curly tail feathers.

And there's Joanna, who had started quacking loudly as I was holding her - the noise that emanates from such a little duck is pretty impressive. Wings duly clipped, they were put back in the broody coop.

My car needed a service today so I nobly decided to take my bike to cycle back down the Cuckoo Trail, as it was the environmentally-friendlier and cheaper option. It is also downhill all the way and they said they'd run the car back for me later which suddenly made the whole idea more appealing even though I cancelled out the environmentally-friendly bit to a certain extent. It was gorgeous cycling through the wooded trail with sunbeams streaming across in front of me.

The children were all floppy and tired and ended up playing card games as I was feeling rather floppy and tired after my arduous bike ride home. Oh I said it was downhill didn't I...erm...but it was really hot and I had woken up at some unearthly hour.

It's sort of maths isn't it? I had also spent a fair amount of time with Tristan discussing whether one got more wet walking through a rain shower or running through it. He thought it was the latter as the rain hit you harder but I explained that the volume of rain falling is at the same rate but you get exposed to less of it if you run. But you might feel wetter because it hits you harder. So what with that and going through why bruises change colour as they develop, I'm kept on my toes with subject matter. They played a card game called Bang for ages and Tristan was being uncharacteristically generous towards his sisters so I let sleeping dogs lie. Talking of which:

Scruff found a sunny spot. Hallelujah, his new flea treatment seems to be working so he is no longer scratching incessantly and chewing himself to pieces all night. He must be exhausted poor thing.

I let John and Jean out and they hot-webbed-footed it up to see the new ones:

There was quite a lot of macho quacking from the boys and bubbling quacks from the girls but John and Llywelyn would fight if I put them together so they will have to be kept apart. They pair bond too so I couldn't really mix up the girls either but that's fine as I would only breed the same types. I wanted to give the two new ducks a bit more of a run so I rigged up a wind-break I found in the carport. It looks a bit like I'm about to perform surgery or dispatch a Grand National horse but it did work:

And hopefully tomorrow I will have another tin bath courtesy of Laura which will just be perfect. The temptation to put them in the bath upstairs is irresistible, though they need to settle in a bit more first I think; they are quite jumpy still and haven't really eaten anything as the food is different to the sort they were eating so I'm hoping tomorrow they will get the hang of pellets and corn.

Soooo pretty.

I've been sort of revising and also doing some crocheting and knitting but it's getting to that time of year and they are presents so I can't say! All will be revealed.....

Bunnies

Yesterday morning I had coffee with Nicky whilst the children were at their Latin lesson. We were talking about chickens as she'd love some so I might be able to 'livery' a couple for her!

I need to get the bunnies neutered. Sigh, I got 2 girls as they're less likely to fight but of course they are now nesting and both are rather overrun with hormones with inevitable embarrassing consequences.  The idea of baby bunnies is almost too adorable to even think about but they are definitely both girls so it's not an option even if it was an option, which is isn't.

Willow on the left, Scarlet on the right. 

They are lovely and the fact that they require hay and stuff and keep the grass down means it's a bit like having tiny horses - the smell of a new bag of shavings still transports me back to my childhood, only minus the bruises.  [From falling off my pony all the time, not being beaten up by my parents!]  They are living in the smaller chicken ark which they seem to enjoy though I am moving it every day as the grass is so pathetic. They do also excavate holes in the corners in a bid for freedom as I have foiled their attempts to get the door flaps down.

I also need to get the dog some improved flea treatment - I've been using Frontline spot on but it's not doing the trick and I think he's developed Flea Allergy Dermatitis. Having looked online I did see about all the various things you have to do, from fumigating the carpets, skirting boards, bedding etc etc to regular hoovering to believing claims made by flea treatment manufacturers. Getting rid of the dog or moving house seem to be the easiest options.

I went to work at the bee farm for an hour and left the children with strict instructions to tidy their rooms and came back to find Amber building a house out of a cardboard box for one of her tiny toys. Complete with garden shed and Springwatch on the television set. Extremely well executed and all that but created more mess - I actually couldn't cross the landing.

I ought to try and achieve something today...