Spring Is Definitely In The Air...

It was like switching on a light. My call ducks have been living in perfect fraternal harmony since I purchased two white drakes at the South of England Show last summer to keep my father-and-son pair company. But then, the warm weather kicked in a week or so ago and they have been awful! The larger white one (Puddle) picks on the smaller white one (Walter) because Walter keeps trying to attack John, one of the mallards, who in turn spends his time trying to attack me. Walter now has a Mohawk down his neck where the feathers either side have been chewed off and if I put them in the house together at night, even in the pitch black which is meant to be calming, all I can hear is thudding and banging like I'm tumble-drying rocks in the garden. Walter spent last night in a cat basket in the outside loo and I'm having to keep him in the run I use for the rabbits during the day. Oh dear.

I'm looking after some Bovans Brown chicks for my friend who will be taking them at the weekend, and they seem to be coping with the not entirely wholesome attentions from the cockerels, altho Simba had a bit of a shock when he put a morsel of tempting food by the run and the chicks all pecked his magnificent red comb through the wire, which I don't think was the reaction he was hoping for. They're very sweet though:

I put Hetty and Harriet in with Simba and his two hens, and Honey, the Rhode Island is being a complete cow to them and goes up in to the coop every so often just to terrorise them. Honestly!!

So, sigh, it's all rather hard work with the poultry at the moment, but the bees are behaving, and the plants aren't fighting, and actually the children are being remarkably pleasant.

Well some you win, some you lose.

New Things

The garden is underwater at the moment as we've been deluged thanks to some low pressure weather systems recently, but I have noticed that my crocuses have emerged which is early - presumably because of the mild weather so far this winter; we've only had a couple of days where the temperature's nudged below zero.

These are Crocus 'Gypsy Queen':

I have finished my Kate Davies First Footing socks and apart from a few furrowed brow moments with the heel flap, I'm really pleased with them:

I used Shetland Heritage yarn which was delightful to knit with, and the whole kit had been a Christmas present from Nicky so it was fun to do. I have quite big feet so used the pattern for the larger size up and actually they fit perfectly.

The desire to sow seeds and encourage spring to arrive is almost overwhelming, but I know from previous years that sowing too early just produces leggy spindly seedlings, but I have been ordering some packs. One batch is from Chilterns Seeds but I have just received my seeds from Higgledy Garden - a selection of Bee/Butterfly seeds at the bargain price of £10 for 10 packs, plus a few other goodies such as Cosmos 'Pied Piper' and some climbing nasturtiums. It was beautifully packaged:

So lovely!

I had a bit of a worry earlier in the week as my cockerel Emu, who had been suffering with a swollen foot before Christmas had a bit of a relapse. I spoke to the vet on the phone who advised me that the prognosis was not good, but once we were at the vets and he'd given Emu the once over, we decided to give him another course of antibiotics so I didn't have to deal with the awful feeling of leaving the vets with an empty basket, and he had his first dose last night when we got back so hopefully they'll get to work quickly.

It's probably time I washed the kitchen floor...

A Cat and some Owls

I'm feeling a bit like Spring might be on the way. The weather is really mild and new shoots are starting to swell on the branches, and the hazel catkins are bringing a welcome splash of lemon yellow to the hedgerows. I had a fantastic weekend at a fruit tree pruning course with the Brighton Permaculture Trust and have been practising my new-found knowledge on some unsuspecting apple trees! It's a good excuse to think about spring blossom and summer greenery.

On Monday we took charge of a friend's cat who needed a new home as he wasn't getting on with the others at her house, and he has settled in really well. He's a 7 year old called Oscar and is the most affectionate and chilled out cat I've ever met.

Scruff wasn't impressed but Oz has grown up with dogs and has not reacted negatively at all, so calm
was very quickly restored. They've both found room on the bed to share the warmth emanating from my electric blanket of an evening which makes getting in to bed a rather delicate affair as they both give me withering looks if I disturb them.

I've been knitting a dress based on the Kate Davies O w l s design - I've already knitted the jumper and it's such a great pattern I wanted to make a longer version of it. Knitting chum Nicky gave me lots and lots of double Aran yarn from a previous project and I made it in to this!

It's extremely warm which is perfect for my rather draughty, poorly heated cottage and I really enjoyed knitting it. I'm now on to Kate Davies' Hogmanay socks so I will post a pic of those when they're done.

I've not had much time for my art recently, something that I will remedy this weekend when I have some spare time. I wonder how much help the cat will be with that...