Compounding errors?

First I bought six Minorca hens on the assumption that they might lay better than the ancient old girls who were churning out two or three eggs a day, given they were
1 Bred to lay
2 Considerably more youthful than the old girls

It was okay in theory.

Sold the old girls and the bitsa rooster the neighbours so generously gave us (hmmm) too - silly move should have taken an axe to the bitsa rooster and kept the old girls as the new mob lay about one egg every two days. Okay they are moulting but really they aren't going to win any awards...

As the hens were a sad disappointment it was of course perfectly logical *cough* to buy a rooster (what, pay money for a rooster, the countryside is littered with them! ) so here's Rudi, purebred Minorca and I had to bid a little bit to see off the opposition on Trademe.

He was quite impressed with his new wives and looked happy enough in his house.

Except at 5am he started crowing, and it sounded very loud! It was - given he had flown the coop and was under our bedroom window.

He didn't think going home was a good plan either - little bathplug.

Eventually one rooster got caught and had a wing clipped. He's been a little better behaved since and doesn't start crowing until 6.30am which is a little more civilised.

It's raining

Which is all good. There hasn't been a lot of rain in the last month so it won't go astray.

One of the truly nice features of our current house is something we didn't know about until we had moved in.

In the master bedroom the sound of the rain on the roof is louder than usual - hard to describe - the sound of rain falling on an iron roof transmitted through the timber ceiling lining that someone saw fit to put in that room is different somehow.

It is one of the most comforting sounds I can think of - the sound of rain on a roof when tucked cosily into bed under a feather and down duvet (between Egyptian Cotton sheets of course)

Bliss.

Making sad decisions

Despite corrective hoof trimming little Annie's legs hadn't improved and she was showing signs of being in pain. Surgery wasn't likely to be more than partially successful.

Too little too late really. If she had had treatment within the first week of her birth the outlook may have been different. Unfortunately that was beyond our control as we didn't get her until she was six weeks old.



Therefore we made the decision to put her down last week. She was a sweet little girl to the last.

Not boasting

Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Test

Homepaddock made me do it...

I do wonder if IQ's tests are getting more generous (the way womans clothes sizes are).

Disappointing...

I feel oddly let down - I suppose I expected more.

At the end of February we got a letter from Rodney Hide's office saying they would look into the issue of the ditch at the end of the driveway (which ain't gone anywhere by the way)

Today we get a letter from the man himself saying he doesn't think it is appropriate that he interefere in this matter. He suggests we need a lawyer and *helpfully* provides the address of the CAB so we can consult their free lawyer.

I am left scratching my head and wondering what has gone on in the meantime. Have the council told him something they aren't sharing with us (and if so would it not be better to tell us what they said so if it is so we can comment on the validity of it) or has he (and his office) really done nothing.

Either way he has dropped in my estimation.