When Chickens Go Bad

Do you remember that shot in Jurassic Park where the velociraptor is looking through the window and it exhales and the breath steams up the window a bit . . . . the exact same thing happened this morning with one of my hens. I wish I had been quicker with the camera so that you could see. Ok, so she doesn't hold the same menace as a velociraptor but she tried real hard.The hens were out this morning. I must not have wired the door to the chicken run tightly enough. If the door to the run isn't wired well, Polly our resident hound will push her way in to the run to see if there are any good kitchen scraps to be had. The hens then have a means of escape and will roam the place. Free range hens can wreck havoc on a garden so I don't let them be out of their run for long. This particular lot of hens are very tame. If they see me, they'll come running. One can just image them saying "Oh, there she is!" They will then stand by my feet (in what I take to be adoration). All I have to do is to walk into the run and they will follow. Any that fail to follow me can just be picked up later and tossed in. I don't have to chase these birds or trick or bribe them into the run. It's great! All chickens should behave like this.
As the days are growing longer the hens have gone into high egg production. I have given all I can to my neighbours and still have this bounty remaining. Brioche takes seven eggs . . . . . I can use a dozen egg whites in an Angel food cake . . . . custard . .. . mayonnaise. I'll have eight more eggs tomorrow. I may pickle some.

Here is what else is in the garden this fine spring morning: PeriwinkleMy favourite daffodils are blooming near the mailbox. They are my favourites as they are the most beautiful and delicate shade of yellow.A freshly mowed lawn - the barrow of clippings still to go into the chicken run. The lawn looks good from this angle. Another view shows the scars left by the visiting moles. A little lawn seed should fix this just fine. ForsythiaMy lovely rose var Elizabeth has sprouted leaves.
Parsley is hardy! It self-seeds in the gravel on the south side of the house. It's the extra tasty Italian flat leaf variety so we leave it alone. On a sad note, a pot of rosemary didn't make it through the winter. It is brown and withered in its pot. It was a couple of years old too. I guess I'll need a new plant.

So, that is what is going on in the garden this fine spring morning. I guess I'll get another cup of tea and go "do some stuff". See ya later!