They say show day marks a change in the seasons, with the passing of the show the nights gradually draw in and there is a noticeable chill in the early evening sun. The children go back and the long days of summer become distant memories.

Our hens have been settling in well. The happy farmer sent for a variety of breeds and we have temporarily placed them in the chicken run in the field behind the garden.

Last week we loaded Charlie’s chicks into a cage on the back of the quad bike and took them to their new home in the happy farmer’s newly established hedgerow beside the burn. They will not come into lay until next spring, so for the time being we have placed them in grub rich pastures where hopefully they will claw away to their hearts content, digging at the ground, weeding the happy farmer’s hedge as they go. The hedgerow is fenced on both sides to stop the livestock having a hearty chew, a week with the sheep having access to it and the hedge row would be no more. We placed a trough for the chicks and one of the happy farmer’s wigwam style shelters for them to roost in at night.

Charlie mean while has long since abandoned the chicks and is back to her happy hunting grounds of the farmer’s wife’s flower beds. She struts around the farmyard during the day, and roosts in the fuschia bush at night. She is a regular visitor to the cottages and has become increasingly tame, taking it upon herself to venture into the farmhouse if the door is left open for too long. This morning the happy farmer was greeted by the dog sleeping on her chair in the kitchen with Charlie perched up beside her. If it is a sunny day Charlie will roost on the bench at the front of the farmhouse, even being brave enough to venture onto the happy farmer’s lap if he has stopped for a coffee break. The happy farmer grins and bears it with little choice, Charlie’s popularity is growing by the day, as is his patience.

Until next time…..