2021

Let me tell you, what a racket these hens make! Apparently chickens can recognize up to 100 individuals and in the case of our lot, this must include our car too! Each time we arrive home, they come running up towards the car and start screaming.

Have you heard or seen the first skein of geese yet? I did recently and it always makes me feel slightly melancholy. On the one hand it means that nature will be slowing down and the garden needs less maintenance and attention; and on the other hand it means I’ll be spending more time indoors. It also means that I can start studying again, which I always find a nice prospect and really look forward to.

No sooner have I introduced you to our flock of newly named chickens, than I’m going to complicate things again. You see, Bib has been nicknamed Bib Vicious for the time being as she is broody and one little mean, vicious hen!

I frequently say this, but what are chickens like? They never fail to surprise me, that’s for sure, even after all these years. The one with the rather unfortunate nickname of ‘Numpty’ (as mentioned above) is maybe not as dumb as we initially thought after all!

Last month I told you the sad news of how two of our fruit trees didn’t survive the harsh winter we had. Well, both have now been cut down, nothing left except a big, empty space. But they won’t have died in vain as the wood will be burned in our stove during the next winter.

Well... where do I start? ‘The Decibels’ (our new black chickens) and ‘The Club’ (Hester, Hetty, Helga and Hank) are slowly becoming friends.

Put your hands together and give a big welcome to ‘The Decibels’! Our 4 very posh new chickens. We’ve named them ‘The Decibels’ not because they make a lot of noise, but because the breed is called ‘Daisy Belle' and with my Dutch accent it sounded as though I was saying ‘decibel’. And, they make a lot of noise, too…

Not long after we lost Hannah (2nd in command) last month, our other white chicken fell ill too and we feared for her life, BUT she is fully recovered now and is back to her old self: off exploring the fields surrounding us!

At various points during January and February Stuart and Gregor had to come in because I couldn’t get out due to snow. Me and my husband live ½ mile off the main road and the single track path was completely impassable. But at some point you just have to get out, so us and the neighbour started digging our way out and I can tell you, shovelling snow for ½ mile is pretty good exercise!

Unfortunately this month’s blog is a little bit shorter than usual - blame my Open University studies! The two courses I am currently studying (Open University Level 2 ‘Cell Biology’ and ‘Biology of Survival’ ) have both kept me so busy the last few weeks that I haven’t had time (or the energy) to write a proper blog. Sorry!

As the last few days of 2020 draw to a close, I’m sure you’ll agree - what a dreadful year it has been for everyone! Scotland started the year off with heavy rainfall and localised flooding in February, followed closely by that virus.