Surprise Easter Monday Chicks

I went out as usual this morning to do the goats, ducks and hens up at the field. We had about four weeks ago missed a little white bantam hen. She was a lovely little bird and I was sorry to realise she had gone, probably courtesy of the fox. Then about four days ago, I saw her on the veggie plot but couldn't catch her to put her back into the run. This morning as I was getting into the car, I saw a movement by a pile of wood next to the compost bins and there was less than day old grey chick. I went straight over and there were yellow, black and grey chicks and deep in the woodpile, the little white hen! 

I went back into the barn and got some hen food and put it on the ground in front of the woodpile and then collected a cat basket from the barn in which some of the hens lay. By the time I got back, Mum was sitting on the ground next to the food with all the chicks under her. I scooped her up with all the chicks in one brilliant move and popped them into the cat basket. Then I waited for a bit, just in case there were anymore chicks not with her. They are now all installed in a little house and run within the main rabbit run.  The photos are not brilliant, partly because I'm too fat to get down that far, but also because of the wire run netting, but better than nothing!

Here they are all enjoying themselves in the sun.

 

And here, three are already under Mum's wing going to sleep in their little house.

I had already hatched six blue eggs, eight weeks ago, and bought five day old Warren chicks in, on 24 March, and now I have seven others - ooh - plus two eggs which hadn't hatched so I've put them under Mum too. I shall be overrun with hens now and cockerels too I expect. But what a lovely surprise, after incubating and heated containers for the others, now their Mum will do all that for them and me with these new chicks.

Perennials, My Birthday and Mael Carhaix Lake

After a six day trip back to England, it's wonderful to be back home and amazing to see how much the garden has come on in that short time, with the wisteria already starting to put on a good show.

I went back for five reasons really.  The first, a dental appointment, as I am dentalphobic and my dentist in Cornwall treats me like a four year old which is just what I need.  The second, to have my car serviced and put through it's annual MOT, which it passed with flying colours thank goodness.  The third, to celebrate my birthday.  I shall not be able to sing the Beatles song When I'm Sixty Four anymore, as, unbelievably to me, I am now 64.  The fourth reason, was to see the children and my grandson Charlie.  The last reason was to fetch back in the trailer, huge vacuum packed bags of compost (compost in France is not the best), bedding plants for my terrace pots and those items of food that I can live without, but prefer not to, and they're cheaper to buy in England eg Horlicks, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Ginger Biscuits etc. etc.  I also came back with a new dishwasher as mine appears to have died and electrical goods are much more expensive here in France.

We went down to the sea at in the morning of my birthday and then had lunch at Sams right on the beach and I was treated to a lovely rib eye steak meal there.

Anyway, it's good to be back.  Libby and Charlie came back with me and will stay until Easter Sunday and we are all enjoying the incredibly hot weather.  April has been seriously sunny with temperatures way above what are expected for this time of year.  We had a lot of good weather days in March too, so I, as a sunworshipper, have been very happy.  I noticed today that the temperature in London is expected to reach 25 degrees centigrade, whereas the average temperature generally at this time there is 13 degrees centigrade.   On Monday, Charlie caught up with his three year old English friend who lives here and enjoyed playing the Memory Game with her and the Mums on the terrace in the sunshine.

Yesterday, we went off to buy lots of perennial plants to fill up my large border bed.  The couple advertising them on the expat website were very hospitable and we had coffee with them on a deck which spanned an enormous pond filled with koi and goldfish.  We then drove the couple of miles to have our picnic and spend the afternoon at Mael Carhaix lake.  It was a glorious afternoon with only three other families in the whole area, so lovely and peaceful while I took photographs of some delightful ducklings and read my book "A Parrot in The Pepper Tree", the sequel to "Driving Over Lemons", by Chris Stewart.  I recommend them both.

The ducklings and their Mums and Dads were being kept in order by a lone goose, who wasn't standing for any nonsense at all - it was very funny - but you had to be there.

The ajuga has really spread this year and has softened the edges of the big border.  The blue flowers are lovely against the purple foliage.

The only rotten bit of news this week is that Matthew, my oldest son, who went into Treliske hospital yesterday for a minor operation to remove two screws, was unable to go home at midday as planned as his hip wouldn't stop bleeding out.  He eventually had to stay overnight, with instructions to lie on the wound to put pressure on it - not very comfortable!  I've spoken to him this morning and the bleeding seems to have stopped, so after he's waited all morning to get some antibiotics he should be able to return home.  I am so glad I am no longer under the UK National Health System which compared to the French Health system seems a complete shambles of incompetency.

Chicks, churches, cattle and rocks

There was quite a stiff breeze this morning and I was worried about the chicks who had spent their first night out in the house in the rabbit run. I was relieved to find, when I lifted the lid to their house, that they all felt warm. The lid is well insulated with filled aluminium foil house insulation and obviously does its job well.

Having taken the chitted potates up to the field to be planted by my friend, I drove off in the Land Rover to Callac. The sun was now out and the temperature was rising quickly. It was the first time I’d driven the Land Rover since the snow came in November last year, and it seemed strange being so high up and being able to see over the hedges. It’s always difficult to start in the cold weather, but it finally spluttered into life and wasn’t a problem at all after that.

 

I was meeting someone of the expat website here, who was giving away classical CDs, and had arranged to meet her in the large car park in front of the church in Callac. I arrived early and went to the boulangerie to get a pain au raisin and a loaf of bread. The flowers by the bakers were so lovely.

I waited in the car park, for a green Toyota Yaris to arrive.  I was glad I'd taken my Book Club book to read as time was passing and still no sign of the car.  Twenty-five minutes after we should have met, I started to drive round the car park in case I'd missed the vendor, and I had.  Her green car was so dark I hadn't spotted it arriving as it looked almost black.  She handed over the CDs, loads of them and a couple of books.  They're mostly classical and I'll probably keep them for playing in the car.

We had met before in the same place when I'd answered an advert for books and recognised each other immediately.


On the way back I stopped at a couple of churches.  I love the spires here, which are usually very decorated and the bell towers too.  The first is the church at St Saveur and the second, at Mael Pestivien.

These lovely cattle were relaxing in the sunshine and I couldn't resist taking photos of them.

I think this one was saying a few words to me.

I drove past the barrage at Kerne Uhel and took several photos, but my favourite was this one with a rock in the water.  I also took this a little further along the road of rocks in a field.  The sunshine was making everything so beautiful.

Some of the rocks in the fields are so large that the farmers leave them in the ground and plough round them.  They are a little like icebergs with a lot that you can't see, below the surface.

Back in the village and I noticed how M&V have a lawn of beautiful yellow dandelions.  My rabbits would have a field day over there.  As it is, they make do with me picking loads of them each morning for them.

As I walked along the lane taking photographs, I started talking to P&C whose wallflowers have a wonderful scent which drifts over the wall to meet you.

We sat down in their garden chatting and drinking a lovely cool glass or two of Rosé.  It was so hot, and I was sitting at an angle to the sun.  The south facing side of my face is seriously red.

I came back home to compost filled empty blue terrace pots -  just waiting for something good to to planted in them.

Mothering Sunday, various plants and animals

It's Mothering Sunday today, and I had received two cards to open on the day from Libby and Matthew, before they each 'phoned to give me their good wishes.  I spent part of the morning with friends at Bon Repos, where there is a very small market and a café from which we could watch the world go by.  I love people watching!  It was chillier than I would have liked, but the coffee was hot and the company good. 

The warm weather of the last few weeks has started everything bursting into flower.  Some of these are in my garden, like the saxifrage, myosotis and wisteria below.

The blackthorn blossom is everywhere now, the pretty little white flowers which will become sloes in the Autumn/Fall.

It's great to see the vine leaves sprouting and makes me think of the sweet fruit I shall have later in the year.

The muscari, or grape hyacinth are in the lane along my Breton neighbour's verge and are the most gorgeous shade of blue.

I drove round the lanes yesterday afternoon and stopped to take a photo of these bullocks.  I wonder if my neck will get this wrinkled after I lose a lot of weight after my mini gastric bypass.

Daisy has still managed to keep her collar on and it doesn't seem to bother her at all now.  She's also still managing to stop me working on the laptop.

My three rabbits, Bert, Ruby and Boris enjoying freshly picked dandelions from the lane.

Soon the rabbits will be joined in their run, on a temporary basis by the chicks which have now reached nearly four weeks old.  I have five younger chicks with them in the heated container and it's getting a bit overcrowded now they're all growing so fast.  Now that the weather is warmer, I shall put them in a run of their own with a little house attached and they'll get used to being outside in safety, out of the reach of the cats.