Little Things

These leeks were left to go to seed
simply because I like their seed heads
...  so do the bees.

The large white hen,
Lucy, has begun laying eggs.
The other hens are a little younger
but they will begin soon.
Boiled egg and soldiers for tea.

Even the old hen's ruffled feathers have been smoothed
and she has stopped strutting around,
finally conceding that
she likes their company.
For some reason, only Lucy is allowed
to join her in the large hen house at night time.
It is a snug fit for the other five
in the slightly smaller house,
luckily, Shaggy is a small bird,
so she only counts as a half!

Beautiful Do-Do (pronounced Door-Door),
the former Leonie,
is the one who courts the camera.
She is forever tossing her beautiful, golden 'mane'
and popping up whenever I have the camera with me.
Frankie is the quietest, she lurks in darker places
until we leave.

This hen is Queen Mab.
She may not be the prettiest to look at,
but she has the sweetest nature 
and she's not afraid to tell Toby Too when he is getting too close.
George thinks she looks like a hoodie.

We spent ages clearing up Owl Wood before the big party,
we knew that lots of children would want
to play in there.
They did, and they had a great time.
No children were eaten by bears
this time.

Most fine days we manage to have some playtime
with Frankie and Harry.
Sometimes we are armed with swords
as we search for trolls,
often 
we play hide and seek.

Harry is amazing, he can hide himself away very successfully.
He has learnt to melt into the woodland
and
we can rarely find him.

Francesca, however, hasn't quite grasped the concept of hiding.
Here is Grandpa counting to twenty,
while Frankie hides...
She can't see him,
so 
he can't see her.

She giggles like mad when found!

At the end of a tiring play session
it's nice to be able to clamber onto your horse
for a gentle hack.
 This is Galahad
he belongs to Harry
but it is Frankie who loves him.
He is the perfect steed
and keeps her safe 
as she watches the hens scratch around.

There are so many little things which make me happy.
The honeysuckle is in its' second bloom
and a little tired-looking now,
the scent is still wonderful though.

This ugly/lovely passion flower is another one.
We planted it last year and it seems really happy,
we have had a summer of blooms 
and there are many more still to come.

I hope you have a happy weekend ahead of you.
x