:: big egg ::

 Phoebe came in from collecting the eggs the other day with wonderment and lots of giggles...

there was definitely something different with one of the eggs...

L to R: bantam egg, regular hen's egg, 'whopper' egg

so she set out to see just how much different...

 Phoebe loves to bake and knows perfectly well that an average hen's egg will weigh approximately 60gm...after a bit of thinking she worked out that this beauty is more than half as big again...

 it was agreed that she would have it sunny-side up for her breakfast and indeed it was a DOUBLE YOLKER!

and a breakfast enjoyed at least one and a half times as much as usual, maybe even twice as much :)

:: training Olive ::

 meet Phoebe's dog, Olive - a Shih-Tzu - whom Phoebe loves and adores and also has the unenviable task (since she is her mistress!) of training!

 the weekend before last we had beautiful weather and some friends come to stay, one of whom is an expert dog-trainer!

 Since Olive has huge potential for training (read: needs lots more training, since she is still a puppy) it was agreed a lesson was in order...

 Phoebe learnt a new technique for letting Olive know a)who's in charge and b)I'm not happy with that behaviour, Olive

 There was also the method of using a stick (not as any form of punishment!!) as an extension of the trainer's arm, allowing control over the dog at a greater distance - eg - commanding 'sit' and 'stay' and being able to walk further away from Olive, while she thinks Phoebe is right next to her - the stick is part of the trainer = genius.

soon Olive was trotting along pretty happily on the lead, much to the delight of us all :).  Thank you so much, John - much appreciated.

:: Spring arrivals ::

poached-egg daffodils

 When, after months and months of literally endless (seeming!) rainy days, the SUN finally graces us with it's presence, well, what will we be doing?  Well, not spending very much time inside and definitely not much time in front of a screen.  With so much raw beauty to feast our eyes on such as these 'poached egg daffodils' (my name for them!) I have been filling up on the wonder of our surroundings. As well, we have many, many tasks to do in the garden, the soil of which is now finally workable and all those garden beds we've just had to leave - we are beginning to plant out.  What a relief!

Sweet Pekin duckling

We have welcomed two new creatures to our farmlet -this young duckling was needing a home - so Phoebe who has been longing for her white ducks was nodding her head very vigorously when there was the suggestion that we might like him.  It came to us in a box labelled "Stew Steak" - so I thought we could call it 'Stu' - but, not knowing whether it is in fact a he or a she, we will have to wait - not holding out on the name, though as Phoebe says 'NO'.

'Shirley' being bottle-fed - 3 x a day!

This young female kid was sadly orphaned and gratefully received by Phoebe who has mostly been enjoying bottle-feeding her the rich, raw cow's milk we have been getting from the lovely Dexter cow we've been milking, 'Lady'. Coming to us at just 10 days old, Shirley needed 3 bottles of milk a day and lots of loves and cuddles - she seems very attached to Phoebe.

What has Spring been bringing you?