Synchronized Pecking

My chickens were out in full force during the first few sunny days of Spring. Then the cold came back with rain, frost, and muck everywhere I stepped. But today the sunshine reappeared with very light breezes and so the feathered friends that live here were again out sunning themselves with wings akimbo, looking divinely content. In the meantime, our baby lambs have been moved to a faraway paddock that is covered in luscious vegetation for their mothers, ensuring plenty of fresh milk for the little ones. So, it was all quiet on the western front for most of the day. Though watching the chooks with a special mate next to them or pal mirroring them, shadowing them, makes me realize how connected we all are to each other. But I was busy with paperwork I had to finish for a particular project and I couldn’t stop until I was finished. At the same time, I was preparing a new recipe I never made before with a piece of choice beef I bought last week. So, I was getting up and down like a yoyo but I managed to finish both tasks in the end, though each took twice as long as I’d intended. There are some lovely shrubs too that I noticed the day I photographed the chickens and I will include some of these in my collection to go with this blog. And although many daffodils have finally opened, they are impossible to get a good shot of in the breeze so I’ve just included a couple of vases filled with some of them. They seem to cheer up every dark corner with that exquisite yellow and just as gorgeous form. This day was so pleasant. There was no wind in the morning but it sure picked up to replace some of the sunshine with a bit of bluster. We were all content anyway in the sheltered areas, all of us were clucking away. Some of my little ones posed for me, all except the only chick that survived so far. Every time I see her, she runs away, the moment she sees my black phone camera poised in her direction. I couldn’t even get her and her hen mama in the same frame. She is so fast as she rushes in the opposite direction to wherever I happen to be. Such is life in early Spring at the rather messy House of Cluck-Cluck. John is aching to mow. But every time he starts to get the mower out, the rain appears and he’s thwarted yet again. Men are so different. I’d never want to mow if I didn’t have to. He actually looks forward to it. But he does get results and he has such a way with design here, even though I am his backup person and go around and clean up his planting areas after he weeds. It’s like our fridge. He can be standing in front of what he’s looking for and ask me where it is. Same for weeding. He cuts down some of them, which I pull to remove them from sight and he leaves lots of brown crunchy ones on full display. Then I manicure the area. Ah. Perfection follows. But I love the way he does so many things that I can’t or don’t do. So, I’d better take my judge’s robes off since my way of doing everything is quite suspect also. I hate reading manuals. They’re dull. So, I pretend I know what I’m doing and usually it works well enough. But he gets stuck on the small stuff while I’m romping through the end of the process wondering where he is. I’m sure somebody understands this. Men and women go about things very differently. Sometimes the contrasts are quite hilarious. Let’s leave it there. Enjoy the random collection of shots. The natural beauty of the scene and the antics of the chickens mean so much to me. Hope you enjoy them too. And those smashing daffodils aren’t so bad either.