Well today Mum exceeded my wildest expectations with her tasty morsel of the day.
A Millionaire's Shortbread Dessert from M & S! A mere 425 calories - but hey! who's counting? Mum muttered something about it being out of date, but I didn't listen to that bit.

Apparently it was one of these 'Dine in for 2 for £10' deals.
There were two pudds in the packet and Kizzie and Mum just about managed one of them. Poor Dad weighed up the second in a brief glance and declined the challenge. Must admit the caramel toffee sauce was a bit sticky on the beak!


Today is Bubblewrap Appreciation Day and I must remember to tell Dad as I would appreciate a bit of Bubblewrap in my nest box. Now that would be comfy!
Love Sylvia xxx

There was ice covering the pond all day.  The fields and trees were still so bare and the sun shone brightly.
The north wind had dried up Dad's leaves and he raked and blew them into big piles in the ditch by the lane. The mischievious Rosecombs eyed the mounds with delight and made a mental note to rush over there and scrape and dig as soon as Dad was out of sight. Gordon & Sylvia xxx

We have two Hounds  - one is very big - Harvey, and the other is very small - Honey. Honey belongs to Kizzie and Harvey belongs to us all. They like following scents - especially where Mr Fox has been in the night.

We have several Buzzards that live nearby. Mr Buzz circles over Honey when he has the chance. We don't think he is sure what to make of her. She is only a bit bigger than a rabbit, and not as big as a Hare, so Kizzie picks her up when he looks down - just in case! We know when he is flying around from his "Wheeooo" and we do tend to keep out of his way if he gets near. Sometimes he lands in the fields and hops and lopes clumsily around after earthworms and bugs.  Gordon

All was quiet this morning - very, very quiet. We tiptoed out at first light and we were all very careful not to make a sound. Harry the Peacock roosts high in another Big Oak and he came down early as silent as a snowflake. We have Jackdaws in the old Christmas tree patch - a train of them, in fact. It was more like a Ghost Train than Waterloo there this morning. Dad said that Falcons like eating crows and pigeons. I expect they will be back though - they have their babies high up in the woody willows and clear off during the first week of July. Dad dresses up an old bird house in his High Vis jacket and we hang old CDs over the doors to try and stop them eating all our food. Aah-Haa - THIS year we will make some model Falcons and swing them from their trees. See how they like that!
Mum was walking back up from feeding Lois the Cow, as the Falcon Man arrived. He said that as it had rained during the night she may still be sitting in the tree and he pointed his transmitter towards where he thought she may be -  and got a strong signal! Mum came back to the yard and told us all about it and then suddenly Whoosh! Harvest cocked her head skywards and muttered "Faucon" and seconds later The Man and his Land Rover drove at top speed down the lane.

The bossy Rosecomb organised a game of football to cheer us all up in the afternoon. The All Blacks versus the rest of us. Harvest was our Goalie, Sylvia and I were Wingers, and Alice made the perfect Lineswoman! Gordon

What an exciting day today! As Dad was putting us to bed tonight he noticed a Beep-Beep noise coming from the lane. And there was a man with a sort of aerial in his hand pointing at the Big Oak. A very nice man, Dad said. But he had lost his Falcon. She was in our tree and he would have to leave her there all night. Well - as you can imagine, we were all a bit concerned about this as she had been giving him the slip since Sunday, and was obviously quite peckish by now! I think it was a transmitter, not a TV aerial and we all rushed into our boxes as quickly as we could. Gordon

This is Harvest. She is French, so she tells us, a Rouen. Apparently her descendants came over from France about 200 years ago - about the same time as we were made!  She says she is the French equivalent of the Aylesbury and sometimes she lapses into her native tongue, but I don't think she realises it. We think she looks like a jolly big Mallard! (But we don't say this, of course). Mum and Dad bought her to keep Joshua company. He was a little white call duck. Joshua came to us to keep Jemima company when Lucy was eaten by the The Fox (Lucy and Jemima were Aylesburys). In fact the ducks go way back to Charles and Diana who had four babies that flew away. The babies were called after Prince William as they were born on June 23rd 1982 – two days after William was born.They were Mallards though. Of a sort. Anyway Joshua is no longer with us and we have Alice. She is Harvest’s only friend as her Mummy and Sister are also no longer with us either. Harvest is very, very old and enjoys sitting in Kizzie’s old sandpit – which is full of water – not sand, obviously. She and Alice dibble and Dad says ducks make a mess. But as we only have two now, it is not so messy. Harvest is very kind and everyone likes her. She squints a bit out of one eye, but I don’t think she misses too much that goes on. If  The Sparrowhawk zooms over, she is the first to spot him and turns her head comically on one side and eyes him suspiciously.
Alice is the daughter of Josephine, and Geraldine was her sister. Alice and Geraldine were called after two people in The Vicar of Dibley. I haven’t actually watched this programme, but Mum says it is funny. Alice is quite comical because she stands very upright and runs along. We try copying her sometimes, but we never look quite the same. Love Sylvia xxx

I thought you might be interested to hear about Bird and Ellen. Bird is a fine white cockatiel. He loves Mum and hates Dad. Mum brought him home with her one day from work. He had been rescued by a vet in South East London. Ellen arrived about the same time. She was a rescue and couldn’t fly and had no feathers.We bought them a huge cage which Dad divided in two. At first they lived with Mum and Dad and Kizzie in their cottage and Bird used to sit on Mum’s head while she was on the computer. However he flew onto Dad’s head and bit his neck – quite hard I think from the gashes. So now they both live up the farm with us. Bird whistles “Even the Bad Times are Good” and Ellen shreeks. It is quite a good deterrent for would be intruders! Ellen is a nice green colour now and has a long tail. She likes apple and Bird likes bread. Love Sylvia xxx

Mum and Dad wake us up early on a Monday as they have to go to work to pay for our food. It is dark and chilly and I try to be very enthusiastic as they open our door, but often I am half asleep and have to get my bearings as I step out of the warm and
scan the yard for the tasty bits. Having spotted them, I run of course, and sample the delicacies on offer – usually a bit of apple pie from the Sunday dinner. Yum!

The Robins move like autumn leaves amongst us. They are difficult to spot in the half light and share our breakfast if we aren’t careful. They twitter and Bird sings his song. Mum whistles loudly. It is her theory that rats don’t like her noise and keep away. I have seen proof of this. They look positively terrified. Suits Mum though.

Today I might try and find a yummy bug or two. The ground is softer now and the rabbits are starting to dig holes. The mole has been busy too. What an exciting day ahead!  Gordon xxx

Mum and Dad and Kizzie have many foster children – Sebrights like us, Other Chickens, Harry the Peacock, Bird the Cockatiel, Ellen the Parakeet, Lois the Cow, Mickey the Cat, Harvest and Alice the Ducks, Harvey the Big Hound, Honey the Very Small Hound and lots more besides!

We have a lovely life and are lucky enough to roam freely all day. Dad makes sure that we are shut up in a loose box at night though, as Mr Fox does his rounds as regular as clockwork and checks that our door is closed properly. We hear him (although he thinks he is very quiet) and keep absolutely still until he has passed us by. I actually hold my breath and Sylvia says it makes my comb go a bit purple. It is such a relief when he slinks along to the next box.

I like investigating – Sylvia says I’m a bit nosey. But I like to study all things new and take a particular interest in wildlife and plants and food. Sylvia likes current affairs and food and she bothers about the welfare of our brothers and sisters. I keep telling her that they are more than capable of taking care of themselves, but she doesn’t take any notice of me.  Gordon