No duck eggs

And the ducks appear to have stopped laying . Or something is taking the eggs . Or they are laying somewhere else .













It could be hooded crows , so we have put up some deterrent to try and stop them going into the hen house to take eggs

It could be stoats or rats taking eggs . So we have rat traps. And found this. So this one isnt going to take any more eggs ( if it ever was) .

Ducks are not renowned for their intelligence.

Question - which is more intelligent , a duck or a carrot

Answer - A Carrot 

 We moved them to their new home in October and then gradually gave them a bit more space as they seemed to have got the hang of laying eggs in the  duck houses.

But they have forgotten ( or something) . We have found an egg in the pond and one laid on the bank.

So its back to plan A , and restrict them  so that they can 'remember' where the are supposed to lay their eggs

now you see it , now you dont, now you do.

Storm Henry  brought a tree down.

and the next Easterly storm blew it back up

and then the next one has blown it down again . The roots are more exposed this time. A copl dmore storms and it will come out all by itself !

Now you see it, now you dont

Storm Henry   brought a tree down  -  This one

 So I went out with the intention of starting to chop it down

 And its gone . Nothing to do with me .  And I don't think people would steal a tree. After all there are houses, cars bikes and sheds left unlocked, so there is no point going after a tree !

Some more exploration :

The tree is here !. restored  ! resurrected !

The roots are exposed though

 So we think its was blown down by a westerly gale ( Storm Henry ) and then been blown back up by a strong Easterly.

But its going to have to come out - next time it may bring down the wall   and Ive got enough walls to rebuild to see me through the spring ( and probably most of the summer)

Grit

Hens need grit - as explained here .

 

 

Spray, at a distance

a wave or few

One of our excess cockerels went to a neighbour , who said the gizzard was full and the birds needed more grit.  Obvious really - there is a lot of mud here at the moment and the hens will be getting enough of that but anything insoluble will probably be washed away .
And our neighbour recommended a spot that was ideal for collecting grit.
So early one morning , we went with some buckets
Its a bit windy ,so we took a few other pictures as well
































 And some grit for the hens

Storm Henry

If there was anything that could be blown away, it has probably already gone. But Storm Henry came ( and went )  and solved some of my heating problems for next year




















and it didnt bring any of the wall down

Red Sky in the morning

Red Sky  in the morning

And a bit later

 and a bit later still , with a bit of snow and a view

 But then the wind  got up a bit ( Storm Gertrude , For what its worth)

And we have horizontal hail here

The Sun is back !

the sun goes behind the hill in the middle of december , so we get no direct sunlight on the house  until it reappears. 2015 was so wet and miserable that we didn't notice. And it came back on the  25th  January  in 2014  .

We can track it as it moved round to the West












And it hits the house as well

and it brightens up the inside of the house




And this time the sheep have noticed as well . The sun just catches the northern bit of the field

BEFORE 

AFTER