I went out to collect some eggs in the late afternoon only to find the sitting hen had gotten off her nest. I was terribly disappointed until I heard a faint “cheep, cheep” and discovered mum and four newly hatched chicks behind the hen house. I quickly scooped up the babies and transported them to a closed run. Mum was squeaking and rightly furious, thinking that I had stolen her chicks. I ran back to fetch mum, who flapped and pecked me as I ran to reunite her with the fluffy balls of feathers. Mum and four chicks are now safely in their new home with a bowl of chick crumbs and a water drinker. Phewww! Photos tomorrow when mum trusts me again.

We eat broccoli salad with a vinaigrette every day and I froze two bags full last night. I was running out of ideas when Jeremy suggested a broccoli kugel. It’s veggan ie with Gables eggs, sautéed onion, some brewers yeast, seasoning and a couple of spoons of plain flour, several spoons of mayonnaise and a lot of cooked and chopped broccoli. Mix all together and bake in a well greased dish

Three of us set out across the fields in cool weather and with the nettles and cow parsley at waist height. I had covered up well and put on the crochet jumper and cowl that I made recently. It’s not the most glamorous creation but it’s all my own work!

As we walked we discussed the Lady Katharine Dyer monument inside St Denys Church, Colmworth. On the Sir William Dyer’s tomb is inscribed the epitaph to her husband that the young widow wrote in 1641. It is the first documented poem by and English woman. This is a typed version below.

Also on the monument there are reliefs of seven of the Dyer children, four grown up sons and three grown up daughters. Lady Dyer is shown holding her two babes in arms. The three girls are crying.

They are crying because the four brothers took opposing sides in the English civil war (as can be seen by their costumes).

The family were royalists but two of the brothers followed Cromwell who overthrew the monarchy. Oliver Cromwell as born a score of miles from Colmworth in Huntingdon in 1599. How terrible for mother and sisters to have boys on opposite sides of a civil war.

Stuccodor. Well done!

While grandpa prepares a veggie box for her to take back to London.