The little duckling died today. When Jeremy went out to see the birds this afternoon the duckling had become entangled in mother hen’s feathers and, although warm, was no longer breathing. Jeremy buried the little creature and mother hen emerged from the hen house to join the flock. However she is now sitting forlornly in the nest box. Risking life and limb, I entered the goose house and stole two eggs to put under mother hen. Let’s see what happens.

As I walked back towards the house, Mabel appeared with a dead rabbit dangling from her clenched teeth. Nature, eh?

A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk and a couple of occasional walkers – lovely to see them. One little chap is hiding behind his grandma- camera shy.

Nigel is in a crazy mood this morning and after his breakfast he bounded up the tall tree by the kitchen door, no doubt hoping to catch the bird that was perched in the topmost branches.

Up

And up

And up

And up

and crack

And hurtling down onto the laurel hedge below

No harm done to cat or bird!

Mum gives Olga some instructions for their lunch guests tomorrow

My nephew (one of mum’s grandsons) got the shopping earlier.

Mum still sitting on six more eggs but none are cracking. Click below for the sweetest duckling….

I went into the field this morning, bottle in hand, and called, “Lamb”. No response. So I walked across the field towards his mother and twin sister. Then I spied him on the wrong side of the wooden fence – where the grass is greener and lusher, of course. He had crawled under the gate but managed to wriggle back to drink from his bottle.

I went back to the trailer,where we had collected some tree thinnings, and carried two lengths over to the gate to try and block the gap. I will secure it later when I am more awake!

I went to put all the birds away for the night and decided to look at sitting Bantie (she is sitting on duck eggs and NOT hens eggs). I lifted up the flap of the nest box and gave her a stroke on her soft, feathery back and noticed a broken egg in front of her. I lifted her up and …..

Just then Jeremy arrived home and came to take a look at the pretty, yellow duckling.

Country foxes, unlike their urban counterparts, keep a low profile. Likewise the bird life. In the countryside birds are wary and fly off if I approach but in town I can walk next to a blackbird or a raven and they stay their ground. Today son is out in London with granddaughter visiting HMS Belfast

They made the acquaintance and shared their lunch with an urban starling (a bird I hardly ever see at The Gables).