Collecting Eggs

It’s our favourite daily ritual.

Each afternoon, Joss and I trudge down the field (correction: I trudge, Joss races) to see how many beautiful, brown eggs the hens have left us.  And they’re laying well.

Laying well and doing well.  Which is more than can be said for the cockerel.  Sadly, he met his demise last week.  We found him stone cold dead in the hen hut.

Truth to tell, I’m actually not that sorry.  In the short time he’d lived at Dixon Hill, he’d attacked me three times.  He was so protective of his harem, it was almost impossible to get near enough to feed or photograph them (the latter is important, you understand).

All that’s changed now he’s kicked the proverbial bucket.  The hens and I are becoming very good friends.  A friendship eased along by daily treats of stale bread.  And rewarded with dark, speckled eggs.

A Bit Chuffed

Feeling rather chuffed with myself.  One of my pictures (the one above) received a special mention in an Instagram photography challenge this week.  Which makes my face look rather like this smiley….

P.S.  Every time I use the word ‘chuffed' in a blog post, I get perplexed comments and e-mails from the other side of the pond.  So for those not versed in British slang, chuffed means very pleased or mildly thrilled.  Which I am.  Oh, yes indeedy….

Project Noah

Have you come across Project Noah yet?  I stumbled across it just a few days ago.

It’s billed as ‘a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere’.  

The idea is that people across the world post photographs of flora and fauna on the Project Noah website, thus creating a massive database that scientists can draw on for research purposes.  It’s also a great way of getting help with identifying anything you can’t put a name to.  Just post a picture and someone will have the answer.

I love the concept.  It’s another example of the way in which the internet enables everyone to matter.  Your observations and mine can become part of any number of scientific enquiries.   And it gives another valuable as well as fun purpose to exploring your local landscape.

Altered Images

Been spending far more hours than I care to admit of late turning my photos into artwork of another kind. 

Thought I’d share some of the results with you….

The Daffodils

Autumn may be my favourite season, but April is definitely my favourite month.

That may have something to do with my birthday landing plum in the middle of it!  It certainly has something to do with Easter; lambs in the fields; longer days; and waving goodbye to winter.

But, as much as anything, it’s down to the daffodils.  Exploding with pure, vibrant colour and such blatant cheeriness.  Celebrating spring with exuberance and abandon.  Making blue sky days seem perfect and cheering up grey days no end.

I missed them enormously when I was living in Arkansas.  Yes, there was the odd specimen, here and there.  But in England there are masses of them.  Everywhere!

That’s one of the simple things I love about this country.