It's mid-winter but a perfectly clear and warm day today, sun shining brightly and all my girls are contentedly scratching in the garden, silently being watched by Artemis, who has quite a time keeping them all together where he can see them. Kiep, for one, was obscured by the Asparagus Fern, much to his consternation.
I surveyed my garden. Oh my, no colour and lots of empty patches - 12 chickens are wreaking total havoc, and I don't know HOW they are capable of up-rooting and destroying large areas of Hen & Chicks - there's nothing left of the above plant, just a few roots... The Asparagus Fern is one of the few plants they seem to leave alone. And, of course, the bigger shrubs.
One thing my girls love is grazing, on the lawn. Which is now yellow and dried out, so the next best thing is anything tender growing in the garden.
Luckily the hydrangeas also escape their attention and these are now displaying the last of their faded flowers, which I picked this morning, first for the vase and then, later, for drying.
Surprisingly enough, not-withstanding the cold, I've still been getting plenty of eggs, 8 or 9 every day from 11 hens, one of them who is broody and walks around disgustedly clucking at the lack of eggs in her nest.
And I think, not only is the garden depleted of all flowers, but also all insects! The chooks seem to spend a lot of time on the patio,or maybe they're just patio-lovers or like to be close to me when I sit outside having a cup of coffee!
Artemis stepping out
And the dry, dusty winter is also taking it's toll on the Silkies - all of them are are more brown than white. Come spring, time to give the girls a bath!
Megs having a drink at one of the bird baths
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