Not a peep

Yesterday was 'hatching day' but no sign of the little blighters. Lucy has been a dutiful Mum this far, let's hope that she can pull it off. Today there was one egg in her ark which had cracked but was full of grey slurry - I couldn't bring myself to investigate it too far. Hope the others may yet be okay but I'm not hopeful. I rang a poultry expert who said I should pick then up really carefully and listen to see if I could hear anything - but to be very careful in case they exploded! Needless to say I did put them to my ear but didn't know what I was listening out for. I think we will give her one more day - mainly to placate Georgia who is distraught - and then chuck them away. I have now caught the bug and really fancy having another go, but we will have to find someone else to give us some eggs.
Meanwhile Humbug has joined the broody club and sits clucking pointlessly all day long in the main hen house, so we will give her a turn I think and hope that Lucy can be persuaded back into mainstream life! And maybe even entice her into laying an egg!!!?

The realities of such a remote home were brought home to me today when my car started screeching at me, it's the clutch and the garage advised me not to drive it until it can be fixed, so I had to call on friends to collect the children from school etc. It was actually not too bad, like a Tuesday when I don't have to leave the house all day, but I didn't manage to get anything much done in the garden - despite a very long to-do list, as the weather at the moment is pretty shocking - April showers in May and very strong winds all the time. I have plans to re-arrange Georgia's bit of the garden and build her some raised beds around the Wendy House, perhaps smaller than her existing one so that it isn't so daunting, she seems positive about that idea, so we'll have to look at it this weekend.

Also on the kids front, Stan has started to take a few steps between objects. Georgia can entice him to go furthest by keeping his push-along trolley just out of reach. He is quite a cheeky character and has established some other 'trying' activities to add to his garden havoc - there is kitchen drawer havoc, undersink cupboard havoc and messingupmybrotherstraintrack havoc! Oh and finally 'look at me climbing the stairs really fast and then standing really close to the edge with no bannister' havoc!