Saturday 6 August 2011

Coco settles in (or does she?)

smaller love sign for Charlotte
Summer holiday 
week 1 round up....


So, Cleggy comes home with a little chocolate brown Orpington - who is named Coco after the duckling who left home a few weeks ago. She is about 17 weeks old and, man, she is cute. She's also tame and really friendly - GB and Cleggy love her!



....not so the other ladies! Poor Coco, all innocence, sweetness and light, seeks out the ones who look like her and hops over to introduce herself...


The ladies (and honorary lady Gladys - who now clearly has ideas above her station) literally stand and stare - all beady eyed! You would think Gladys would be pleased - after all, with Muriel gone she is current bottom of the pecking order...












At first they just look - but before long the games begin and they give her a really hard time. So like high school! Coco resorts to standing on the highest rock she can find...
Since the whole pecking order thing is completely normal we let them get on with it for a couple of days  - although they don't let her in the coop at night (she roosted in a bush)  and on day three took it one step too far and pecked her head so badly we had no option but to remove her and let her recuperate with Ned for the time being. 

When Cleggy took the boys to get ANOTHER duck (long story) Anthea the kindly duck lady suggested taking Coco with them and lo and behold stitched up her head in the comfort of her kitchen.

She then spent a couple of days living in our kitchen...
where she chose the highest point she could reach (the bin) and happily purred and cheeped at us until she went back to Neds.

She is clearly too young and naive to live with our mean girls so we'll keep her separate until she toughens up a bit...will keep you posted!

Photos of new duck next post!

Meanwhile, on the crochet front  I've become obsessed with finishing my first blanket and find myself saying 'just one more row' on a regular basis. (Bee - I LOVE a competition more than most - but it's practically done, I can't lie) Just some small stitching on of flowers then I'm all over the ta daaaa.

On the boy behaviour front, after a hard line approach to the general moaning and groaning of boys, the bad cop/bad cop response has worked and harmony has been restored. Obviously relative harmony, but a much nicer place to be.

We were delighted to be invited to the evening reception of G Kisby's sister Vicki's wedding to Dave. They both looked beautiful and, (almost) as importantly, very happy! 

The boys scrubbed up well (no mean feat), here we are at the beginning of the evening...

and here they are, less scrubbed later on(watching a magician)!


Nelly and Gaz looked beautiful too - here's me fav picture of them looking glam




Granny has taken herself off to Prague for a week (so proud of you Mum - hope you are having a fab time)

...and our neighbours have popped up to The Lakes for a few days. Now, there are many things a neighbour could ask of you on leaving; could you water the plants? could you feed the cat? put some lights on?
But the words 'could you pick some sweet peas and help yourself to the ripe beans' is surely music to ones ears!

 Cath and Ian have the most delightful cottage garden, and the scent of sweet peas fills the air. We have a loose reciprocal arrangement whereby we provide a clutch of eggs and Ian shares his crop of vegetables. So far this summer we've enjoyed new potatoes (butter and salt, heaven) lots of beetroot (roasted with garlic) and green beans (gorgeous in a salad) 

I took the opportunity to take some photos...
and our kitchen smells divine


We've also used our lavender to make sugar this year (basically chuck some flowers into a jar of sugar and leave to infuse) and yesterday made some delicious lavender shortbread (recipe here) which went down very well with a cup of tea!


And last but not least - Nelly and G Kisby brought Mabel over to use Granny's garden suite for a night away we're calling a city break (mind over matter!)




She's such a delight and the boys all enjoy making her laugh - none more than Kenzie (currently known as Hugh, since he loves his dressing gown as much as Heffner!)
 Oh yes we do!
fee x

26 comments:

  1. Poor little hen - glad harmony is restored - makes life just that teeny bit easier doesnt it.

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  2. oor Coco - you can totally see in the 'Hi Guys' photo that the two gawking at her are just thinking 'yeah, we're gonna kick your head in, later'. Sounds like she's a bit too young and enthusiastic for them.

    The photos from the wedding are gorgeous - the one of you and your family is fantastic, makes me smile looking at you all so happy. Gorgeous family. Fab one of G Kisby and Nelly too, what a great photographer.

    Can't BE-LIEVE you've finished a blanket already... you only mastered crochet a few weeks ago! Are you some kind of machine?! Very jealous.

    So this here lavender sugar... Do you literally snip the flowers off the plant and chuck them in a jar of sugar? On the stem? How many flower stems would I need to use for an ordinary bag of sugar? I fancy doing that.

    Nicki xx

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  3. I LOVE YOUR WORLD FEE!!!! From chickens to well-scrubbed little men, to crochet fetishes and happy mums traveling the world, you bring SUNSHINE and JOY to my heart! I JUST LOVE MY blogger friends around the world!

    Enjoy! AND...I hope COCO gets TOUGH! She has quite a gaggle of girls to compete with! Anita

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  4. Lovely shortbread and flowers.

    We have introduced a new hen to our flock a few times. Isn't chicken behavior funny? I love hanging out near the coop and watching the new lady try to wiggle into chicken society.

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  5. Enjoy holiday darling....love from me...xxx..

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  6. Sweet one! Thank you for recommending me to a friend! Ahhhhh...what a sweet world it is when we make it that way! AND THE SAGA OF COCO CONTINUES! Keep us informed how she fairs!!! Anita

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  7. You must really be hooked (pun intended!) if your blanket is nearly finished. Looking forward to the great reveal. Poor little chicky getting picked on, but you know if you coddle it you will end up with a house chook!
    xXx Helen

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  8. Poor CoCo :(

    Loving your pics as always, I'm soooo gonna make some Lavender sugar as a friend of mine suggested making some cakes flavoured with Lavender for her as she doesn't have the time or inclanation. x

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  9. This post had me intrigued from start to finish fee and I love, love, love the happy family snap and the sweet peas....oh the sweet peas!

    Happy week Lovely You,

    xx Felicity

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  10. Poor Coco she would have to have a sweet sewn bed next to mine like the dogs...I do hope she gets her place. Boys do clean up well! Never a dull moment at your house I see. Sounds far to familiar. Glad to hear you are closing in on your crochet! Can't wait to see the ducks. Enjoy your week ahead...Smiles...Renee

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  11. Oh my goodness...those MEAN GIRLS make me soooo angry...bad girls they are...even Gladys didn't have a warm welcoming to COCO...same on you Gladys!

    What an adventure you have...never a moment to sit still when you have pets.
    Thank you for sharing your adventures. xoxoxo

    You have the sweeties family my friend...you guys look amazing!

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  12. Hello, Just discovered your blog :) The storey about your new addition coco made me giggle Lol x

    Leah x

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  13. Oh poor little Coco. Hope she gets to feel at home really soon. xx

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  14. Coco you poor love! don't consign your self to the dustbin just yet! As for the crochet tadaaa....feeling bitter and twisted and below target already, am off to watch Youtube crochet tutorial for umpteenth time!

    Sarah x

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  15. Oh Fee you do make me laugh, right...how many squares are in your blanket? mine needs about 60ish...I've done 22 so far (that's in one month), darn..drat, must get faster!!!

    Your chickens are hilarious, poor coco, hope she settles in soon, although it looks like she enjoyed being indoors, when I was a wee lass I had an indoor Rabbit called Barney, if he was on the sofa no one else had a look in or with the remote!!!

    Mabel is super cute and you 5 scrub up well, glad you had a great time.

    Luv Bee x x x x

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  16. Ooooh, you do take a good photo dear (said in the style of a granny please).
    Coco and Ned in harmony in the 'Ned and Breakfast'? A match made in heaven.
    Beautiful family photos
    Emily x

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  17. Lovely post- glamour, hens and gorgeous garden lovely lovely. Didn't like the violence though bad girls.

    Just thought you might like to know I've been on the phone today to a lovely hen and bee lady (finally getting more this week - ssh don't let my ladies know yet). She gave me a huge list of treatments I should be giving them and some really helpful tips. Thought Coco might appreciate this one in case you haven't heard of it. Something called scarper is good for cuts as it tastes gross so they won't go back for another peck. Also Gentian Purple paint it on and teh blood doesn't look red. Apparently they keep pecking where it's red and shiny. As my are run down and middle aged she said give them garlic in scrambled eggs to perk them up. Done and they liked that. Alfie dog getting more p'd off by the minute by them as they had hot porridge for brekkie yesterday too and he only gets what falls on the floor.

    X Hope Coco feels calmer and more ready to face the day.

    X Lisa X

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  18. Poor CoCo!
    Hens can sure be mean, much like girls i suppose :)

    But Mabel is a cutie!

    Hugs,
    Signe

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  19. lovely photos Fee - especially like the family shot - it looks nice and natural, those birds must keep you busy? hope you have a good week, Elaine xx

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  20. Ooh for a second I thought we may have seen Coco and Ned doing a lap around the garden together. I'm glad to see Coco has good taste (eyeing off your bag) Loving the family pics, your mum is super cute!! and I could just eat that youngest son of yours, he looks soooo cute sitting with his legs crossed watching the magician, and not forgetting little Mabel, she looks all giggles.
    xx Sandi

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  21. Well hellooooo! How are you Fee? Sorry I've been such a lousy blogging buddy lately. Life. I tell ya! It's so nice to take a moment and get the scoop on your life and what lovely things are going on! Congrats on the new chicken. She really is a beauty. Such a nice color. And those sweet peas in the vase?! I die. xoxo

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  22. Goodness, your hens! It's sounds like an episode of Eastenders. I am glad all is well now. I do appreciate you sharing the adventures.
    The baby is adorable. Thanks for your sweet comments on my blog.

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  23. Oh Fee, you're so lovely. x

    Currently have hormones coursing through my veins so am feeling a little emotional about poor Coco. Plus, you have weddings and babies ... it's all too much!

    Hx

    PS. Huge neighbour envy to boot!

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  24. What another fab read :) x I have no idea why my feed isn't updating ion your side thingy....I'm scratching my head!! Some others have said the same to me but then on other blogs it does update without problem. I really don't know....it has driven me nuts! *rips out hair* I only show my face on my blog!!! Because I am the size of a house!! What can I say..I love baking and I love cake too much to have a miserable life where I don't indulge in cake!!! Life's just too darn short......I've accepted the size of my arse lol!!!!

    Take care :)

    Jo xx

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  25. That is such an adorable family photo! Such good looking boys in your family!

    I can't believe you got more chickens! I'm so jealous! I tried telling my husband we needed some - he was very adamant that since we have no outbuildings or garage the chickens would not be coming in the house during the winter snow. I'm not sure that was exactly a 'no' on his part...right? :)

    Thank you so much for your kind words the other day. I've just been going through a lot lately and we're sort of isolated out here in Kentucky. I'm 3,000 miles from my entire family and everyone I've ever known. It'd be nice to be able to talk about some personal things on my blog and maybe meet some people on a personal level through it...just not too sure what is too personal to share... was that a total ramble or what? ♥

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I LOVE reading your comments!
fee x