While I was away....

I would love to say that the reason I haven't added to this blog for a while is because I have been too busy outside, sowing, planting, walking, cooking and generally doing all sorts of good rural stuff.  The sad fact is that I have been preparing for, undertaking and recuperating from the sort of business trip that I have to do to support that life style.  So what has been going on while I have been attending to Statistics, Skills, OR and consultancy type stuff?

• The pear and cherry are now in blossom, the quince has ever larger leaves and blossom buds coming through while the medlar leaf buds are slowly starting to unfurl.
• The pigeon couple in the eaves have hatched and nurtured a young pigeon (or feathered rat depending on your point of view).
• Poirot and Maigret have dispatched said young pigeon, by breaking out of the attic into the eaves of the house, catching it, dragging it back into the house and doing what cats do.....
• White has been laying an egg a day for the past 2 weeks - I must remind her that as a Light Sussex, she is allowed the odd day off!
• Black is starting to look happier about the world (she has been having a senior sulk), particularly now they have been given a bigger run as they have learnt to go into their coop at night.
• Spot has started to lay eggs - Poirot is currently trying to take the credit for this development as she found Spot out of the chicken run, went for her, and presumably frightened her into laying.  Spot can do 6 foot vertical jumps with a cat behind her.
• The peas and spinach that I sowed about 3 weeks ago have started to come through - the peas despite being walked over repeatedly by two cats.
• The broad beans are in flower.

I am now officially behind with sowing for the kitchen garden and have lost the chance to have the asparagus bed strimmed so that I can try to weed it to see where the new spears come up.  Over the next few days I hope to mix desk work with being out in the garden, taking advantage of the light evenings to put that right.

I will finish with a photo of the savage hunter that we harbour in the house - scourge of chickens and pigeons, who dreams of taking down a duck next!