RIP Parsley

That's Parsley the chook, not parsley the herb!

The Under Gardener reported on Tuesday when he came back from checking on the hens late in the afternoon that Parsley wasn't looking at all well. He had put her into a nice, warm straw nest to keep her cosy and comfortable, but it came as no surprise to find on Wednesday morning that she had died overnight.  The other hens were supremely uninterested in this and were loudly demanding to know where their breakfast was while we were contemplating the chooky corpse. So now we are down to three hens, who are still not laying all that well.  I think we will probably replace them with new hens when we get back from our winter jaunt to sunnier climes. We'll probably get some ducks as well.

The remaining hens all look fit and well and healthy. So much so that I became aware when I was bringing the washing in on Thursday that Kiev was marching around the orchard making very definite "Keep off, it's mine" noises, hotly pursued by Schnitzel making "It's good to share, give it to me" noises.  I went to investigate and found that Kiev was absolutely determined to keep whatever prize it was she had found, Schnitzel was equally determined that she should get a share (and Coriander was peacefully minding her own business, munching on a windfall apple). I, on the other hand, couldn't see what it was that Kiev was prizing so strongly.  I got closer - and found that she had, somewhat surprisingly to me at any rate, managed to catch a baby mouse and considered this to be a very delicious delicacy indeed!!  Marla the cat quite often catches baby mice and also considered them to be delicious delicacies. But he definitely doesn't share them with the hens so I think Kiev must have caught this one herself.  They do catch frogs in the spring (I know this because the frogs make an almighty racket when they get caught) but I have never seen them before with a mouse.

It was really quite cool last night.  In many places there was a ground frost.  In August!!!  I don't think we did get a frost. The zucchinis and runner beans are all looking quite perky this morning. But it was a close run thing.  It is, in my view, much much MUCH too early for frosts.  It's still summer, for goodness sake. Even if according to the Met Office tomorrow marks the start of autumn.

On the other hand, it's a beautiful summery day today.  Still strangely cool, though for the time of year

Look at the colour of the sky!