Hens

 A couple of weeks ago our neighbours moved. They had lived there for over 30 years and been our neighbours for over 20. Our hens had been a shared enterprise. The original hens  - rescued battery - had lived in their garden but, with expansion in mind, we had jointly built a much larger enclosure in our, larger, garden and, from that point, had shared the expense and the produce of a series of flocks.
The current 8 - one from an earlier adoption and 7 bought at point of lay last year are laying between 3 and 6 eggs a day - the usual number being 4 or 5. Up until a couple of weeks ago we had been sharing these eggs with the neighbours but now we have them all to ourselves - a surfeit of eggs. Our preferred option is to enlist our neighbours into hen sharers but in the meantime we can call upon the old neighbours, who have only moved 300 yards away, to help out when necessary and it is not far to take them some of the produce.
This year the hens have had little freedom due to the increase in number and boldness of the local urban foxes. Foxes are spied in the garden most mornings and neighbours report them on their lawns or sunning themselves on shed roofs. They are not deterred by human presence and saunter around the garden looking healthy and brave. They are fine creatures but, having come across one with a dead chicken last year and remembering the aftermath of the wholesale slaughter of our whole flock a couple of years ago, I am not keen on their presence in the garden. The hens must stay in their run and cannot run free - I find that I am telling myself that I hope that they understand!

Yikes the stash!

A lovely day out in Bury St Edmunds with dear friends. On the journey home it is mentioned that a little yarn shop in their village - nowhere near Bury St Edmunds - is having a closing down sale with 50% off everything. I just had to pay it a visit the following day. A fantastic little shop filled to the brim with yarns of all descriptions - bags of sock, 4 ply, DK, chunky, baby, Noro, cotton - the piles were floor to ceiling shelf and additional piles deep. Where to start? I had parked just outside the shop and knew that I had only 30 minutes to make some decisions. The cottons beckoned - some King Cole Cottonsoft in white, then a pale turqouise. More bamboo cotton but not my favourite shade so that was left behind. Then some glorious lilac bamboo - and, seeing that I was showing an interest in cotton some bags came flying into the shop - a deep orange that could not be resisted. Some Katia candy yarn - a whole bag full would just be perfect for baby knitting and, turning round, those few balls of Snuggly would knit up quickly. Time was ticking by and I had 5 minutes left on my parking. The patterns! So many books, so much to investigate - one pattern book alone and the decision about the stash of yarn that had built up around my feet. At  half price how much would that come to? Just below 3 figures - just being an accurate term. Shall I go back another day, this time with a better plan in mind? Could I resist the Noro? What about all that sock yarn that was just at the side of the counter so not really investigated? The bins of real bargains outside? All the patterns and then the buttons and other haberdashery not even contemplated? I have started knitting with the 4 ply cotton and it is delightful - a change from the other work on needles at the moment - a green chunky Cowichan, a mohair log cabin, a bamboo baby blanket, the Advent calendar socks that I was going to knit 2 of a month from January ( didn't go to plan).
The stash has grown but it is beautiful.

A log cabin addiction

An unusual baby blanket for a baby girl.

I have just been loving knitting log cabin blankets and have yet another one on the needles but this is beginning to look like a serious addiction. I don't want to start anything else - apart from the Cowichan and the baby cardigan also on needles and I keep looking at the wool in the stash and wondering what will go together as another log cabin. In an attempt to cure myself I bought a new book of patterns for knitted afghan squares - and imagine my delight when I saw a sort of mini log cabin - a justification!! No, enough is enough and I intend to attack the stash and desist from further log cabins - a resoultion for August 1st instead of January 1st and well aware of how long New Year resolutions usually last.