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Tuesday 26 October 2021

Button, hens, garden

 


Some more photos taken earlier this month.  There is still a bit of colour in the garden with late flowering perennials and shrubs.  It's been very mild and in the sheltered spots some plants more associated with summer have kept on going too.  Others, sadly, got blasted by the salted wind and won't come back till next Spring. Ah well that's Autumn....

Most of the above (apart from the Hebe and NZ Cabbage plant) have been battered into submission by the wind now.

Asters made a good show and kept on going as they have been quite sheltered.


This shrub mallow is also still doing well at the end of October.


Achillea merging with the lichens on the old stone dyke


And one or two bees still foraging.....


Lots of berries to feed birds (and mice!)


And this autumn flowering potentilla glowing in the late afternoon sun....


On blustery days the hens can now be found among the rosa rugosa in the shrubbery at the back of the house.  Just a short dash from their henny house.


Though on sunny days they venture round the front.  Button wisely stays above ground level when they are around to avoid pecky beaks!


This is Flumffer, an elderly hen.  In the summer she badly injured her leg and just generally flumffed around in and near the door of the hen house, using her wings for balance.  She carried on eating and drinking, and enjoyed basking in the sun so I just kept a watching brief.  Now she's mostly fully recovered but with a slight limp.  However the other hens have cast her out of the flock and are absolutely horrid to her if she tries to join them.  I'm at a loss what to do, but for now I just keep an eye on her and makes sure she gets access to food and water and returns safely to the henny house at night.


I've made her a nest box above the ground so she's reasonably safe from the others and she seems happy to roost here at night.


As for Madam Button, when the weather is fine she's happy to sit outdoors, or on the doorstep - thereby being both in and out at the same time!


\Or even being proper outdoors with a spot of hunting for mice in the hen house....


On blustery days she just sleeps her way through it all! (Now I'm retired I may be joining her this Autumn!)





4 comments:

  1. Thanks for these lovely photos of the flowers, the hens, and Button. She has life. Nice to know that now you're retired, you can indulge in naps too. I'm retired too and have added a cat to the household. Miss Kitty is a petite ginger cat that I rescued from grounds of the local coffee shop, where she would come for treats from the patrons. My top cat, Flash, is grudgingly learning to accept her!

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    1. Oh you were so kind to adopt Miss Kitty! I love ginger cats (shh don't tell Button). I hope Flash is being kind to her too.

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  2. Button has the right idea. Keep out of their way, doze in the sun outside and otherwise curl up inside.

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