Happy day

A picture of my smiling friend ...

and a long walk in the sleet with her and my big boy from afar.

A basket of flowers from my littlest princess ...

and a card enclosed in a card, which made me look back with a wry smile, and remember, and think, yes, it has all turned out all right (apart from the split infinitive).

(And the end of a big undertaking, all done and dusted for now.)

I hope that you had a happy day too, and can start the week with a feasibly small tick list.

Nearly wordless Wednesday: keeping watch

Intruders beware

Why do Scottie dogs always have a scarlet collar and an air of importance quite out of proportion to their size?

Who is really doing the taking?

(It was just too much being completely wordless for the second Wednesday running, she said, her head over-running with words all spilling out on to the desk. Three books on the go and an index to fit into under three pages were having an interesting effect on her brain. Did somebody mention barking?)

The waiting is over

Today has been a very special day.

Two little balls of fluff

We have been brooding and waiting for three long weeks ...

Brooding

I was on tenterhooks yesterday, constantly nipping out to check on the mother-to be.

And this morning I knew when I heard the squeals of joy from Princess Bunchy that the waiting was over.

Hatching

Our small miracle had happened - those little blue eggs had cracked open, out had come two tiny balls of fluff, and a third was just emerging. (If you look very carefully at the picture you can see it happening.)

Indignant

And someone else's beak is completely out of joint - she has been turned out of her home lock, stock and barrel until the little ones are big enough to be introduced to her.

Spring has sprung indeed.

Look at the pretty baa lamb

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Technical information: the fluffy white hen is a Silkie, a breed reputed to be the very best mothers. The indignant looking one is a Brown Speckled Sussex. They and the fertilized blue eggs came from Blue Egg Hens.

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Technical development: Pomona is now on Instagram - if you would like a picture postcard from me more often than I get round to blogging then you can find me @pomonaspics.

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