Since my last blog the months tumbled down towards Autumn at incredible speed. April, May, June - still in our winter gear, then a brief sunshine experience in July and August and we are back in our jumpers and boots.
I love Autumn, the release of Mother Earth, her leaves, no longer needed, carpeting the ground. I love the soft sunshine, orange in its essence. And also the fact that we are 'allowed' to stay in every now and then, lock the doors and dream of the hyper sociable time of Summer.
So what has been happening here at Nettle Garden? Well, we lost one of our hens to Mr Fox, who managed to rip the chicken wire of the run. Somehow, the other two hens and the cockerel survived. So I reasoned that they might as well spend their days completely free range. At least they have a half a chance of escaping if they can hide up a tree.
First they took over the vegetable patch. Then the herbs got beating. The path and patio became constantly covered in 💩💩💩. And then the cockerel discovered the hens in the neighbours' garden.
Disaster. The unfaithful bird spends most of his time trying (and succeeding) to break into the next door garden, risking his life by marching up and across the drive. The delivery drivers speeding down the lane are kept firmly on their toes. The neighbouring hens are largely ignoring the feathered Casanova, as are his own wives when he comes back home every now and then. Hens scorned etc etc.
He returns to them a few times during the day and immediately takes responsibility for foraging and showing them where to sunbathe and which patch of the flowerbed is best for a messy dust bath.
So today the neighbours and I made a decision. We let him be. Let him wander. When the evening comes, the exciting, unwed hens will get locked in as usual and he won't be invited to join them. Lock him out. Let him figure out where his coop is.
We are not sure that it will work but for us it means not having to corral him constantly from their garden to ours. Maybe he will just run two households...
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