Jamie has been away and Louise has been looking after us. We fooled her and laid an egg outside. Now Jamie is wondering if we are doing this regularly, as there aren't many eggs being laid in our house! ( We're not saying)

Anyway last Tuesday Jamie had fed us and we were helping her lift some potatoes and she fell over and was groaning quite a bit. When we next saw her she had a big white thing on her arm, and Gloria- Rose was very quiet for a couple of days too.We believe she got hit by flying debris- or Jamie! She is cheering up again now, but Jamie isn't doing any gardening!

Hmm well the other two are OK I guess. Seecil and I still give them a hard time - pulling their combs and chasing - just so they know we are top hens.

For three days in a row now we have laid an egg each. Jamie came rushing down cos we were yelling and carrying on a bit – it’s just quite hard to keep ones legs crossed waiting for the nest to be clear! And then when one of us has a successful turn, that is worth cheering loudly about too, so it does get quite noisy there for  a while.

Jamie can’t understand why 3 of us have decided we must lay in the same nest and at the same time! And it’s true we do ignore the other perfectly good nesting box. But then we are women!! ( and this way is more fun and gives our vocal chords exercise)

Jamie has been picking lots of beans and now some tomatoes and cucumber, and salad things. She was not pleased when she cam home the other day and found Seecil had flown into thegarden and dug up all the winter seedlings which has just emerged. I noticed bits of feather around after that. And now Seecil can't fly  in there. Don't think I'll try that!

Oh - it's worse than I thought. 2 hens - (Jamie calls them Gertrude and Gloria) turned up on the perch in our box - in the night. We found them next morning and Seecil and I have been giving them a tough time since. Pulling their combs and generally letting them know they are not welcome. However they don't seem to be going away, and Jamie wants to protect them from our growling and attacking! We were all shut in together for a day, so what could you expect us to do! They are now allowed out in our garden! Sigh! Jamie is picking cucumber and green beans and putting more soil and stuff in one of the gardens- for winter veges she says. And that's Gloria!!

I can hear other hens very close by and Jamie is being very secretive. This is worrying. She is crowing though about the runner bean harvest and has picked her first Zucchini and cucumber! Tomatoes very slow though and the ones in the glasshouse are sick!

Raining again. Jamie has been done a couple of times with treats. She wanted to do lots in the garden today and we wanted to help! I feel ( and look so Jamie says) very bedraggled.

I didn't lay the last two days - the first time I've missed more than 1 day. I heard Jamie muttering about " similar fate" to Simone and Sweet Pea, so I laid a beautiful big brown egg again today, and she was very pleased with me!!  I am moulting a little bit which is the problem- just feel a bit uncomfy! And am missing Simone.

Well it is a sad day for Jamie. Simone has been unwell for a while, and today she was was not really eating and had lost weight and was clearly unwell. We got shut in and Didn't hear or see anything. But we did hear that Tangi has got more feathers for korowai - so that's both Sweet Pea and Simone now living on in korowai. We had better stay well!