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!

It has been a very exciting afternoon! Chaz was back again and he laid more stones on our courtyard, as well as around the garden we can't get to! 

Jamie and Chaz moved two round black things down into the garden, and we were given access to slugs. Simone ate a great big green slug! I actually didn't like the taste of that one- yuk.

Well, Jamie is worried, cos Simone has not laid for weeks again! Seecil keeps her in line but that shouldn't stop her laying - that;'s what we hens do!

Today was great... Jamie got this noisy machine going and it churned out green broad bean tasting bits! Yum - we all tucked in to those. I also got a slug and a snail!!

It's been ages since Simone has laid again. Although she sat in the nest for ages yesterday, there was nothing to show for it! Jamie is making it rain in parts of the garden at times, which is rather disconcerting!

Jamie has been very busy in the garden - planting potatoes in bags. The jerusalem artichokes are up and Jamie is not very happy cos we keep sneaking in under the netting and scratching them all up!!We have been getting some very yummy treats after she comes back from the beach. She calls them inanga. Little fish.

Yum! Mind you it is hard to get any as Seecil is after them so quickly!! And she is a big bird now.

Jamie is ecstatic - Simone went into our house and despite being moved out of the nesting box a bit later by Seecil- who whipped in laid an egg and whipped out again - Simone rearranged herself where I lay my eggs, and after a long, long time she emerged and an egg sat there. 6 weeks to the day since she last laid!

We celebrated later today with a dust bath in the glasshouse. So another 3 egg day at last!

And we did a bit of jeans cleaning too!

Seecil and I helping Belinda weave wind breaks. We were " cleaning her jeans". It was a sad day today - there was a fence across the top of the ramp and we couldn't get into the garage. There is also a fence around the main vege garden - sigh! But at least we were let out. We have been kept in these last couple of days. Jamie is still convinced that Simone is laying but hiding them. Still no luck on that front.

We had a dust bath in the glasshouse today as Jamie was studying the seed raising pots. I gather she has cucumber and some tomatoes, and sunflowers up. Don't understand that, but know it is a great place to have  dust bath! Simone still isn't laying, but Seecil and I are being very regular with our beautiful eggs!

You know that garden we can't get to??? Well, we can!! Simone showed us how. You just fly in!

Jamie is NOT impressed!

It is cold here, with snow on the hills behind, and Jamie still did a bit in the garden just now. She has been quite busy lately with the compost and the garden and stuff. We have had some snails - we like those! And two big grubs out of some old wood !! Woohoo. Jamie rescued two lizards from the wood pile and put them in the Lizardry ( a special pile of stones)and out of reach of our beaks - sigh!

Jamie has been very busy creating seed sewing mix with old cow poo and sand lately. We often get worms while she is doing this, so we like being helpful. Then she has been in the glasshouse sewing seeds.... cucumber,pumpkin, sweet red peppers, lots of different tomatoes, melon,and  zucchini. WE like it when the glasshouse door is open because we dash in and dust bath on the floor!

We've been shut in the last two mornings, cos Jamie wants to know where Simone is laying!!! Anyway - I don't think she is laying in the garden. I think she has stopped for some reason, and now Jamie does too - as we all got a great covering of mite powder this afternoon! Boring..... we don't have mites, but Simone might!!

We had our first inanaga from Jamie's whitebaiting today - pretty yummy. And Jamie made potting mix and we got worms from the mix! more yum. She has planted out  cabbage, Kale and silver beet. So quite an eventful day really. The best bit was our dust bath in the glasshouse. 

Ha ! Jamie came down to the garage a little while ago and we were just chilling out in the laundry area. GAve her a real surprise!!

Simone is being a sneaky bantam! Jamie hasn't collected an egg from her since Friday. Seecil and I have continued to lay in the house - but no bantam eggs. Jamie has begun searching the garden and there are lots of hiding places!! And we are not telling!

Jamie is pleased with the growth in the garden now of the leeks and beetroot. And the seedlings in the glasshouse need potting on apparently.