Wow!

Noise proves nothing.
Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid.

Mark Twain

My day always starts with letting the hens out of their hut. I usually do not open the door until 9am. By this time there are usually a couple of eggs in the nesting box and as the day progresses from time to time I see the odd hen making her way back to the hut to will find a space, snuggle down and lay an egg! The hens have preferences for when they lay their eggs, Bev the black one prefers late afternoon whilst the Brown ones, Olwyn and Mabel are definitely keen to lay first thing! I know this information by the colour of the eggs!

I find the hens fascinating to observe and their little faces peeping through the kitchen patio door always makes me smile. This was the case today and indeed it was just what I needed!

Having hens ensures we have a regular supply of eggs. All our hens lay so we get 6 eggs every day! When I went to collect the eggs I was surprised to say the least to find somebody had delivered a HUGE egg! Now........question is will it be a double yoke? What do you think?

One Egg = One Day by Fran Crawford

I have a picture of an egg
Painted by a friend
It's what I see to start each day
Hanging there at my bed's end

A day is like an egg, you know
Self-contained within its shell
Filled with energy and purpose
And yet remains so very frail

To free the many options here
A crack is all it takes
The shell turns loose potential
Like the dawn as each day breaks

The fate of either is our choice
The egg ...to hatch ...or boil ...or fry
The day ...to fill with worthwhile tasks
Or just enjoy as life goes by

All of our days, as all of our eggs
Are ours to use, but listen, folks
Beware of how you handle them
Some of them have double yolks!

This was MY World Today! What was yours like?
It is also my contribution for ABC Wednesday!

Our Holiday 1 (IOM TT 2010)

This was to be the second year in a row we were to stay in Port Erin. We came here, for a short trip out in 2008 and we fell in love with it straight away. I had enquired about a room for 2011 a few weeks ago as it is necessary to book so far in advance and was dismayed to learn there were no vacancies. I had a frantic day of phoning round the island for accomodation and managed to find a guesthouse in central Douglas. With this knowledge therefore we headed for Heysham ferryport on Friday morning and along with the hundreds of other bikers waited to board the ferry.

A chap nearby started chatting to us and the subject came round to accomodation - and then he began his worrying, nay alarming tales of B&B/Guesthouse disasters in Douglas! We were both listening intently, eyes opening more and more as each disgusting detail was described with graffic detail! Fortunately at this moment the bikes were summoned to board the deck and so we did not see this guy anymore but his words were ringing in my ears for a very long time, however I didn't say anything to Jon, as I was still in shock - so much so that I didn't eat anything once on the ferry!

We arrived in Douglas and eventually as the bikes drove off the ferry we turned left and took the "All Other Rotes" journey out of Douglas. As we headed towards Castletown the memory of the same journey from last year skipped into place. Taking the signpost to Port Erin, we soon found ourselves riding along the seafront and eventually turning into Port Erin, straight down Station Road to the promenade, where our hotel is situated.

We pulled up and as I got off the bike Jon said" Denise, we have GOT TO try and get in here next year!" I knew then that Jon had also been alarmed by the B&B stories just as much as I had been and he too deciding not to share his worries with me.

The sun was warm on our faces as we made our way to the reception. The receptionist recognised us from 2009 and before she even booked us in I asked her if there were any vacancies for 2011. "Oh there's no problem, I have automatically allocated you a room" was the wonderful reply! Apparently I had spoken to another member of staff who did not know this valuable piece of information! The smiles on both our faces said it all and later as we had a meal in the conservatory with the wonderful coastline in the background all was set in place for another wonderful stay on the island we have grown to love, in particular the wonderful Falcon's Nest Hotel in Port Erin!



It has been a while since I took part in Skywatch Friday, but decided to hop aboard for a while.

V is for ...the end of an era for a VIP!

Today we said goodbye to our wonderful Jo. After such a wonderful time away in the Isle of man we returned knowing he was unwell. Initially we thought it was arthritis again and infact had been giving him the medicine which had worked so well previously, but when we took him to the vet it was confirmed it was a mental problem, caused by anything from a stroke or a tumour. His legs were strong, as was his wings but his mind was suffering some sort of dementia.

As he lay on the vet's table looking weak and dishevelled I thought of how he had always been so clean and elegant, constantly pruning himself in order to maintain his majestic appearance. The photograph below illustrates this perfectly!




He would have been mortified with how things had worked out and so we felt it was the right thing to do, guided by the advice from our vet to allow him a release from the place where he was.

Jon stroked his neck, I stroked his chest and as the medicine worked Jo closed his eyes and went to sleep.

“How do geese know when to fly to the sun?
Who tells them the seasons?
How do we, humans know when it is time to move on?
As with the migrant birds, so surely with us,
there is a voice within if only we would listen to it,
that tells us certainly when to go forth into the unknown.”

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross