Lunch out today, with a number of friends who are all older than I am. They think I’m young. Bless them. Darlings, value your older friends because, to them, you are always young. Downside of that is that they die, so have younger friends too.

Anyway. I have, quite possibly, rambled.

Hop, the limping bantam, is broody. She insisted on sitting on her eggs and I didn’t have the heart to take them away for a few days, though they’re infertile – but on Monday, I thought it was worth putting a few fertilised eggs under her, just in case. I’m going to be away until the Saturday or Sunday before three weeks is up, I wouldn’t wish to land Wink with looking after chicks. I will give her instructions, just in case they hatch early. The funny thing is, Hop has come off the eggs a couple of times, just for a minute or two and she is walking better than she has for the last 8 months. Today, she popped out into the run, did a massive poo and went back to sit, walking without a limp. I’ve been feeding her, as I don’t want her to lose strength, though sitting hens can go the full 3 weeks without food and water, if need be.

I’m sure I’ve written before about Solo, the injured feral cat. His face is still dreadful, poor boy, a great strip of skin was torn off in a fight and he’s lost the sight of an eye and it’s still red raw. I can’t catch him, though he’s trusting enough to wait for food. He sometimes vanishes for more than a week, so he must still be catching food, as he isn’t thin. I would love to take care of him, but that would involve trapping him and taking him to the vet and it is not possible. i could set a trap, but one of the others would go into it. He’s reasonably friendly and not at all aggressive, but too wary to be caught.

After Wink found a sleeping hedgehog by Mama Cat’s dish, a week ago, I’ve made sure I’ve put down extra food at ground level. The previous evening, I’d forgotten to take the eggs in, but left them in a dish by Hop and Polly’s coop. Next day, they’d all been eaten, though there was some yolk left in a couple of the shells. I’m pretty sure it was a hedgehog, maybe the sleepy one. So I didn’t mind, though minding would have been pointless. I put pans of water out in dry weather (it’s raining right now) and now, extra food. Maybe rats will get the benefit, but I trust that cats will go for them.

The night before last – or rather, the early morning – a bird fell down the bedroom chimney. Stupid little fucker. So very stupid. There’s a 6-foot tall chimney pot on top of that chimney, about 8 inches in diameter, so there’s no chance that a bird can escape upwards. So I removed the chest of drawers in front of the fireplace, shut all the curtains except one and opened a window and left it. In fact, because I had several phone calls (I know, how retro), I forgot to shut the window before going to Norwich, so it was open all day and I hoped and assumed the pigeon – probably – had left.

Daybreak showed it hadn’t. So I opened everything up again. I have no idea whether it’s still there. I’ll shut my bedroom door, so that eCat can’t come in (unless she complains, because I’ll obey her whim) and leave the windows open tonight. Wretched little thing. Maybe I’ll sleep in the spare room until it falls down and realises it’s free.

The late evening sun is shining now. Very changeable weather.