Olwen gets feathers and Rhiannon takes a dust bath!

Hello again,

 This has been such an exciting weekend.  I have had so many people come to visit me this weekend and some of them came all the way from America!  My mum is sorting out the photos and when they are all done I will do a very special blog about Sunday morning when they all sat in the garden and sang to us, gave us cuddles and thought we were wonderful.  It was sooooo exciting. 

Rhiannon takes a dust bath

Anyway, down to some wonderful news. 

 Today has been quite warm and 5 of us have been in the garden all morning. Linnet is sitting in a run all on her own as she has gone broody and all she wants to cluck about is having babies but none of us are interested.  Worms and grubs are far more interesting than baby chicks.  She'll get over it in a few days.  So, that means 5 of us are in the garden.  

But I said good news and here it is.... [drum roll]... Rhiannon has found out what it is like to have a dust bath.  Not that she has got any feathers yet to clean but she has been sitting in the middle of the rockery and has made herself a deep hollow and is chucking compost all over her where her new feathers are just starting to show through.  She is having such a lovely time that she didn't even want to join us on the patio for our morning treat of lettuce and cucumber from Auntie Sue and Uncle Geoff.  I think you can see from her photos that she is just starting to get little quills appearing on her chest and breast so we all hope that they will turn in to feathers very soon. She has one or two new feathers come through on the top of her wings and I think if you look carefully you might just be able to see them. She has become so much less timid lately and now runs up to our Mum every time she sees her and wants to be picked up and cuddled. She is still the very smallest of us and this weekend one of our visitors said there wasn't any meat on her at all... whatever that means.. but I think it means she is still very skinny.  she is so very loving though and lays the biggest eggs of all of us!

Olwen's new feathers

And now some more news.  Olwen has got feathers!   If you remember a little while ago I told you that she was starting to get black dots on her back well they have now come out as beautiful feathers.. They are very soft and fluffy and are a dappled colour with a light pattern in the middle and a darker edge to them.  When they all come she is going to be stunning.  Good job my Mum hasn't got any cockerels or they would be running after her! This is a picture of the new feathers on her back. If you look carefully you can also see the feathers coming through on the top of her wings.  Her bottom is still very bald but that will come in time.  

Olwen and Me on the patio

I thought you would like to compare the two of us. Do you remember when I was almost totally bald too?  Just look at me now.  That haunted look in my eyes has gone and I have lovely soft dark brown feathers on me and even my wings are starting to grow back.  My tummy is still a bit bald but it is getting better and one day I will have feathers all over me.  We are all so very lucky and we are so very spoiled.  every time my Mum comes out I rum up to her and snuggle down at her feet asking to be picked up and smoothed.  It is just so good to be living in a lovely garden here up on Bodmin Moor. We have a granite chippings patio, a big soft lawn to run around in, flower beds to take dust baths in and last weekend I found the greenhouse has got tomatoes growing in it.  We love tomatoes but our Mum wasn't too happy when she realised that we had found out how to get in and could jump up and reach the baby tomatoes that were hanging on the plants.  We are very good at jumping.  Our Mum said something about Olympic Champions but i don't know what she means by that.. something else to find out.  Life is never dull here.  

So, all is well here in our Forever Home.  The sun is shining, Rhiannon is taking a dust bath, I have discovered tomatoes and Olwen has feathers.  Brigid has quills so will soon get feathered up and as soon as Linnet stops going on about having chicks life will be perfect.  Bye for now.