Have we been overdoing it?

We are a little concerned about Whiffler.

He was fine on yesterday's walk, but has been in considerable discomfort since. He appears to have pain in his left shoulder and is definitely not himself.  The poor boy is currently dosed up on a canine painkiller, and is doing his best to find a comfortable spot to settle, away from any disturbances.  We'll be keeping a close eye on him over the next couple of days and he may well be in to the Vet's on Tuesday if there is no sign of improvement. 

Now on to Sunday.

I wouldn't normally recount my early morning poultry care activities, but this morning I had an unexpected surprise. After refreshing their water, giving them some food and opening the pophole, I wandered around to the rear of the coop  and checked the nest boxes for eggs.  As I closed up the nest boxes I hear a rustle in the long grass behind me.

I turned and was surprised to see a Peahen no more than five feet away from me. She didn't seem worried. In fact she seemed to be drawn to the activities of tending to the chickens. I haven't a clue where she has come from as there are no peafowl in our immediate vicinity ... we would have heard them if there were! I decided to throw her a handful of layers pellets and hope that she would find her way home.*

The rest of the day panned out as follows.

We had a short run out with the trailer hitched to the X3. The plan was to pick up a load of horse manure from some friends, but a communication cock up meant that the gates were locked and we returned sans merde.

I spent the rest of my time attacking the long grass in the orchard with The Beast. I estimate that I have now mowed about three quarters of the grass and I am bloody exhausted.  The ground is riddled with dips and mounds and the grass is at least eighteen inches in length. It is fair to say that it is quite a struggle ... and I haven't tackled the steep bank at the rear of the plot.

I can only hope that it is improving the strength and mobility in my shoulders in preparation for the fast approaching motorcycle tour.

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* 30% saw her later on in the morning heading towards the village.