Oops. Missed a week again. I'd promised myself that I would at least do a weekly posting but I've not managed it. It has been another one of those weeks - the ones that feel like all you do is get up, go to work early, come home late, eat and go to bed so you can get up and do it again the next day. I'm not sure this week will be much better. Four weeks until the holidays! Now there is a juicy carrot to hold up in front of me. I'm no better than the kids.

I let the hens out for a short run around when I came home from work a couple of evenings back because it was a dry evening (for once). After about half an hour, I told them their time was up and five of the six trooped happily back into their run when I showed them the tub of mixed corn. The last one was in a rebellious mood. Bribery wouldn't work. Telling her that chicken soup might be added to the menu didn't work either. I tried to corner her and blocked off various paths but she just flew over every obstacle put in her way. It took me forty minutes to capture her and get her back in the run with the others - by which time chicken soup sounded very tasty indeed.

My mini egg that I mentioned in the last post proved to be a proper egg, with a mini yolk. When it was so very small, I'd wondered if it would be all white and no yolk. The eggs since have all been around the size I expect but I do find that they don't lay so many for a day or two after torrential rain so numbers are down. It is just as well that a couple of the friends who I supply with eggs, were away on holiday this last week.

I see that Melanie from bean-sprout's blog has been trying out some of the washing balls. They look interesting but I'm waiting until I have a voucher given to me (birthday...?) to buy them. I don't find that I can do without washing powder at all in most washes as the clothes just don't come out clean. But I'm having consistent success now with 1/4 to 1/3 the recommended amount. And that is good for the smallholding dream as well as for the environment.