I still have just the one new hen laying but last week and this week too, the Warrens have laid us two eggs. It is so good to have eggs again. And I have sold a dozen (shared between three friends) so while not exactly paying their way, the hens are making some effort towards it. I am just amazed at how much the new hens are eating. They are teenagers so I suppose, like human teenagers, they have hollow legs. They are not scared of me now and run towards me for they have learned that I often come with a little bit of bread in my hand and my, how they love bread. I am hoping to train them with this so that when I first let them out of their run I'll be able to bribe them back in. Not yet, though.

It feels like a long week at school. Only one week into term but with being out of routine, it has felt longer. One more week and then it is a long weekend with the Bank Holiday. If the weather doesn't turn wet, we'll be hoping to spend time at the allotment. It is starting to look quite good and we are on top of at least some of the weeds. The seeds are coming up nicely. The onions are looking good and the potatoes are all planted. My husband used his favourite toy, a little Mantis rotovator with an attachment for making the deep drills needed for planting potatoes. He enjoyed that! And it took some of the backbreaking work out of planting potatoes. When one is short on free time, a few gadgets can help. This one certainly does and it is not heavy to use. Another favourite is the azada that I bought him for his birthday last year. It is a very heavy kind of hoe type implement - a long and carefully weighted handle with a flat blade set at right angles to the handle. Great for digging and for clearing ground. They come in various sizes but this one is the biggest. I like my swoe which is a long handled hoe with a narrow blade that will cut on the three sides. The blade looks a bit like a golf putter and it is excellent for hoeing between rows of plants that are quite close together or for cutting the tops off weeds when there isn't time to remove them properly.