We have been experiencing thunder and torrential rain here most of the day and I am almost paranoid about the computer since last weeks expensive blow out. Summer seems to have disappeared temporarily but hopefully it will be back soon. Our two dogs are certainly hoping so, they hate the thunder and spend their time trying to hide in cupboards when its about!

I have been reading about more than 2,500 day old chicks that were dumped and left to die in the stifling heat that we have been experiencing recently. The chicks were in boxes that had been neatly stacked in direct sunlight leaving the poor creatures to a horrible death. The RSPCA have speculated that it might have been an act of sheer laziness. You can find the full story here  It is a sad refection of some peoples total lack of concern for living creatures and unfortunately these sort of stories appear all to frequently. On the subject of chickens our Marans have settled in really well and are now producing lots of chocolate brown eggs. Rigsby the cockerel has matured and is now producing a very loud crow in the mornings, he likes to stand on the feed bin when he comes out into the run for maximum effect. Unlike the previous feathered houdini's they have made no attempt to come out of the run. Their favourite thing is when I am weeding in the veggie patch and throw them the weeds this creates great excitement and they mostly eat all the seedy bits so the weeds are effectively destroyed.

Linda