Several new arrivals this month. The menagerie is getting larger each month:

One Polo Pony has arrived for the winter. She belongs to a local polo professional who is not back until next summer. Hopefully she is a well behaved pony and is willing to have novices ride her!

Two kittens arrived last week from Judith, the sister in law of an old friend. We have no idea what to call them. I suggested Whack and Blight, as one is white with a little black and the other is black with a little white. Our two year old picks them up like a terrier with a rat and I fear for their safety. We are slowly teaching him to be a bit more gentle: I am amazed that he has not been scratched and bitten more. The kittens are very tolerant for the moment but I expect them to retaliate any day now.

Three French hens arrived from the local Country Fair. They are French Bluebells, a breed I have never heard of before. They are a pretty grey colour with a hint of blue/mauve.
They were very suspicious of our other two hens for at least 3 or 4 days and would not go inside the hen house. I found them roosting on a low branch of a tree overhanging the chicken run one morning, completely drenched. Anyway they are now the best of friends and laying an egg each every day. Very satisfactory!

Our neighbour has suggested that we get some sheep and share the meat. The only problem is the shape of the grazing. Our paddock is very long and thin, which means that it is disproportionately expensive to fence with electric sheep netting. I have just worked out that our plot of land (about 15 acres) has a circumference of 1 mile! That makes it about £2500 just to keep the sheep in, and certainly makes £15 for a leg of lamb sound really inexpensive.