August

My knitting is growing effortlessly. This is the front. It is such an easy and satisfying jumper to knit. 

I still have a white winter vest/jumper to sew together and knit the neckline of, and the second sleeve of my chunky jumper to finish. I think I have enough knitting to keep me going through winter. I'd also like to knit a cardigan or a dress for friends who are due a baby in November, but I'm not sure if I'll get that together. Could be a quick knit. I've really gone off knitting for other people! When I started knitting I only ever knitted for my Godson, Felix. That was the impetus for starting knitting, when he was born. I think the first cardigan I ever knitted was a blue cardigan for him, and I knitted FELIX in bright green into the back! 

I've been to see a couple of writers at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Above is AL Kennedy. I hadn't initially bought tickets to see her, as I've seen her a few times now, but when I went to see Rebecca Hunt a couple of days before I caught the 'Book Festival' bug and there were tickets left for AL. Both events were great. I miss being in that atmosphere of discussing ideas. That was the best part of the masters degree I did - spending a  whole year talking about writers and books and ideas. 

This is my funny brood of poultry friends. I have grapes in my hands, which is why Duck has jumped onto my back. The chicks are in amongst the older hens, but particularly now (a couple of weeks after this photo was taken) it's difficult to tell the difference in size. I often mistake one of the chicks for a similar-looking hen. And there is Swann, the goose, right at the front. I'm so glad we let her free range. We would probably have got round to releasing her much sooner if the other goose we rescued hadn't made such an upsetting run for freedom (she succeeded) just before Christmas, a day after we rescued her. Such a shame. Anyway, Swann seems happier and has various buckets and bowls of water that she guddles around in with her sticks and mud. 

This photo was taken soon after we released her from her pen. I was still spending a bit of time with her to encourage her to be anchored to the area/us.

We're still waiting to be revealed to us which chicks are hens and which are cockerels, but we think Bread is most definitely a cockerel. I've developed such a good friendship with him, though. He lets me pick him up and cuddle him every day. I pop him on my lap and he settles down and sometimes has a mini-nap and sighs and snores. I think he likes the warmth of my body heat. It isn't too long ago they were all still popping under Delphis for a cuddle/heat up.

We went to the Peebles Agricultural Show on Saturday. I was really looking forward to it, and we had taken a large group of friends and their associated children/relatives. I love the colour of the eggs above. We could definitely win with some of our eggs if we could encourage all of our girls to lay in the laying boxes! Squeaky Cheese's eggs are beautiful.

Always good to see the alpacas. Love the natural colour of their fleeces.

I've been missing Turkey recently. I often wonder what Turkey and Swann would have made of each other. Turkey wasn't keen on any new birds coming into her territory, especially if they were reddy-brown in colour (she particularly seemed to hate the Isa Browns, until they were fully integrated and then they were best buddies, sleeping next to each other on the perch). I think Swann would have won the pecking order game between the two of them though but I don't know. Turkey could make herself puffed up and impressive when she was annoyed. I particularly miss cuddling Turkey. For six months of the year she was in her cuddly phase. I liked putting my face next to hers because she was so HOT. The other six months of the year she skipped away when I tried to touch her. She was an absolutely beautiful creature.