I hear tapping ...... I HEAR TAPPING!!!!

'What a strange title' one may say, but if one was sitting in the kitchen having breakfast and found that to be the first utterence that they hear that day, one would think it was a little more than strange. But in the Dalton household, nothing can be ruled out. And sure enough, that was the first thing my Mom said to me this morning. It appears, that after numerous tries, and equally numerous fails, one of our lovely hens has managed to work with nature, defeat her boredom, and produce 3 out of 5 viable eggs which, as of this morning at approx 11am, were declared 'TAPPING!!!'.

The parents are venturing off to accompany the lil sister and two of her posse to Galway this weekend (talk about asking for a headache, 3 screaming 18 year olds falling in the caravan door after a night on the town, fun), so as the new arrivals are, well, arriving, I will no doubt be on baby watch, with eggs stuck to my ears at least once a day, and recieving constant phone calls from a worried mother (mine, not the hen, last time I checked she doesnt have thumbs). I swear, you would think she was the one having the baby! Talk about living vicariously.

So, the babies are arriving, which is such a relief for the whole family. Mom's months of effort has finally paid off, the hen has proven that she can defeat her desire to abandon her natural vocation in favour of a life of following Roy around, and Roy, well, he keeps his neck attached to his head. All is well in the Dalton madhouse.