'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.
I hear tapping ...... I HEAR TAPPING!!!!
Broody Hens and Beer Cans
Day 24 in the broody hen's nesting box, and as existing housemates eagerly await the arrival of the new additions, it is becoming clearer and clearer that perhaps there may not be any new arrivals at all....
Yes, unfortunately, it looks like Roy has not been doing his job well enough, and although our broody hen still meets anyone that comes within 5 feet with low dog like growling and vicious pecking, there is no sign of chicks. Mom is deeply disappointed, but is now faced with the dilemma of how to remove the broody hen from her pointless nest while still keeping all her fingers intact. Rubber gloves are her answer.
Meanwhile, celebrations post-exam week took place last night, and the night was in Maynooth town spent bopping away to all the cheesy 90's music we grew up with. Unfortunately, upon returning to my car this morning, I found the drivers side window shattered into pieces and a leaking can of beer on the seat. The rear windscreen wiper was also lying on the ground, and the car was in fact parked in the middle of the car park (whether pushed or lifted to there, you're guess is as good as mine). So the morning was spent trying to get everything sorted and the car back home to be fixed. Nightmare!! Plus the thought of someone damaging what you work so hard to keep just cause they have had a few drinks and think its great fun just doesnt put me in the greatest mood for the day.
But, onwards and upwards. I am intent on watching Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory tonight, a perfect happy film. The cure to any bad day.
Royal Weddings, Ray Darcy and a Rooster
I felt it was time for another blog entry, Its looking a lil forgotten lately.
I know most people must be sooooo sick of hearing about it by this point, but I simply couldnt do a blog entry without mentioning the blushing Bride of the year and her Prince Charming (quite literally). Of course, didnt Kate Midleton just look picture perfect as she strolled, relatively calmly I must say, up that ridiculously long isle. I just hope the poor girl had comfortable heels on. The dress, as many have said before me, was the classiest interpretation of a timeless piece that anyone could have imagined, and I really cannot see someone looking back at it in 30 years and thinking badly of it.
As regards to the ceremony, I have to reluctantly say that I missed the entire thing as I was driving home from college. But I did here some of it (the main parts) on Today FM, where Mairead Farrell and Ray Darcy were giving a very entertaining running commentary. This commentary mainly consisted of Ray constantly repeating that he must regain his manhood by means of a beer and a good scream at the rugby match on the weekend, while Mairead shushed him only to replace his complaining with her sniffing and awwwwing. As funny as this was, and I am ashamed to say, that when the vows were being said (keep in mind I could only hear them and not see them), and as Mairead's sniffing got louder, I found myself throwing a slight sniff or two into the barrel ....... Ah come on people, its a nice ending to nice story.....
Anyway, as regards to life outside of dreams of finding Prince Charming, life at the Dalton's is relatively normal. Exams are coming up, essays are due in (as you can see from my presence here I am duely stressed), and Mom is being Mom. She arrived in the back door this morning after collecting the eggs to announce joyfully that one of our new batch of hens is sitting on what looks like a substantial amount of eggs. (The poor hen spent her days hiding behind the trailer from our testosterone-filled rooster Roy, but it seems he got his way in the end). So we should be welcoming a convoy of new chicks in approx. 20 days. Will post pics when they arrive.
Hope everyone had a good bank holiday weekend :-)
Pictures
I have realised lately that I have been chatting about my hens and ducks, and about Roy our rooster, and the cats and dogs, and I haven't provided any images to go with them. So here is a rare look into the life that I bore you all with. Enjoy :-)
