Another fairly grey day, though with a bit of sunshine here and there. Did some weeding and some reading and otherwise did very little - though I have staked both the walnut tree and one of the apples that seemed in danger of being blown horizontal at the rate it has been leaning. The remaining hens all seem in good health, which is a relief as I was concerned the australorp may have had something contagious. I think I am going to have to gird up my loins and give the chicken the axe very soon so I can get on with adapting his shed further to accommodate the remaining flock. I plan to switch paddocks between them and the geese so that the geese can get onto some fresh grazing. This will also simplify matters when the time comes (if indeed it does come) for Rita to build her fence, and give the geese access to the 'pond' when the time comes for them to mate.

I think I have finally worked out what the pond is that she has been digging for the last few weeks (though remain confused by the overhead structure). I suspect it is the overflow for her rainwater tanks and as such will collect any larger quantities of water. Fine in the sort of weather we had last winter, but i note that this winter is once again forecast to be unusually wet. Still, I guess if it becomes a problem then I can address it when that happens. She also seems to be (finally) removing the various tank rings from along the boundary - perhaps she has worked out that was not the best place to put a vege patch, even if I did not own chickens ...