A remarkable recovery

You  might remember how sad Joan and Joyce looked when we rescued them - beaks clipped, frightened and missing most of their feathers.

Joyce started feather-up almost immediately.  Joan, well, didn't.  She improved, but still had bald patches and didn't seem to be as healthy as Joyce.

Then, rather suddenly, and for no discernable reason

they are indistinguishable.  Both luxuriantly feathered and rather gorgeous.  We now have no idea who's who.

Upgrade

After a year of mostly managing with the free-off-Gumtree stove, the reinventors decided it was high time we got a decent one.

For $1000 off its original price and with very good reviews, we have this:

A full 900mm of Belling range.  Getting it installed involved some quite intense conversations about what should go where in the kitchen.  Gas fitting regulations mean that each burner has to be at least 20cm from any ignition point.  In our case, it was the 100-year-old jarrah window sill. 

So we moved a bench and free-standing shelves to the other side of the kitchen, took some shelves off one wall and put them up on another wall, had some new power points installed, shifted the kitchen dresser and rethought the whole barista bench.

And had this put in:

It casts very interesting shadows.

In case you were wondering,

it bakes a magnificent banana cake.  We've yet to have a disaster.  Although there are a lot of other oven settings we've not yet explored...

Spring is springing

Waaaaaaaaaay back in the beginning, when the romance was very new, the creative reinventor mentioned that he loved the smell of jonquils.

Since then the practical reinventor has planted him jonquils in every garden they've had.  About 10 of them.

This is the latest lot.  

There will need to be a Decision

The reinventors are members of Transition Town Guildford, the practical reinventor working with another two members on an off-shoot group, the TTG Kitchen Gardeners' Society.

Last weekend we hosted a chook workshop in our backyard.  We sent the neurotic kelpie on a play date with the golden retriever two doors away and let the chooks loose.  They were remarkably unperturbed by the 40-odd people who invaded their backyard.

As well as discussing the ways of chooks, hen house construction, general chook health, the joys of rescuing battery hens and eating scones, cakes and biccies, we asked lovely vet B about Florence.

Florence is a bit more aggressive than Shirley and has a more distinct comb.  We suspect her name should be Horace.

B looked critically at Florence.  Commented on the angle of her bum feathers, and agreed.  Florence is most likely Horace.

Once he starts crowing, something will have to be done.  Neither of us is looking forward to it.