Peas and quiet

We've had a relatively quiet sort of week. No dramas or alarms. Robert managed to get a job at last, and his A-level results came in. Yay and hurray for the job, a little more subdued for the results. To be fair, he passed all 3, but got D's across the board, when it had been projected he'd be achieving A's and B's.

To tell you the truth, the hens don't care really how he's done. They do care that he's been more attentive to them as he's feeling happier and brighter than he has done in a while. Betty now lets him pick her up regularly, and she even toddles up to him when he comes out into the garden.

They all do seem to like Robert, especially his shoe laces. Of late, when he wanders around chatting to them, they peck and peck at his feet, to the point where he has to back up to avoid standing on them!

Dylan has discovered he is braver with them than he thought he was. Truth be told, he was very nervous when he needed to go anywhere near them, especially if Razorbeak was in the vicinity. However, he has been feeding them my failed peas out of the planter, and they all seem to regard him as some kind of deity!

It is one of the funniest things to watch: Dylan gets the peas out of the pod, and approaches the hens. Each hen cocks her head about, looking to see if he has anything for them. He stoops down, fist closed, and then slowly opens it to reveal the pea. The nearest hen then swoops in and grabs it, and heads down the garden at speed, desperately trying to munch the pea before the other ladies realise she has it!

This repeats until the canny ladies realise Dylan has more than that single pea. And then they flock to him. He can lead them all around the garden, hands held out at his sides, and they follow along, necks craned, hoping he will dispense more.

He has now worked out that they'll chase one of his yellow balls around too, and he basically plays fetch with them for ages.

These are such worthwhile pets. Everyone in the house is attached to them, and more and more of our free time is spent out in the garden, just being peaceful. The rabbits bounce, the hens peck, the kids play and we all just relax.

I just want about another 30 hens and some land, and then life would be perfect!