Welcome noise

 The stable barn is resounding again with the sound of swallows frantically feeding their young. This time the nest looks secure and is in the centre of the roof above Ritz's stable door. Earlier this week, whilst eating dinner one evening, The Boss and I were entertained by another family of swallows swooping and swirling above and about the lawn outside the kitchen window. Clearly the adults were teaching their young the rudiments of maneouvring and fly-catching around natural hazards like trees and buildings. The constant chirruping and balletic antics of these birds surely encapsulate all that is joyous about a warm summers' day?

Meanwhile, out in the Poultry nursery the four bantam chicks have doubled in size, the solitary duckling and his mum have been totally accepted into their little flock (where another of the bantams is now busily 'sitting' on a nest of eggs) and out in the Buff's pen the mother hen and duck are still proudly parenting their little brood of one chick and three ducklings. Luckily the latter are all pale yellow so neither Hen nor Duck notice any difference or, if they do, it matters not to them. Every morning when I open their little house the welcome noise as they all tumble out together brings a smile to my face.