In my usual perverse manner.....everyone has been doing 'Christmas' for weeks and now it's over, it's my turn....

Remember Morris (Tin) Miner? Well, in an amazing feat of ingenuity, daring and determination, (and a lot of work from the wonderful Howard) Morris metamorphosised into Santa and just in time to deliver millions and zillions of parcels to little boys and girls around the world yesterday.

All of this and he was only gone ONE NIGHT!

Anyway, Morris/Santa is now off on his very own winter break and guess what? He chose a ski-ing holiday. He still has one sack of goodies to despatch to some children who, for whatever reason couldn’t get their presents yesterday. Some of them were sad children who were in hospital or on their own but some others just forgot to leave their door open or to unblock the chimney. Anyway, Santa still has a sack of goodies for those children.

As for us? We’re rejoicing in the knowledge that our hens have once again amazed and shocked us by their unerring return to laying eggs on Boxing Day. They always ‘go off’ in October and return to laying at the end of December. We have no idea what biological miracle makes this feat happen but it does. Dunno what the egg will be like, having spent last night in sub-zero temperature in a nest box but what the heck – they’re back! Hurrah!!!

DM suggests it’s the mid-winter equinox passing and maybe he’s right but I don’t know. I don’t actually care really – their eggs are almost priceless to me – they are so much nicer than any I have ever bought that they’re worth the barren spell as we come up to Christmas.

Of course it is still weird that we’ve lost Molly – the elderly welsummer who went broody at the drop of a hat. She sat down one day in a dustbowl in the sunshine and went to sleep, never to wake up again. DM buried her a few weeks ago, while I was away from home. Now though, the powerbase is shifting from Milly, the previous ‘top dog chicken’ to Terri – our bottom-of-the-pecking-order hen who is now ‘having her day’ just like every other dog who has ever been kicked! Terri has grown in stature and ‘feather quality’. Don’t let anyone tell you that these critters don’t have brains. Small they may be but sentient they certainly are. Eat one at your peril!

Last year, I was revelling in the last of our snow! Two years ago, we were putting the yule log under the bed....but when we took it mout last year, the wood burner didn't leave us one to store for this year.