I was not so sure about today as when I went to bed yesterday it was raining outside, pouring down. However it stopped after a while and this morning the sky is clearing nicely. I can cope with all weathers, only rain makes it a little difficult. You are exposed to the elements when travelling by scooter (or wheelchair) and you are going to get wet. I have a special rain cover, but that is not such a good solution. You look like Little Red Riding Hood, but in blue in my case.

Yesterday was a very pleasant day, sunny and not so hot, so I took a trip around the castle grounds and through the town cemetery. As I was going through the cemetery I suddenly heard quite a commotion. A lady was walking (at a safe distance) near me and said “Look at that, a grey heron”. I immediately looked up towards the noise and there it was, a rather big bird making an attempt to land on a tree. I caught it just at the right moment with the camera but it was a difficult shot as it had to be a quick one. The lady said you do not often see them in our area. This is quite true and after looking through my photographs at home I discovered a series of photos of a heron that was once walking around near the castle. It certainly is a big bird.

Talking of big birds look who was taking a stroll at the castle farm. This rooster is the daddy of them all. Normally he sits in the shade, but this time he was taking a stroll on the sunny side. What a wonderful figure of a bird he is. He reminds me of the Gallic Rooster, the unofficial symbol of France to be seen on many of their postage stamps. He is really big and has a wonderful coloured coat of feathers.

He is one of those super birds so here is another photo, this time with one of his wives. I noticed at this farm, which is quite big, they have the special chickens next to the farm house and the average laying hens in their mobile hen houses further away.

Growing up in London, a city, we did not often see chickens, although when I was younger in the fifties some people had a few hen coops in their back garden. They were the days when a chicken was a speciality for the Christmas dinner and you only had it once a year. Now chickens are a regular food. I am sure if I had lived on a farm I would never enjoy a chicken dinner, they are such lovely birds.

There were also a few ducks around, although behind a wire fence so even more difficult to take a photo, but according to how I take the photo I can minimise the grid effect.

And as I turned the corner on the way home a group of sparrows were gathering. They seemed to be interested in something in one direction towards the bushes.

It was a wonderful journey yesterday afternoon. Sometimes there is nothing to catch the camera eye and other times there is a lens full of interesting subjects. When I arrived home I said to Mr. Swiss we really live in a wonderful place. For me it is still something special after my first 20 years of London town life.

This afternoon will be a shopping tour in town. There are a few items I have noted on my iPhone shopping list. I have to add them as they come into mind, otherwise I forget something important.

I used my air frier for the first time yesterday. I decided to start with something simple like french fries and it worked very well. You have to get used to these new machines. I got recipe book with the machine, but it is very limited in choice and I really do not want to live on crispy chicken wings. I can also use it to bake cakes. I will have to examine the possibilities in Internet.

I was having a problem with my new crispy baking tray that I ordered and I wrote a comment on their web site. It seems at the moment they are not delivering because it was such a success and they are sold out. I told them that the adjustment for the oven size was very shaky and they have answered that they will be contacting me about it. It seems I am not the only person with this problem. Otherwise I am very satisfied with it when I can fix it in the oven, with care.

Anynow I must really move on to other things, like a normal housewife morning. Have a good begin to the week and may it be a good one.