Half way up a hill

I am just so grateful that our little campsite is half way up a hill! For although the wind has bent the newly transplanted phormiums and the camping paddock is not exactly dry, it is also not waterlogged. The rabbits have eaten the young shoots on the hebe I transplanted though...grrrrr!

The horses field I have to say is a different story, it's like a mud bath, but we are not flooded like so many places, so again I am eternally grateful. Am also glad we have an open barn for the horses to take some 'time-out' away from the mud, the rain and the wind and munch some hay. The wind and the storms have taken a toll on the coastline however, walking back along the beach last week at the end of the school day we wondered where all the sand had gone?!

February has seen the purchase of some new hens to keep our single chicken-licken company and they seem to be getting along and have not blown away as yet. Bit of a rude awakening for them though, ten weeks living in a barn and then out into the elements in the orchard, with a henhouse to snuggle in at night.....sublime to the ridiculous...  Also snuggling in, are the cats, in a sheltered spot in the hay bales, keeping warm and getting out in the sun 'hunting' when they can.

The geese on the other hand, seem to be loving the weather, completely at ease in the rain and the wind and they have just started laying their large white eggs -which need two pieces of toast to provide for their size - they have also started wandering from the barn to the campsite paddock and reservoir garden, not quite sure why they are venturing so far, but they have a good splash in any puddles they can find.