More pure breed chickens - NAMES UPDATE

It's Mother's Day in Australia today. Mother's Day - the one day of the year when we eat strange looking breakfasts and wear macaroni necklaces; the day I remember my own mother and celebrate being a mother. I know as sure as I'm sitting here that my sons will phone me today. Since the day they were born, they have brought continuing joy to me.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums who read here.

I became a mother to ten more chooks yesterday. Ten more pure breed chickens that will lay golden eggs for us and, no doubt, make our backyard better for their presence. It's quite a long drive to our chook lady, but the drive is a lovely one via back streets and long stretches of lonely roads no highway traveller ever finds.

I did my knitting as we drove along, glancing at the landscape as it slipped by.

There are two big dams along the way that make great stopping off points for morning tea. We were entertained by the skiers and of course, there is always a baby magpie to feed.

We had lunch, watching more water skiers, beside a very friendly family who came over as soon as we arrived to offer to share the BBQ they'd just lit. We weren't cooking though - we had our homemade rolls and tea.

It was a nice day out but the highlight was choosing our new chickens. Rhonda, the chicken lady, let me have one of her Barnevelders, which was a real treat. I'd been asking about them every time I called. We also came home with a light Sussex, three silver Sussex, three barred Plymouth Rocks, a little Faverolles and another golden Hamburg - a playmate for Jewels.

I'll take some more photos today once they've settled in. At the moment, the Pymouth Rocks are my favourite. They're three really big gentle girls who endeared themselves to me when they walked around in circles in the dark because they couldn't find the perch.

We'll keep them safely inside the fenced coop until they realise that this place is home from now on. It will be a lovely thing to live with these chooks. They've all got different personalities and they're all incredibly beautiful in their own ways. I've named the Barnevelder Bernadette and the light Sussex Stella Gladys; I'll choose names for the others later today, if you have any suggestions, let me know.

NAMES HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!
My big Plymouth Rock girls are Dixie, Lulubelle and Blossom; the Barnevelder is Bernadette, the golden Hamburg is Rosetta, the three silver Sussex are Pippa, Poppy and Mrs Rudd, the light Sussex is Stella Gladys and the Faverolles is Anna.