Never work with children and animals.....

It's so true especially the feathered variety! Oh what fun and frustration I've had today as I spent most of it wrangling chickens. Serious....! Let me explain. I've been absent from my blog lately as I've been on a steep learning curve with my latest modules towards my business degree. I've been learning a new language. Not a spoken language but the language of XHTML and CSS (AKA hypertext markup language and cascading style sheets). I tell you, for an old chook like me, that's a serious learning curve. My head spins to say the least. My latest assignment requires the creation of a website design around existing XHTML content. My idea incorporates a 'chicken' theme (the chook look!) and will feature a rusted corrugated iron background, old fence palings and russet coloured hens. If you're a reader of my blog you'll know about our feathered visitor from over the fence. We call her Haighs as in the chocolates, as she first started to vist a few Easters ago (she really is that old!). She's like having a pet without the responsibility....and sometimes the odd benefit or two. Right on cue she obligingly arrived this morning and I quickly grabbed the compost bucket and the camera. ....Hummm...not a performing chicken that's for sure. So I called my friend Kathryn who has three gorgeous birds. I've just returned from an afternoon crouching around her backyard pointing the Nikon this way and that. It's not easy shooting a chook....they're fickle and completely self indulgent preferring to peck and shake their bottom at you rather than posing....as if I hadn't experienced that this morning! Just as we gave up and Kathryn began to put them back in their pen, they jumped up on the old bathtub and posed in a row. I think they were smiling at me, secretly thanking me for allowing them to have a bit of a run in the backyard and urging us to look closer. Inside the bathtub was their gift....eggs galore... a dozen in fact! And now I'm home looking at the fruits of my labour, some of those shots aren't too bad....back to assignment. Thanks chooks!