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Nice one NN
Yep their eyes are on stalks - if you look real close at a snail you will see the black dots which are their pupils! And yes they sleep inside their shell most of the time for safety, although Sid used to get lazy and leave himself hanging out sometimes :)
I got home from work yesterday, ate a big bowl of the lovely stew hubby had made, and within half an hour was in the loo, and spent the next 2 hours in and out, culminating in the emptying of my stomach. Went to bed, slept fitfully, stayed in bed today too. The kids were outside playing football again too, so I'm terrified that the sickness was because of that (stress induced), and not a stomach virus. But i had felt rough in the day so I hope it was 'proper' illness! I feel so fed up about being so stressed over some kids kicking a ball about. What is more normal for boys to do?! I've got to find a way past it but don't know how just yet.
Thanks Neil. Hopefully it will NEVER be needed, but its good to have just in case!
That's a complicated one TM!! When my mom got married my stepfather had 5 kids; his daughter was the eldest, then there were four boys. I fitted right in the middle of the four boys, one was 6 months older, one was 6 months younger. They were allowed to do whatever they wanted, I had to be in by 10pm. I hated it.
They look great! Is it true that their eyes are on the end of the stalks, or is that a fallacy? Do they sleep inside their shells? Do they come to you when you put your hand in (do they know their names?!) Lotsa questions!!!!
CC said "The more you knit, the easier it'd be...you have to admit that TBII wasn't a tenth of the trauma that TBI was!" I have to admit that you're right, but maybe that's because #1 was sooooooooo bad, not because #2 was better!! My attention span is very short - I get bored too easily!
Yes, lovely pictures! How lovely to go on holiday and be the only people around. Ultimate peace!
Oh Bless him, youngest son don't look none to pleased Lee, The bridge one is real nice.
I made some banana chutney today, I found the recipe on the Cottage smallholder site. I was a tad unsure about it so only made half the amount. It is real scrummy, I got Grandad North to have a taste tonight and he is real pleased. It is supposed to be even better after a month. So that's my best for today.
Ha ha they do ok for eats that's for sure !!!
Oh I spot another picture it is nice to see you both. My your son is already taller than Sara he looks a smashing lad Lee. The horses certainly looked friendly enough. It is a beautiful part of the country and so nice and green.
I got a little rant today. I was in a rush to make a green salad as the lasagne was ready to serve and I cut right through my thumb nail into the flesh below. Oh my it hurt so much I felt sick. It still hurts like heck. I got it plastered up nice and tight, it was a real sharp knife so hopefully it will knit together real quick. I did well though and didn't bleed on the lettuce !!!
Lovely pictures Lee, I love the horse it is a beautiful colour. There certainly is a lot of water about.
Some pictures of our stay in the New Forest.
They eat far more healthily than I do!
Here is one for F1 fans.........only funny if you saw Sundays race
You can just see the stripes starting to come through on their shells now. They have a large piece of courgette that has turned into a marrow. sweet potato, Cos leaves and an apple today.
No I dont use any thing on their shells but clean tepid water CC. They certainly are much more shiny that Fluffy was, although they are a different breed to him so I don't know if that makes a difference.
Hi Red, I use one of those microfibre cloths on the glass every day with just plain water and remove any poo or past it food. Then once a week they come out and have a nice tepid bath under the tap and they have some time out on their bubble wrap mat. I take all their food and cuttles out and give the substrate a good riddle through. I replace the grape vine cuttings I give them to hide under and lightly scrub the cuttles. I only replace the substrate every six to eight weeks. I don't over wet the viv so it doesn't get sloppy so stays fresh longer. I do give them a warm water misting every day, but not a heavy spray. I hope this answers your question. I agree it can be confusing as every one says different things, I just do what I think is ...
Cor that is spooky Lee and Shobhna. That will be nice a camping weekend Red. I hope the weather is kind to you.
Hi Julie nice to see you again.
Poultrygeist..... fantastic CC well thought out ha ha. You could easily write a book of wittisisms.
You really crack me up CC I don't know how you come up with these things...... Thatched Bathroom Monthly almost had me choke with laughter.
How lovely to see such an unusual thing Red and Ollie. You were very lucky indeed.
I think I need to go and lie down in a darkened room for a while...
No mine was the top thiird of a rainbow but straight above. Google these for some ideas. Nacreous clouds Iridescent clouds
The more you knit, the easier it'd be...you have to admit that TBII wasn't a tenth of the trauma that TBI was!
Posted By: Trevs MumNeil maybe a neighbour is sneaking in to move it around. Can't imagine anyone would be bothered enough to be honest! I think it's Tilly/Penny's idea of a joke...
If you see or hear anything on hencam that you think needs looking at urgently, then please feel free to contact me: SMS or mobile: 07590 735196 If you are ringing from outside the UK then please bear in mind the costs to ring (it's a standard mobile number but I wouldn't want you getting charged lots! Maybe send a text instead?) +44 7590 735196 If it's not an emergency, my email account for neil@hencam.co.uk is picked up fairly regularly on my phone (every hour), but it could be some time before I notice it as I don't get a notification. If it's definitely not important then post a message on our screensaver - we might see it if we are passing, but remember anyone else might post something on there which would overwrite your m...
Posted By: Shobhna
Brilliant Red i like loads of legs!!! as I call them the way they move is fascinating.
CC said: a poultrygeist. Ha ha brilliant CC. We should bring back the 'where's the Puffin' I liked that game. Neil maybe a neighbour is sneaking in to move it around.
I am the eldest of two but then mum remarried and I then fitted in as the fourth eldest of six and I have two sons. My mum married her dead sisters husband so my first cousins became my brothers and sisters and my uncle became my dad as he legally adopted me and my brother. Confusing...I know.
Congratulatins Kate to one and all, a dear little new boy to love and cuddle. Hi Lynn nice to see you passing through. Hope you are well. big hugs, Julie
Sounds like the storms we have been having here Lee. We have had an unusually cold winter , lots of nice rain but too windy. Glad you got away for a break anyway.
Nope it wasn't in the water, it was in the sky...it was like two extra suns had appeared! Posted By: ollie in UKI saw the biggest refraction (can't think of it's proper name) this evening. Like just a piece of rainbow in the sky straight above. Took a pic with my phone, it didn't show very well and I am a dunderhead to do anything with my pics! Yours sounded fascinating. Worth trying to find out more... Did it look sort of anything like this, Ollie? Because it sounds very similar, what with the rainbow and all...ours was sort of like two mini suns with mini rainbows by the side of them too...
Actually it has been a lovely day here in Yorkshire. I even topped up my tan a little.
I have been watching geckos all my holiday. They are sooooo pretty. Little skinny lizards too. The girls saw a small snake with a lizard in it's mouth. Cicadas are very pretty too, when you can get up to one! And noisy...
I found that a lot of the caring profession (nurses and midwives) folks are third children.
I saw the biggest refraction (can't think of it's proper name) this evening. Like just a piece of rainbow in the sky straight above. Took a pic with my phone, it didn't show very well and I am a dunderhead to do anything with my pics! Yours sounded fascinating. Worth trying to find out more...
Its so sweet that Lyle has done that - he knows the things that float your boat!
How did that happen Red? Was it the reflection in the water? Don't quite get it but it sounds fascinating!
Very funny CC! When I saw it I kept wondering what I'd do if it moved!!! So I figured I'd post a message on your screen saver thingy (does that still work?) then phone CC and see if she knew of anyone who had your number or Red's (that's if she was still up and answering calls!) I figured the local constabulary wouldn't be inclined to send out a task force to capture a stoat. I don't know, what do we pay our taxes for?!
Saw something really cool and interesting today; when me and Lyle were walking on the prom an old lady pointed out the mirrored rainbow effect on the sun. So there was the real sun in the middle, then a duplicate of the sun on either side, and each duplicate had a rainbow bit by it too! Did anyone else see it?? It was really pretty!
building work progresses...
posted by Neil, 24 August 2010, 11:51am
You might be able to hear banging, singing, sawing, drilling, mixing, in fact lots of noises coming from the builders working on the house.
We're looking forward to having a downstairs bathroom that doesn't have an indoor water feature (the ceiling!), and a dining room we might be able to actually dine in...
I'll upload some pics of the progress but at the moment it's mainly rubble and bare walls!
The most amazing thing on the
posted by Neil, 17 August 2010, 12:19pm
This is one of the most gorgeous, haunting and dramatic songs I've ever heard - it sent chills down my spine at it's beauty.
It's also by Justin Bieber. I am not kidding.
However, it's Justin Bieber, that has been slowed down 800%, turning it into something akin to the very best Sigur Ros.
I know what you're thinking (I did too), but listen to it and spend the next 35 minutes spellbound.
Listen to Justin Bieber 'U Smile' 800% slowed down here
Let us know what you think in the forum!
Enjoy...
I want a Kindle Surprise!!
posted by Neil, 16 August 2010, 3:14pm
Books are sooo last year, and I'm not just talking about the current generation's 15 second attention span and the need for instant gratification or else be labeled as 'boring'...
What could be better than having a book in your bag, ready to be enjoyed whenever convenient? Well, how about hundreds of books in your pocket awaiting your perusal (and without having to have huge pocketed pants like MC Hammer).
The Kindle is basically to the printed word what the iPod is to music.
You can carry around hundreds of books, read them, store bookmarks, yadda yadda yadda. What's interesting is that you can connect to the amazon store directly from the Kindle so you could buy the latest best seller without even getting out of bed, and be reading it within minutes...
It's a really clever use of technology, and it will be interesting to see if bookshelves in our homes and libraries are replaced by electronic versions.
In the meantime I've managed to convince myself that I need one!
If you feel the same, then please use hencam's Kindle link to earn us a few pennies.
(Americans can use this page)
Why not buy one for a loved one, and if you are really stuck, buy me one!! ;-)
Awww.... wasn't she cute!
posted by Neil, 16 August 2010, 10:26am
It sometimes pays to be the "webmaster" of a popular chicken/webcam website (for instance when applying for jobs and for getting in local newspapers), but it also has the added benefit of maximising possible embarrassment to Scarlet when she sees these pictures!
I promised them a while ago and although the one I had in mind isn't here, I hope you like them! (click each pic for a bigger version).
Depending on her reaction to these we might post more!
Building site!
posted by Neil, 16 August 2010, 10:08am
Downstairs still looks like a bomb's hit it (actually it looks like those crime scenes where they've had to escavate to get all the bodies out!)...
There will have been a few outages on the hencam and webcam feeds because the electrician has been re-wiring, but hopefully it should be ok now.
The dead cam has been returned and is currently with their engineers who will tell me whether they will repair or replace it - hopefully under warranty! As long as it doesn't come back as "no fault found..."
hardware failure! :-(
posted by Neil, 13 August 2010, 9:19am
Unfortunately our best cam (the pan/tilt/zoom one that watches the hens in the coop) has malfunctioned and has gone to the great electric disposal pile in the sky.
A few weeks ago it stopped responding to the remote control (which was an inconvenience as it meant I couldn't program the camera or add new 'views'), but now it's stuck pointing at the view and won't move or automatically pan.
I've 'borrowed' the bird-feeder webcam so there is a view of the hens, but I apologise if the colours look a bit washed out, the broken camera was much higher quality. :-(
No Milly Memorial unveiling this weekend...
posted by Neil, 9 August 2010, 11:03am
Sorry but the unveiling of Milly's Memorial made by CC has to be postponed for a couple of weeks as we can't actually see the garden due to the building work:
Hopefully we'll be sorted soon!
strange bangs?
posted by Neil, 4 August 2010, 2:56pm
Just a word of warning - work on the house (namely the leaking bathroom downstairs and damp dining room) has finally started, so if you hear any banging or crashing, it's probably builder-related!
I might even set up a cam to watch them!
Milly's memorial slate is here (thanks CC!) so we will hopefully unveil that at the weekend and have some pics here of course.
On another note, if there are any millionaires reading feel free to buy me something from here! It will mean lots more vids for you to watch so we both get something out of it (or something)! :-)
Ouch Penny!
posted by Neil, 30 July 2010, 11:18pm
Poor little Penny hen laid the biggest egg I've ever seen - nearly as big as a goose egg!
It's shown next to a 'normal' egg from the girls (which are larger than standard eggs you buy in shops to begin with) to give you an idea of it's huuuugeness!
This is definitely the biggest egg hencam has experienced, and when Scarlet cooked it for Lyle this morning, it was our first double-yoker too! (Scarlet should post pics later hopefully)
Normal egg:
Huuge egg:
Record breakers!
posted by Neil, 30 July 2010, 11:06pm
Me, Scarlet, Lyle and Joe broke a Guinness World Record on Wednesday - well, not just us, we were part of the 600+ people at the National Museum of Film and Photography in Bradford who broke the world record for the most players in one location playing Nintendo DS games!
A strange World Record Attempt...
posted by Neil, 28 July 2010, 4:45pm
Tonight I'm meeting Scarlet, Lyle and Joe at the National Museum of Film and Photography to take part in a world record attempt to get the most Nintendo DS players in one room!
Sounds a bit strange (and I can imagine only about 30 people turning up - not the 5000 they need), but we'll see how it goes..!
This will keep you amused...
posted by Neil, 22 July 2010, 5:21pm
BP Underwater cams...
posted by Neil, 14 July 2010, 10:50am
Friend of Hencam and forum regular Ron emailed me to let me know about the amazing BP streams they have set up, so I thought I'd pass it on:
I've been watching the BP live streaming robo cams underwater (ROVs).
They got 15 of them going 24 by 7. It's amazing to watch them move about. Here's the link
It's awful the environmental damage they've unwittingly caused, but a good move to show the obviously huge effort they're putting into fixing things.
this is beautiful...
posted by Neil, 9 July 2010, 3:36pm
Click in the area to create circles, when 2 collide they make a chime... (courtesy of lab.andre-michelle.com
Last weekend...
posted by Neil, 6 July 2010, 5:18pm
We went for a mini-break around Whitby and Scarborough!
The view from the hotel (it was in Saltburn, just above Whitby on the coast)
Whalebone Arch, in Whitby
View across the harbor in Whitby towards Dracula's Abbey!
A seagull perched on Captain Cook's head
Pirate Ship on the horizon
Saltburn pier at night
View from the cafe at Robin Hood's bay
Some pillock with a latte!
Relaxing on the beach...
Chilling in the Japanese garden in Peasholme Park in Scarborough
Hope you enjoyed them!
Cute video time...
posted by Neil, 6 July 2010, 2:40pm
rrribbit!
posted by Neil, 2 July 2010, 11:16am
In our garden, we have the tiniest pond ever (literally the size of a large bucket), but Helen recently got a miniature water lilly in the sale suitable for small ponds, and it's grown really well - lots of leaves resting on the top of the water.
Anyway, the other night I went to give the hens some treats (some morrisons grapes I'd bought that day that turned out to be manky and soft), and I heard a 'sploosh' noise, and half-thought "huh, that would be cool if it was a frog jumping in the pond", and then I looked across, and saw another frog jump in!
I went to feed the girls, then came back and watched for a while, and sure enough, there were two frog's heads stuck out of the water, they looked pretty big and quite happy!
I hope they stick around, and it would be great to hear the sound of tiny tails later in the year!
And a random image from last weekend for getting this far (apologies if this has been the most boring thing you've ever read):
a big thank you...
posted by Neil, 28 June 2010, 7:29pm
...to the person who broke into Helen's car in Huddersfield today and ripped the inside to bits trying to get the car stereo out.
Thanks to you we'll lose our no-claims bonus and it will cost us a fortune replacing the window and fixing the inside.
The bit I don't understand is it's the crappest car you can get too - what did you think you'd find in there?
I think we're back!!
posted by Neil, 27 June 2010, 12:34am
After sitting at the screen saying it was 'preparing to configure updates', my PC had crashed (screen frozen), so I rebooted, it warned me it was removing failed updates, and suddenly sprang into life!
I then told it to install the updates again, and it worked fine?!
I need to backup the family pics asap, but at least I think everything is running again - what a relief!
And what a weird thing to happen - I'm considering turning off automatic updates as I really don't want to have the hassle of this again...
I think the sound might be off (it's unplugged in the shed, as there was no point having it running) but I'll enable it tomorrow morning.
the end of hencam?
posted by Neil, 26 June 2010, 10:53am
Bad news I'm afraid - this morning Windows installed some updates which appear to have completely knackered my installation - it won't boot in normal or safe mode and the recovery utility can't find any problem.
whilst I could just format and reinstall I have thousands of family pics that I can't lose so I'm just completely stuck and fed up at the moment...
I'm not sure what to do.
We had a meal with a difference...
posted by Neil, 23 June 2010, 9:26am
We ate at the Russian Restaurant last night, and it was simply: amazing!
I started off with a freezing cold vodka immediately followed by a pickled gherkin (the Russian way to drink it, apparently), and had a really tasty and filling veggie ghoulash.
With Bradford town centre seemingly in free-fall (half of it is demolished, the other half seems to be pound-shops), this place needs more of the recognition and support it deserves.
If you ever find yourself near Bradford and are hungry, get yourself over there for a meal (and say that hencam sent you - there might be a free vodka for me next time I go then!)
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