Here is a photo of me weeding the rocks around the little pond. Note my companions. Marge is clucking loudly. Lulu is skittering around. Ginger is looking intently at what I’m doing. Looks like a friendly bunch of, what Celia calls under-gardeners, doesn’t it? However, I’m not sure if they’re not simply lazy. They let me do the digging and then they snap up the bugs. This plot of earth yielded little for them to eat, so soon they were on their way, finding yummier things in the grass near the house. As Marge left, she complained loudly that I hadn’t fed her properly.

Honestly, I like having the hens underfoot, and it’s fine that they don’t scratch dirt up into my face. But when I’m working hard out there, it’d be nice to see a little effort on their part.

Oh, and take a look at my big koi. Even she is looking for a hand-out!