Dry.

Still dry but with less sunny spells than yesterday.

I'm just glad that the weather was good enough for me to cycle down to the zoo. Coming home I didn't quite make it up the slope but I'm sure I'm getting fitter or at least stronger legs.

I spent five hours weeding this patch of gravel and both sides of the paths. I started by the ferret's cage because for once the ferret, a pale ginger one, was out in his run. He was quite inquisitive and came right up to the wire fence to watch me weeding a few inches away. Usually the ferrets spend the day asleep in their house so that was a little bit of excitement for me. I finished my session by hopping over the barrier to weed the space there. It was easy pulling the weeds from the thin layer of woodchip on top of old carpet but when I got up to the chickens it was the dreaded bindweed again. The last time I cleared that area I had lifted the carpet and dug out a lot of bindweed roots but I must have run out of steam by the time I got up to the chickens. As usual the chickens came up to the fence for the dandelions and other weeds that I pushed through the wire but they don't like bindweed leaves or roots. In the far pen were a group of young guinea fowl given to the zoo by the chap whose house burnt down last year. The original group of guinea fowl had become rather depleted due to their complete lack of self preservation. Along with the peacocks they had always been free roaming and after their lockdown due to avain 'flu in the country they were given their freedom once more. However in the interim the wolf-dogs had had their space extended into what had once been the wallabies' enclosure. Though it has very high fences complete with overhangs it isn't roofed in like the original wolf-dog encloure. The oldest of the guinea fowl flapped and fluttered his way up over the fence and into the run with the wolf-dogs and you can guess what happened. The other guinea fowl watched the sad event and the next day another guinea fowl repeated the fatal leap ..... to the same end. These escapades could have been stopped by clipping their wings but another of the silly birds decided to have a sleep in the middle of the goats' field (that only has a low fence) and got trampled when the goats ran over it on their way for their feed. Now the guniea fowl are locked up for their own safety.

The flowerbed I made by the play area has survived the very dry summer and today the sedums were full of bees.

When I got home it was too late to start the baking I'd planned to do but after a restful coffee I went down to the lawn and began cutting through the grass to outine a path going round the wild patch before any rain washes away the flour circle. I have a horrible feeling my back is going to be aching tonight.