Kuckuck

Flash taking a break with his new friend a duck rather than a cuckoo. The best thing he could do in the very humid hot weather. He did join the girls for a ride but couldn't keep up for long. I picked him up.

In the morning took him for a drive to Erkheim to buy a 50kg sack of broken maize for the chicken and then off to a local large compost making company which had a "factory outlet" day today to get soil for the hanging baskets, pots etc. Back home found the chicken food sack wasn't broken but whole maize.  Have to take it back Monday. Then swap trailers as farrier Lothar due from Austria this afternoon and we have to take her over to another stable.

Lunchtime and a call came from Lothar. He had received an emergency call from the UK, a horse with laminitis where the bone had broken through the hoof wall. Being near Munich on the way to us, he detoured to the airport and was waiting for his flight to Birmingham. He comes into his element when the situation is critical, it's his speciality. Hope he could help as very often the horse would be put down in this condition. I thought his driving 500km to us was bad enough. Lothar has spent much of his time abroad in the UK, continental Europe & the USA. Will report next week what he was up to - he is due next weekend.

More cleaning up in the garden and as has been the case almost daily, didn't come indoors until 9:00 pm when it was a bit too dark to see much. At the same time, the promised rain appeared accompanied by some distant thunder & lightning

Today heard the first cuckoo of the year.