Snow and more to come

The girls were eager to look out the windows this morning to see if there was enough snow to warrant a school closure - there wasn't, so they had to go off to the bus stop in the snow, well wrapped up in winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves. It wasn't good that the bus was late because of the weather and they had to stand at the bus stop for about 20 minutes but in this weather, these things just can't be helped.

I dragged the FH to the doctor's this morning about his awful foot problems and it turns out that he probably has gout! The doctor took some blood to try to get the diagnosis confirmed but also sent us home to make an appointment at the local cottage hospital for an x-ray to rule out any serious damage he might have done. We went to that appointment this afternoon at 3pm, and were in and out in minutes. We will have to look at some medication for that, I think, if it is confirmed, in conjunction with the boss at Papworth as some of the medications for gout are contra-indicated for use with his heart meds. One of the heart anti-rejection drugs could actually be part of the cause of the gout as well, unfortunately.

One of the cockerels has been moved tonight into the pen with the basic Heinz varieties laying hens. I need his pen in the shed for some growers who haven't had the chance to go outside yet, and it is high time they did, so clearing out his pen and moving them over will be on the list for tomorrow. I will put a piece of glass in the pophole so that they can see out but not actually get out for a day or two, before letting them out properly maybe on Wednesday or Thursday.

I do hope everyone is staying warm in this weather. We have lots of wood for the stove to keep us warm in the lounge, and the cupboards are well stocked too!