My parents are with us at the moment and if they thought it was going to be one long holiday they have had a surprise: there’s work to be done on the farm! I did tell my dad before arriving that building the chicken coop would be a project for him but rather than taking a few days to do it’s taken a matter of hours because he cheated and brought a flat pack one with him!

With Richard at hand to help and a couple of Bosch boys’ tools they had it all up before lunch. They were both rather pleased with themselves and well deserved the extra large portions of courgette cake.

So have hen house, just need the chickens. Meanwhile the field where the chickens are to live had become a jungle: tall thistles and giant species of weeds had taken over and then dried to death in the endless sun. I eventually persuaded Richard to get the strimmer out and then we raked it over. It looked like an 18th century pastoral scene (except for the baseball hat):

We’re getting the galinhas next Saturday. The local agricultural co-operative has given us some help about where to get them, their age and feed. Can’t wait!