Henpen's hens and Eggstremely odd eggs

[sandy]

The lap sitting,snuggling and preening around you sounds like an excellent day at the office

[HenPen]

I've been playing around with photo editing apps and am very pleased with this:



Wiggy in oils!

[HenPen]

Thought I'd do my egg boxes!

[aishakali]

They look great! Love the "oil painting" of Wiggy

[Bridgets Mum]

They are definitely the poshest egg boxes I have ever seen. 'Wiggy in oils' could well become famous.

[KarenE]

That is a beautiful rendition of Wiggy! She is very photogenic. And an artist's muse

[sandy]

Henpen what a fantastic photo of Wiggy, wiggy woo She has just the right expression on her face, I am so jealous she is so lovely and you are so talented

[HenPen]

Aww you are kind.
I have to say Sandy - thank you but I'm not talented at all, I just love mucking about with photos. It was an ipad app called photo lab, and I thought my avatar picture of Wiggy would look nice as an oil painting. I did it as a chalky pastel picture too, using a different app

My daughter prefers the "pastels" - the pink writing probably swung it - but I prefer the "oils", so I've printed off some of each and am giving people whichever box they prefer (I don't sell, just give the odd box away to friends and neighbours).

I scared the life out of Miranda today, because I was.... AAAARGH...walking around carrying an A3 sized bit of cardboard. Oh the terror. She still hasn't forgiven me. She is surely the biggest wuss known to chickendom.
Cupid is, on the other hand, one tough cookie and even when something scares all the others and they are hiding behind the coop, she will be carrying on about her business, totally unflappable (surely that word must have been coined to describe chooks like Cupid). She is teeny, light as a feather, has always had a prominent breast bone, she is hen-pecked and balding, and yet she is the bravest and brightest of all of them.

[HenPen]

Five eggs... Five chickens... BUT no blue eggs. Which means one of our chickens has laid two eggs in one day.

Apart from a few weeks' blip, we have had virtually no laying from Wiggy for months. Still, she looks cheerful and massive, bibbling about the garden like a giant Weeble and racing back into the run whenever I walk close to the food bin (usually with Miranda close behind), so I guess it's just her way. I don't mind, my egg skelter is overflowing so much that I made a huge quiche today just to clear some space!

[KarenE]

Wiggy is a weeble?

Does this mean she wobbles but she don't fall down?

Poor Wiggy, I'm sure that description (bumbling?) doesn't capture her grace and dignity. No wonder she's stopped egging.

[TheGreatEgg]

Just catching up Henpen - love love love the egg box labels! Mine haven't started laying yet, but you've inspired me to try to do something nice for when they do

[HenPen]

Thank you TGE, I'm glad you like them!

Oh Karen, now I feel guilty. But yes she is definitely a big rounded Weeble, only just staying upright on her tiny legs!
"grace and dignity"
Bless her, everyone should have a comedy chicken.

[KarenE]

Oh bless Wiggy. I do consider her my comedy chicken, as in my extended flock.

Now, what I want - what I really, really want... is not a zigaziga but loads of videos of Wiggly bimbling and weebling her way round. And doing the wiggy dance of course. Hasn't your phone got a camera on it?

Hands (thumbs) up those who want to see Wiggy on You've Been framed???

By the way HP - I showed hubby your gorgeous egg boxes and he said we should do that, but neither of us is sure anyone would want to buy eggs if they see poor Ronnie's pics on there! Poor little mite looks such a scraggy thing. I might have go - what app did you use?

[HenPen]

For the oil painting one I used an app called Pho.to Lab on my ipad (yes it does have that weird full stop in the middle of the word photo). You go into their Sketches and Paintings section and there is one called antique oil painting. It does it for you once you have selected your photo. Easy peasy. Then I called up the finished product so I could resize it and add the words in Photoshop.

The pastels one I did in an app called Repix, using their Charcoal tool. That one is a bit more fun as you have to do-it-yourself. Once I had saved the finished product, I called it up in an app called Aviary and added the writing using the text box, which enables you to change font and colour. The writing wasn't as clear when it was printed, so I think I would stick with Photoshop in future for that.

PM me if you want a hand - I love playing with photos.

Re: Wiggy's Been Framed - My phone is frankly pants for photos and videos but I shall try and capture Wiggy Wigglesworth for you. I will try to show Wiggy galumphing around like a hippo trying to catch butterflies. She caught one once and stood there with it in her beak, absolutely bamboozled, no idea what to do next.

[HenPen]

Such excitement... eggcitement?... I have been weeding and digging over the vegetable patch, which was totally neglected last year and very overgrown. While I was doing it, I decided sort out the chicken fencing so they can give me a helping claw. I was kind of pushed into it since Cupid was almost garrotting herself trying to join me.

I open the run door and they check I am not holding anything they might want to eat, then they set off running to the veg patch, full pelt with heads down and wings slightly out, and start kicking about. I spend half my time shovelling the earth off the grass and back onto the veg patch but I can't complain, it is such fun to watch them. I am going to feel really guilty when I start planting it up and have to fence it off again.

Now their free range area is bigger it is really noticeable that when they are out-and-about they split off into two groups: the brave girls, Cupid and Ginger the partners in crime, who are happy to stand on a spadeful of earth and try and frisk it for worms while you are digging (I have to dig very slowly and carefully, so as not to take off a toe or throw one of them aside with a load of earth!); and the shy girls, Amber, Miranda and Wiggy, who are easily spooked by flying clods and like to stay a little way off from all the excitement. I think that over the weekend Cupid and Ginger have eaten about a hundred worms and assorted wigglers. Ah well, maybe all the protein will help Raggedy Cupid grow some feathers on her bald patches.