The day wasn’t quite as exciting as the title might suggest as I spent all day plucking (yes I did say plucking). Every year the unwanted cockerels are fattened up and killed for the freezer and while I was at it, I despatched a turkey for my sister so she can take it home to Worcester and freeze it for Christmas. The Rhode Island Red cocks were never going to be plump (they just aren’t designed to put on meat), but slight as they are I know they will be absolutely delicious. The turkey couldn’t have been more of a contrast, looking as though it had been on steroids for a month. I hope my sister and brother in law are hungry on Christmas day, as It’s only the two of them for dinner!
The rain has been spectacular, periodically falling in torrential showers from ominous black clouds which creep imperceptibly across the sky. Even through my ear muffs (worn to protect my hearing when I use the plucking machine) I could hear its violent drumming on the tin above my head and on my journey home the lanes were running with water, sweeping the dead leaves into half moons on the tarmac.