Did you have a nice Christmas?

Christmas Eve:
                        Mud-Fest by daylight [while cleaning out all 3 huts ready for Christmas]

 

They must have been feeling guilty about enjoying themselves in all that mud as they ran downhill when I came closer - the guilt didn't last long, they were soon back in there and extending the mud patch into the dip in the field.  When I was cleaning the bottom hut I could see that they'd been digging in the enclosed bit of field, too.  In the photo below just Captain and his two are left in there:

Christmas Eve brought us 2 surprises by post, a gorgeous orchid and chocolates from Gerd and Maria and a parcel with German Christmas goodies and my favourite bread from Angelika and Axel.

 Christmas Day:
                          John and I had a lovely lot of presents before we went for a big dinner at Elizabeth's.

I was proud how well the big pork pie I made had turned out.  We only had two small pieces for breakfast, the rest went on the buffet table on Boxing Day

                                                              A favourite prezzie from Trish:

 

On Boxing Day I took no photos, but the buffet was plentiful and enjoyed by all.  We were missing Annie and family and Sam didn't come to the Christmas family gathering.  We had lots more presents and even enjoyed a great game Carl had brought.

Thursday 27th
                       A rest day - but the ducks were already hard at work digging by quarter past nine:

 
Yes, it was as filthy a morning as it looks in these three photos.  The little picture above shows Honey, through the gloom, who for some reason has kept herself out of the mud gang and has been in the big pond shouting for them every time I looked.


We have just as filthy a morning today, Friday, and as John has just gone out to do the water buckets I'd better get a move on and sort duckie breakfasts and then release the prisoners!